Liberia. EPA trains customs Officers, others on ozone depleting substances’ detection
The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) through its National Ozone Unit over the weekend conducted a one-day training for 15 customs and law enforcement officers at Bo Waterside Border in Grand Cape Mount County.
The training which is the second and final of two customs and other law enforcement officers’ training workshops focused on ‘monitoring and detection of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS).
The training was intended to build the capacities of customs and other law enforcement officers at the various border crossing points in the country on how to detect ozone-depleting substances.
It also sought to train officers on how to properly check and verify ODS import documentation.
At the end of the training, the Bo Waterside Border Joint Chief of Security, Saxon Tambo lauded the EPA for the training and encouraged participants to make use of the skills for the good of the country.
He pleaded with the EPA, through its Ozone Unit to always organize such training to keep customs and other law enforcement officers abreast of changes taking place in the world of trades. since “on one is too old to learn”.
Saxon thanked the Agency’s Ozone Unit and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) for organizing the training and requested the EPA to regularly upgrade the capacity of personnel assigned at the border.
The one-day training was facilitated by Boima Manobah, Abraham Zuah from the Customs Department of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and Sete F. Marshall of the EPA.
The training covered five key topics which include:
- Ozone Layer Depletion: How to Remediate Impact;
- The Kigali Amendment and the Role of Customs Officers in its successful implementation;
- The new Harmonized System (HS) Codes for ODS and ODS-based Equipment with reference to HCFC-22;
- ODS Control Measures under the Montreal Protocol;
- ODS Smuggling Methods, Identification of Illegal Trade in ODS, Inspection and Verification of ODS Import Documentation;
- and a Practical session on ODS Detection using the Refrigerant Analyzer.