Why Investigate Alternatives to Methyl Bromide for Ship Hold Fumigations?
The Montreal Protocol presently exempts the use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes. The use in this sector is growing. This exemption, however, was one of the main topics of discussion at the Meeting of the Parties in Cairo in 1998, and again at the Open Ended Working Group meeting in Geneva. The definitions for quarantine and pre-shipment are unclear, and there is apparent abuse of this exemption. In particular, the pre-shipment exemption is the most contentious. Members of the Canadian Industry/Government Working Group on Methyl Bromide Alternatives believe that an investigation into alternatives for ship hold applications would demonstrate the effectiveness of potential alternatives that are either currently registered or not registered for use in Canada, and their associated costs. Furthermore, these techniques may be useful in other situations where methyl bromide is used to control insect infestations. Methods The test was conducted on lake-going ship, the
