UNEP's warning to industry on ozone depletersUK in breach of bathing water Directive

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has turned down every bid made by parties to the Montreal Protocol on the ozone layer for continued production of halons to service "essential" uses beyond the phase-out deadline of 1993. The decision will have surprised the UK's civil aviation industry, which was thought likely to be the one sector that would be granted essential use status. Environmentalists say that UNEP's tough approach will send a much needed signal to users of other ozone-depleting chemicals that there will be few exemptions from the controls.Seven months after the European Court of Justice held the UK to be in breach of an environmental Directive for the first time (ENDS Report 215, p 39 ), the UK has suffered a second defeat before the Court - this time in connection with its failure to comply with EC rules on bathing water.