Replace and Recycle Ozone-Depleting Halon Gas

Qtel has removed all cylinders of halon gas from its facilities, replaced them with the environmentally friendly fire suppression agent FM 200 gas, and last week, shipped the obsolete halon gas cylinders for recycling in the United States. This was the first and largest halon gas replacement and recycling effort carried out in Qatar.

 

Qtel’s Building and Engineering Service Department committed to a deadline of 22 April, Earth Day, for completion of this significant environmental initiative, and managed to complete this two-year process a week in advance.

 

Qtel initiated the removal of halon gas from its technical facilities in 2008, based upon advice from Qatar’s Ministry of the Environment in accordance with the Montreal Protocol Agreement. Qatar is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol Agreement, along with the 196 countries of the United Nations, all of whom agreed to phase out the use of halon gas by 2010.

 

“The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer” is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.  

 

Halon gas cylinders were removed from all Qtel facilities in Qatar by December 2008 and stored at the company’s Satellite Earth Station Complex at Mukhenis in a temperature-controlled environment. Disposal and decomposition of the 216 gas-filled cylinders was a more challenging project that would involve transporting the cylinders to the United States and a facility specially designated for this purpose.

 

For this effort, Qtel worked with a firm that specialises in the containment, packing and safe movement of halon gas. Over a period of three days this April, engineers prepared all halon gas cylinders for packing by securing safety caps and plugs to ensure safe movement. Temporary ramps were installed over steps and uneven surfaces so a trolley could move the cylinders from a storeroom to a ground floor holding area. There, cylinders were packed and secured on pallets, which were then loaded by forklift onto a 40-foot-long, temperature-controlled transport truck (maintained at +26 Celsius).  

The container truck was packed in three stages, secured at each stage by special straps and timbers to avoid any slippage en route.

 

The Montreal Protocol calls for a specific recycling process for halon gas involving decomposition by incineration in special facilities. No such facilities exist in Qatar, so Qtel’s halon gas cylinders were shipped from Doha to a decomposition plant in the U.S.           

 

Qtel is dedicated to reducing its environmental footprint. Among the company’s environmental actions in the past two years are outdoor site sharing with another mobile provider in Qatar; the initiation and funding of research on Radio Frequency radiation from wireless networks; working with the government of Qatar to reduce electronic waste; the introduction of biodegradable scratch cards for mobile customers, replacing PVC cards that resulted in environmental waste; the support of Earth Hour 2019 and 2010; reducing the use of paper in all company operations; the introduction of paperless billing; and increasing the awareness of Qtel employees so that they can act as environmental ambassadors to the wider community.