Page 3278 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 November 1992
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Refrigerants
MR WOOD: Yesterday Mr Stevenson asked Mr Berry a question that has been referred to me. It concerns substitutes for CFCs. The chemical sodium monofluoracetate, known as 1080, has been banned in the ACT since December 1989. A check with interstate environment agencies and the Australian manufacturers of CFCs indicates that they are not aware of any proposal to use the chemical sodium monofluoracetate as a replacement for CFCs. However, my department is investigating the possibility of chemical reactions occurring in the atmosphere as a result of discharge of hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs, which may generate toxic chemicals. I will keep you informed. In the meantime, the ACT will continue to follow the Montreal Protocol to phase out the use of CFCs.
ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES
Ministerial Statement
MR WOOD (Minister for Education and Training, Minister for the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning): Madam Speaker, I seek leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement on the banning of organochlorine pesticides in the ACT.
Leave granted.
MR WOOD: Madam Speaker, organochlorine pesticides were used extensively in agriculture and for urban pest control in the 1960s and 1970s. Due to the environmental persistence and bioaccumulative effect in the food chain, their use has been progressively reduced in the majority of Australian jurisdictions for all applications except termite control in accordance with two Australian standards.
While organochlorines are not registered in the ACT, the Registrar of Pesticides can issue a restricted permit to allow their use in accordance with two Australian standards for the protection of buildings from subterranean termites - namely, the detection and treatment of infestation in existing buildings and the chemical treatment of soil for buildings under construction. Following initial representation from union groups last year, the Minister for Urban Services directed that organochlorines not be used on ACT government capital works projects and that alternative control methods be evaluated. I understand that control strategies are being developed but have not yet been finalised.
In response to further concerns expressed by building union and conservation groups regarding the use of organochlorine pesticides for termite control, the Government released a discussion paper for public comment in December 1991. The paper outlined the existing legislative and administrative controls over organochlorine use in the ACT. The paper also considered alternatives to the continued use of these substances and discussed the implications of banning their use by the ACT community. The majority of submissions expressed support for either a phase-out of organochlorine use or awaiting the release of final recommendations from the National Health and Medical Research Council working party and accepting these. Two submissions called for an immediate and complete ban on organochlorine use.
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