newsbytes@clarinet.com (01/18/90)
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- IBM's San Jose, CA plant put out the largest ozone-depleting quantity of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in 1987, the most recent year such detailed figures are available, according to the National Resources Defense Council. The survey of 3,000 companies done by the organization showed that nearly 200 million pounds of three ozone- killing solvents were pumped into the air during 1987. The good news is that many of the companies have reduced their CFC emissions since 1987, says the Defense Council. The bad news is that some have not. The Washington-based environmental watchdog group says that IBM's San Jose facility generated 1,470,000 pounds of CFC-113, and its other two plants in Endicott, New York and Rochester, Minnesota put out another 1,840,000 pounds during 1987. They add, however, that IBM's effort to reduce CFC emission in 1988 resulted in one-third less CFC emission during that year. IBM's Endicott, New York plant was also responsible for emission of 1.5 million pounds of methyl chloroform in 1987, according to the report. Methyl chloroform, while not as powerful an ozone-killer as CFC (the Defense Council says the chemical destroys fifteen percent of the ozone a similar amount of CFC would destroy), it is widely used and unregulated. Among other computer and technology companies named in the report as emitting CFC-113 or methyl chloroform are AT&T Microelectronics in Lee's Summit, MO, and Richmond, VA, Northern Telecom in Research Triangle Park, NC, General Electric Company in Lynn, MA, Sony Magnetic Products in Dothan, AL, AT&T Network Systems in North Andover, MA, Storage Technology in Louisville, CO and Honeywell, in Clearwater, FL. (Wendy Woods/19900116)