FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1995                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888




      JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ALLOWS HALON RECYCLING CORPORATION
        TO ADD ADDITIONAL FIRE SUPPRESSANT CHEMICAL TO ITS
            INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND MARKETING SYSTEM


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today approved
a proposal by a gas recycling company to add an additional fire
suppressant gas used in portable fire extinguishers to its
information exchange and marketing system.  The Department had
previously approved a proposal by the company to market another
fire suppressant used primarily in industrial and military
settings.
     Halon Recycling Corporation will be allowed to add Halon-1211 
to the information exchange and marketing system for Halon-1301.
  Halons are low-toxicity, chemically-stable gaseous
compounds used to suppress fires and explosions.  
     Because of the adverse effects of halons on the ozone layer,
Congress prohibited new manufacture of halons as of January 1,
1994.  Since there were no effective substitutes for certain
halon products at that time, Congress allowed the recycling of
certain existing halon products and their transfer to new
customers with critical needs for the recycled products.
     In 1993, Halon Recycling Corporation was formed to
facilitate the transfer of recycled Halon-1301 from old users to
new users with critical needs for that product.   
     Halon Recycling Corporation's 1993 formation of its
information exchange and marketing system for Halon-1301 was
approved in that same year by the Antitrust Division.  The
addition of a second halon product, Halon-1211 to Halon Recycling
Corporation's program would, in the Department's view, not create
any new antitrust risk.
     The Department's announcement of its decision not to
challenge the proposed enlargement of Halon Recycling
Corporation's program was stated in a business review letter to
counsel from Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in
charge of the Antitrust Division.
     Bingaman stated that "adding Halon-1211 to the information
exchange and marketing system appears unlikely to reduce
competition by facilitating collusion among potential buyers and
sellers."  
     In reaching that conclusion, Bingaman noted that the prices
and quantities of all sales of recycled Halon-1211 would be
determined by the individual buyer or seller and that Halon
Recycling Corporation would play no role in those determinations.
     The Department also observed that the proposal might have a
procompetitive effect to the extent that it created or expanded
the market for recycled Halon-1211.
     Under the Department's business review procedure, an
organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust
Division and receive a statement as to whether the Division will
challenge the action under the antitrust laws.
     A file containing the business review request and the
Department's response may be examined in the Legal Procedure Unit
of the Antitrust Division, Suite 215, Liberty Place, 325 7th
Street, N.W., Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.  20004. 
After a 30-day waiting period, the documents supporting the
business review will be added to the file.
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95-515