Day 011 - 12 Jul 94 - Page 53
1 information which was provided by the people who supply
chemicals to McDonald's which did not include the
2 representative of Perseco, but also, in fact, the British
company who actually supplied chemicals to McDonald's.
3
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Supplied chemicals for McDonald's?
4 A. Basically supplied the blowing agents used in the
United Kingdom which, in fact -- and in the United
5 Kingdom, in fact, they used -- basically they came out of
HCFCs altogether.
6
Q. But who was the supply from and to, because the suggestion
7 so far has been that McDonald's does not use any blowing
agents at all?
8 A. At the time that -----
9 Q. Indeed, Perseco does not use any, although suppliers of
polystyrene foam have used them -- and I use the past
10 tense so as to be neutral.
A. Well, the documents related to go back to the time
11 when the decision was being taken, or there was a set of
decisions being taken, as to whether or not to phase out
12 of things. The advice that was given at that time (which
is not now) was that because of the HCFC risk, they should
13 not be used in the United Kingdom under any circumstances.
14 MR. MORRIS: Can you remember who that company which supplied
the information?
15 A. As I have managed to leave the box files back here,
no, but the only thing I can tell you is that I can
16 probably get hold of them. But it was, in fact, I
said the main point I would make is that the company was
17 actually citing the UK government reports (which I have
actually put here) as a reason for, in fact, the warning
18 given by the Stratospheric Ozone Review Group, that one
should not use HCFCs as a reason for, in fact, not using
19 them as blowing agents anyway in the United Kingdom.
20 MISS STEEL: If there are any documents, it would be helpful if
we could see them?
21
MR. JUSTICE BELL: He does not have them here.
22
MISS STEEL: No, I understand that.
23
MR. RAMPTON: I quite agree.
24
MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I was going to suggest is that when
25 Professor Duxbury has left the witness box, he can talk to
Mrs. Brinley-Codd and give some further and better
26 description of just what the documentation was and it can
be produced. Presumably, it was not sheets and sheets of
27 documents; it was just a letter from a supplier or
something like that, was it?
28 A. Basically at the time that an appreciation of the
problems associated with both CFCs and their replacements
29 was made, I think, in all the countries where it was
active, the suppliers were asked to do a basically a cost
30 benefit analysis of the risks associated with the use of
CFCs and whatever other gas you might use to, in fact,
