Navy's CFC & Halon elimination program

The domestic production of the most powerful Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODSs) has permanently ceased and the abundant supplies of a number of inexpensive refrigerants, fire-fighting agents, and solvents, once taken for granted, are now a thing of the past. The Navy's original strategy of conserving ODSs, converting systems and processes where feasible, relying on strategic reserves where necessary, and developing "ozone-friendly" equip ment for new-design surface ships and submarines is succeeding. The purpose of this paper is to document the Navy's efforts to date relative to combating the threat to uninterrupted Fleet operations posed by the cessation of ODS production. Specifically, this paper addresses the Navy's shipboard conversion programs for air-conditioning and refrigeration (AC&R) systems, the development of next-generation AC&R systems, the selection of halon substitutes for new-construction fire-fighting systems, and the Navy's alternative to CFC-113 in the cleaning of critical oxygen systems.