World News

Industry news and insights from Europe and around the World

UK News

Latest news and developments in the United Kingdom

Products

Keep up-to-date with the latest new products and technology

Features

General articles, applications and industry analysis

Poland seizes over 13 tonnes of quota-busting refrigerant

POLAND: Environmental protection officers in Zielona Góra, western Poland, have reported the seizure of over 1,000 cylinders of quota-busting HFC refrigerant from China.

An inspection and document control carried out by customs officers on a truck from China found cylinders containing HFC refrigerants being carried without a quota. In all, the shipment comprised 1,202 cylinders and a total amount of 13,768kg.

The authorities have not revealed the exact refrigerant in the shipment but photos of the seizure suggest at least some of it is R404A.

The seizure reinforces concerns that smugglers have now switched to using refillable cyilnders

Significantly, the shipment appears to have been using legal refillable cylinders. While illegal shipments have previously involved the use of long-banned disposable cylinders, a clampdown by the authorities has seen the black marketeers switch to refillable cylinders in an effort to avoid detection. 

Related stories:

Rise of the disposable “refillable” – 23 January 2019
EUROPE: A clampdown on the supply of refrigerant in illegal disposable cylinders has created a new illicit market in refrigerant being sold in refillable cylinders. Read more…

Latest News

18th March 2024

Joint venture adopts Epta brand

ITALY: All activities under the recently announced Epta and Viessmann Refrigeration joint venture are to operate under the Epta brand.
18th March 2024

Low carbon heat briefing

UK: The SIRACH network is hosting a half-day briefing at London’s iconic Shard to share the findings of the Lot-Net project. 
18th March 2024

UK heat pump uptake too slow

UK: The UK must achieve an eleven-fold increase in heat pump installations if it is to hit government targets of 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028.
18th March 2024

Refrigeration’s star engineer Forbes Pearson dies

UK: Stephen Forbes Pearson, co-founder of Star Refrigeration and one of the world's greatest refrigeration engineers, has died at the age of 92.
17th March 2024

132 Güntner dry coolers for Red Sea project

SAUDI ARABIA: German manufacturer Güntner has supplied 132 dry coolers, each with 18 fans, to a 32,500TR district cooling project in Saudi Arabia.
17th March 2024

NZ professor brings fridge workshops to UK

UK: Don Cleland, a professor of process engineering at Massey University in New Zealand, is hosting a series of refrigeration workshops in London this summer.