Bhutan, in compliance with the Vienna convention for protection of ozone layer and the Montreal protocol, will have to cut chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) to zero percent by 2010. According to the national ozone officer of the national environment commission (NEC) secretariat, Peldon Tshering, Bhutan had already phased out 85 percent CFC of the baseline. Retrofitting old air conditioners and refrigerators that use CFC with other alternatives had been effectively implemented since 2005, according to her. Licensing rules do not permit import and export of products containing ozone-depleting substances (ODS) like CFC. "The rules and regulation on control of ODS are being revised to incorporate control of hydro cholorofluoro carbons (HCFC),' she said. A two-day train-the-trainers workshop on retrofitting of refrigeration appliances and mobile air conditioners was held from June 10 in Thimphu. The workshop was organised by the United Nations environment programme (UNEP) regional office for Asia-Pacific and the NEC secretariat. The concept of retrofitting came into being after the Montreal protocol 1987, according to R S Agarwal from Indian institute of technology (IIT), a resource person at the workshop. "People were not aware that CFC is harmful to the ozone layer until the Montreal protocol,' he said. According to Mr Agarwal, developed countries started producing non-CFC appliances from 1996 after the Montreal protocol, and developing countries started from around the year 2000. "However, most developing countries started producing non-CFC equipment since 2005,' he said. "Therefore older cars and refrigerators need retrofitting.' The depletion of the ozone layer allows ultraviolet rays (UVR) to pass through and causes many diseases such as carcinoma skin cancers, and malignant melanomas, etc. Training programmes on retrofitting refrigeration and mobile air conditioning are expected to be introduced soon for students of vocational training institutes and the college of science and technology, according to Peldon Tshering. The Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer is a landmark international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. The treaty was originally signed in 1987 and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992. Around 22 participants from vocational training institutes (VTI) and the college of science and techonology (CST), and technicians from the armed forces attended the retrofitting workshop. By Samten Yeshi