2002 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Awards

Since 1990, 452 individuals and organizations from 37 countries have earned the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to protect the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer. This year's 28 recipients have demonstrated originality and public purpose, persuasive moral and organizational leadership, and elimination of emissions of ozone-depleting substances. The winners are from Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom and the United States.

EPA Stratospheric Ozone Protection Awards are particularly prestigious because nominations compete globally using previous winners as judges.

Quotes

"My work for the ozone layer occurred at the same time that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was making the transition to free enterprise and democracy. Both revolutions were important, but social progress is nothing without a healthy environment for future generations. The only true security comes from cooperation and sustainability."

"Those of us who have been fighting for the ozone layer since the early 1980s look back in amazement at what has been accomplished. Most of us consider our work on ozone as the most important part of our lives. These EPA awards bring us back together to reflect on our success and to inspire us to take on new environmental challenges-daunting challenges that bring supreme satisfaction to our lives."

"Fetzer Vineyards is proud to join Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates in accepting the prestigious Stratospheric Protection Award for our success in avoiding methyl bromide. Customers throughout the world are demanding sustainable agriculture and natural food products. The best companies are respecting those demands. Together we can protect the earth and the skies for future generations."

"Japan's Save the Ozone Network (JASON) is very proud to earn this Award. We fight with all our strength to protect the ozone layer--and with great imagination. JASON activists use street theater, dance, and song to gain public support. And we use our political organizing and policy skills to craft the new Japanese laws that outlaw the release of ODS and the greenhouse gas HFC-134a during refrigeration and air conditioner equipment service."

Hiromi Nishizono,
CEO, JASON

Summaries of the 2002 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award Winners' Accomplishments

Corporate and Governmental Awards

C.O. Keddy Nursery

C.O. Keddy Nursery Inc. stopped using methyl bromide by 1995. Keddy now rotates crops on a three-year cycle to control disease, improve soil health and reduce the accumulation of weed stock in the soil. Keddy achieves excellent control of nematodes, weeds and soil-borne diseases using Telone C17.

Daikin Industries

Daikin Industries has been a leader in developing non-ozone-depleting refrigerants and equipment models that use them. Daikin supplies many HFCs, and was the first to mass-produce HFC-32, a component in HCFC-22 alternative blends. Daikin has stopped using HCFCs in commercial unitary equipment and plans to completely phase out of HCFCs in 2002. Also, Daikin has produced a facility capable of destroying up to 1000 tons of CFCs and HCFCs per year.

Dow AgroSciences

Dow AgroSciences has developed practical pest management solutions to meet grower and food processor needs for economic and effective alternatives to methyl bromide. Since 1998, Dow AgroSciences has developed and registered TeloneÔ C-35, InLineÔ (1, 3 dichloropropene) and Telone EC soil fumigants, which provide nematacidal and disease control performance equal to or better than methyl bromide. These products are being used successfully on a wide variety of crops globally. VikaneÔ (sulfuryl fluoride) has served as an important pest control tool in the structural fumigation industry for more than 40 years. Dow AgroSciences has recently developed new uses for sulfuryl fluoride (ProFumeÔ) which will replace methyl bromide in the food processing, grain milling and stored commodity industries. ProFume has been submitted to EPA for registration with plans to market by 2002-2004 worldwide.

Fetzer Vineyards

Fetzer, the nation's sixth largest wine maker, expects to have all of their grape acreage certified organic in 2002. Prior to 1992, almost all vineyards depended on methyl bromide. Since 1992, Fetzer has developed 400 acres of new vineyards without methyl bromide with organic methods including field sanitation, resistant root stocks, natural soil amendments and cover crops. Each acre of grapes developed organically represents a reduction of 250 pounds of methyl bromide. In addition, Fetzer has played a leading role in solid waste reduction, reduced energy consumption, and use of renewable energy sources.

Honeywell International

Honeywell began their search for alternatives to HCFC-141b in 1991 and selected HFC-245fa after screening hundreds of potential foam blowing agents. Honeywell has invested well in excess of $150 million on research, toxicity testing, applications development, manufacturing process development, and plant construction in order to supply HFC-245fa to the industry. Honeywell is also working cooperatively to ensure that formulations and foam processing using HFC-245fa in all rigid insulation foam sectors are optimized for processability, energy performance, and cost effectiveness.

Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates voluntarily banned the use of methyl bromide and several other pesticides in its farming operation in Australia, Argentina, California, Chile, and Italy. Kendall-Jackson, along with its sister company, Jackson Family Farms, uses sustainable agriculture approaches which include cover crops, integrated pest management, and rodent control with raptors. Kendall-Jackson is restoring habitat and wildlife corridors and leaving land in open space.

General Mills for the Recently Acquired Pillsbury Company

In 1993, long before alternatives to methyl bromide had been identified, the Pillsbury Company made a strategic environmental leadership decision to eliminate as much pesticide use as possible. By 1997 they completely eliminated all use of methyl bromide. Pillsbury selected heat treatment as the main alternative in high volume flourmills and food processing plants and today is investigating the use of heat in conjunction with phosphine and carbon dioxide.

USDA - ARS, Water Management Research Laboratory

The Agriculture Research Service at the USDA's Water Management Research Laboratory has been studying methyl bromide alternatives for over five years. Research for short-term implementation includes alternative fumigants, application techniques and cultural practices that allow growers to maintain current production levels without the use of methyl bromide. Research for long-term implementation focuses on economical integrated pest management systems. The team has demonstrated an alternative fumigant drip irrigation system on eighteen strawberry fields, leading to an accelerated phaseout of methyl bromide for some growers. Further research is underway to apply the same technology to other products.

Raynor

Raynor has invested much money, time, and expertise in developing a fully automated manufacturing line to produce steel residential garage doors using hydrocarbon blowing agents in lieu of ozone-depleting substances. Under the "Raynor Innovations Series" trade name, Raynor will introduce and market these new doors to both a national and international market.

Yoder Brothers

Yoder Brothers--specializing in chrysanthemums, azaleas, hibiscus, poinsettias and other perennial plants--has facilities in Ohio, Florida, South Carolina, California and Canada. In 1991, they began research on alternatives to methyl bromide including chemical pesticides and non-chemical pest controls. Yoder Brothers selected steam as the best option for their production system, and has moved quickly to implement it despite a cost increase compared to methyl bromide. Yoder Brothers now treats over 20 acres of open field and covered area with a centralized boiler steam system.

Association and Team Awards

Japan's Save the Ozone Network (JASON)

JASON has been instrumental in lobbying and grass roots organizing of ozone layer protection in Japan. In addition to traditional NGO tactics, JASON is also famous for using street theatre, songs, and art to educate the public and policy makers. Their perseverance has led to recent Japanese regulations outlawing the release of ozone-depleting substances and HFCs.

Florida Telone Commercialization Team

The Florida Telone Commercialization Team consists of Kay Barrett of Yetter Manufacturing Company, Dr. Jim Gilreath of the University of Florida, Bruce Houtman of Dow AgroSciences, John Mirusso of Mirusso Fumigation and Equipment, Jerry Nance of Dow AgroSciences and Dr. Erin N. Rosskopf of USDA - ARS. Development of 1,3-dicholoropropene (trade name Telone) into a viable alternative for methyl bromide in Florida required the creation of a new application method suitable to the sandy Florida soils and the differences in applying a liquid versus a gaseous product. Producing a solution required input, coordination and cooperation from people with diverse skills, representing various organizations. Researchers from University of Florida and USDA joined forces with representatives of Dow AgroSciences, Yetter Farm Equipment Manufacturing and Mirusso Fumigation and Equipment to test and develop new application equipment and procedures which were ultimately proven effective under commercial farming conditions. The result was management of problem pests and yield protection that often exceeded the typical performance seen with methyl bromide.

Individual Awards

Sue Biniaz, U.S. Department of State

As a key member of the Montreal Protocol Legal Drafting Team, Susan Biniaz helped ensure legal integrity and consistency of the various provisions of the Montreal Protocol. Her work established an original, coherent, framework that allowed clear presentation of legal options for consideration by Parties and assured that each adjustment and amendment could be accomplished without inconsistency or ambiguity. Her focused legal review of Protocol proposals through the 1990s ensured consistency and brought potential unintended flaws and consequences of pending proposals to the attention of the Parties for resolution. As a member of the United States delegation, she was indispensable in ensuring U.S. preparation for meetings. She never let her national affiliation get in the way of providing fair, unbiased information to all Parties; ensuring fair consideration of Protocol proposals.

Dr. Iwona Rummel-Bulska, World Meteorological Organization

Dr. Iwona Rummel-Bulska, LL.M.PhD., was Chief of the Environmental Law Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) until 1991. She helped organize and lead the negotiations establishing the 1985 Vienna Convention and 1987 Montreal Protocol. She also acted as the coordinator of the Ozone Secretariat in UNEP and was the General Secretary of the Ozone Diplomatic Conferences, playing an integral role at the first meeting of the Conferences of the Contracting Parties to the Ozone Treaties. Currently, she is legal counsel for the World Meteorological Organisation. She also co-authored Global Environmental Diplomacy-Negotiating Environmental Agreements for the World.

Jim Cochran, Swanton Berry Farm

As a lone pioneer in the early 1980's, Jim Cochran developed the technology and economics of farming strawberries using organic methods. Over the years, he demonstrated to a skeptical industry that it was possible to grow commercially successful crops of strawberries without relying on methyl bromide as a soil fumigant, using instead crop rotation and soil amendment strategies. Working with the University of California at Santa Cruz, he shared this technology with other farmers with the result that today, over fifty other farms in California alone are producing organic strawberries for a rapidly growing market. Mr. Cochran is President of Swanton Berry Farms, Inc.

Kert Davies, Greenpeace

Over the past ten years, Kert Davies has led the environmental community in efforts to curb the use of methyl bromide. From 1992 to 1994 he conducted extensive fieldwork in Florida, interviewing tomato farmers, researchers, grower groups and activists. From 1994 to 2000, as a campaigner at Environmental Working Group and then Ozone Action, he focused on pesticide policy and national methyl bromide policy. He worked with local California communities to document that dangerous levels of methyl bromide were drifting from treated fields into schools yards, daycare facilities and residential areas. In response to his evidence and activism, the state of California enacted a number of use restrictions. He helped initiate similar work in Florida and assisted Friends of the Earth in the development of the Sustainable Tomatoes Campaign. Mr. Davies was active on Capitol Hill to defeat a number of bills that would have stopped or delayed the phase out of methyl bromide, forming a rapid response team to fight these actions.

Dr. Paul Fraser, Commonwealth Industrial Scientific Research Organization

In 1976, Dr. Paul Fraser initiated the first continuous monitoring of CFCs in the Southern Hemisphere, and subsequently introduced technologies to measure halons, chlorinated solvents, methyl bromide, HCFCs and HFCs. Dr. Fraser has been involved in the development of Australian and international ozone protection policies. In 1978, Dr. Fraser began archiving Southern Hemisphere air samples that are supplied to major research institutions around the world.

Marcos Gonzalez, Costada Norte Parque

Mr. Marcos Gonzalez, as member of the National Assembly of Costa Rica, led the ratification of the Montreal Protocol and the Vienna Convention in 1991. Mr. Gonzalez conducted the Costa Rican delegation to the Montreal Protocol and Multilateral Fund meetings for three years beginning in 1995. In that role, he was the forerunner in the developing countries effort to ensure an equitable replenishment of the Multilateral Fund, leading to the highest ever Fund replenishment. Mr. Gonzalez was instrumental at brokering an agreement with China to completely phase out the production and consumption of halons on an accelerated schedule.

Nikolai Kopylov, All-Russian Research Institute for Fire Protection

N.P. Kopylov is the chief of the All-Russian Research Institute for Fire Protection, deputy chairman of the Inter-Agency Commission of Ozone Layer Protection, chairman of the Fire Extinguishing Halons Working Group, and an active member of the TEAP Halon Technical Options Committee. Under his direction, much research has been conducted in the formulation of new fire extinguishing media and the development of total flooding systems using non-ozone-depleting chemicals. Because of his work, ozone-depleting halons are practically excluded in all new Russian Federation projects.

James Frederick O'Bryon, U.S. Department of Defense (retired)

Mr. James F. O'Bryon was a driving force as vice-chairman and as co-chairman of the Pentagon's Halon Alternative Steering Group (HASG). The HASG coordinated all activities within the Department of Defense (DoD) to find suitable replacements for ozone-depleting substances. Mr. O'Bryon oversaw the completion of the Technology Development Plan for alternatives to ozone-depleting substances for weapon system use, yielding recommendations for near-term replacements for all halons and CFCs in the DoD. Mr. O'Bryon was the lead in the Pentagon chain, assuring that fire and explosion suppression systems are effective and compliant with Montreal Protocol and other environmental regulations. He dedicated resources to replace halons in engine nacelles and fuel tanks on Air Force and Army aircraft while maintaining crew safety and survivability. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, he worked with the senior levels of the DoD to raise the importance of halon replacement on legacy systems and his leadership resulted in an environmentally responsive waiver process.

John Okedi, National Environment Management Authority

As head of the Ugandan delegation to Montreal Protocol meetings in the years 1998-2000, and a key member of the Multilateral Fund's Executive Committee, John Okedi brought consensus on the key issue of how to move forward with methyl bromide projects under the Fund. Professor Okedi also took a strong hand in facilitating implementation at home. He made sure that Uganda's ozone unit made and enforced national policies. Because of his efforts, Uganda has a system to permit imports and sales of ozone-depleting substances and equipment, ensuring compliance with the Protocol. Uganda will phase out non-QPS consumption of methyl bromide in 2005, ten years ahead of its Protocol schedule.

Nancy Reichman, Ph.D., University of Denver

Dr. Nancy Reichman cooperated with Dr. Penelope Canan (2000 award winner) in conducting original, empirical, qualitative and quantitative research on the ozone layer protection community as a social system of networks that actualized the phaseout goals of the Montreal Protocol. Her insights on the implementation of the Montreal Protocol as an example of a new model of regulation - one based in personal connections, cooperation and collaboration - has been hailed by social scientists and socio-legal scholars throughout the world as innovative, original and theoretically important.

Reva Rubenstein, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (retired)

Dr. Rubenstein managed U.S. EPA's risk analysis review process for new alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. Under her leadership, EPA listed hundreds of acceptable substitutes in air conditioning and refrigeration, fire suppression, aerosols, insulation foams, solvent cleaning and adhesives. EPA's determinations, which Reva guided, have provided the roadmap by which the transition from ozone-depleting chemicals has occurred, in the U.S. and worldwide. She has also contributed her expertise to numerous organizations, including the National Fire Protection Association, the International Maritime Organization, and the UNEP Halon Technical Options Committee. In all of these positions, she was relied upon and respected for her extensive knowledge of the issues and the accurate environmental and human health information she provided.

Darrel A. Staley, The Boeing Company

Darrel Staley was instrumental in helping The Boeing Company be a major head-start company in phasing out ozone-depleting solvents. He has been a member of the Solvents Technical Options Committee, Chapter Leader for Metal Cleaning Applications, advisor for the Polish Essential Uses Exemption, and has conducted valuable evaluation missions in several countries.

Sue Stendebach, National Science Foundation

For the past decade, Sue Stendebach, in various roles, was central to the development of the major policies and programs for implementing domestic protections of the ozone layer in the United States. Sue helped recruit, lead, motivate and inspire a dedicated group of EPA employees who together wrote and implemented the bulk of the creative, effective and flexible regulatory programs for assuring the recovery of stratospheric ozone.

Patrick Széll, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Patrick Széll was Chairman of the Protocol's legal drafting group for over a decade. He demonstrated public purpose, originality and organizational leadership in his efforts to translate all Protocol proposals into appropriate and consistent legal language for adoption by the Parties. He ensured the review of all Protocol language and decisions to make certain that the intent of the proposers was reflected in related Protocol actions. He was available to all Parties to answer queries on the Protocol and its history, enabling a better understanding of the Protocol. His work is manifest in most of the legal language of the Montreal Protocol and his ideas are reflected in some of the Protocol's original work on non-compliance.

Dr. A. Tcheknavorian-Asenbauer, United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Dr. Tcheknavorian was responsible for putting Montreal Protocol issues on the agenda of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). With her leadership, UNIDO negotiated an interagency agreement with the Executive Committee of the Protocol's Multilateral Fund. This critical effort enabled UNIDO to use its expertise in assisting developing countries to phase out ozone-depleting substances. She also created a successful ozone program at UNIDO that assisted over 40 developing countries plan and implement projects that will eliminate over 30,000 tons of ozone-depleting substances. Under her leadership, the program has focused on countries that have previously received little assistance, including Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Howard L. Wesoky, National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)

Mr. Wesoky has played a unique and preeminent role in forging a lasting and open basis for the scientific assessment of the effects of worldwide aviation on the global atmosphere. In the late 1980s, he successfully advocated for the establishment of the Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project (AEAP) at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which at its height devoted $18 million per year to scientific study. Mr. Wesoky's management ensured the scientific credibility of the program and engaged key domestic and international stakeholders.