Brazil cut its production and consumption of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used mainly in refrigeration and aerosols, by 82.8 percent. In absolute terms, the Environment Ministry announced on Jun. 10, the total fell from 10,000 tons in 1997 to less then 2,000 tons in 2004. The reduction was 76.3 percent in the case of methyl bromide, used in agricultural insecticides — another substance that depletes the Earth's ozone layer. Brazil could reach its goal to eliminate CFCs even before 2010, the deadline that the 1987 Montreal Protocol set for developing countries, said ministry official Claudio Langone.

There are still some 30 million old refrigerators in Brazil that use CFCs, but equipment is being used to recover and regenerate those gases to prevent their diffusion into the atmosphere. By 2008 there will be some 35,000 technicians trained to operate that equipment.