Guidance

Register to use ozone-depleting substances for laboratory or analytical purposes

You must register and declare ozone-depleting substances (ODS) for laboratory or analytical uses.

• From: Environment Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 23 October 2019
• Last updated: 31 December 2020 — See all updates

You must register and declare ozone-depleting substances (ODS) for laboratory or analytical uses.

You must first register for the laboratory ODS service.

As part of your registration you must declare what ODS you’re using and what you’re using it for.

Permitted laboratory and analytical uses

There is no comprehensive list of permitted ODS uses for laboratories.

Generally, you may use ODS for the following essential laboratory or analytical uses, as long as there is no non-ODS alternative:

• the use of controlled substances in laboratory toxicological studies
• laboratory uses in which the controlled substance is transformed in a chemical reaction (laboratory feedstock uses)
• the use of methyl bromide inside a laboratory to compare the efficacy of methyl bromide and its alternatives
• the use of carbon tetrachloride as a solvent for bromination reactions involving Nbromosuccineimide (NBS)
• the use of carbon tetrachloride as a chain transfer agent in free-radical polymerisation reactions
• any other laboratory or analytical use where there is no technically and economically feasible alternative

You may also use a controlled substances as a reference or standard to:

• calibrate equipment which uses controlled substances,
• monitor emission levels of controlled substances,
• determine residue levels of controlled substances in goods, plants and commodities

Published 23 October 2019
Last updated 31 December 2020 + show all updates

1. 31 December 2020

   Updated with a link to register to use ODS from 1 January 2021.

2. 23 October 2019

   First published.