UNEP produces refrigerant safety guides
27th November 2015
FRANCE: With the advancing worldwide phase out of HCFCs, UNEP’s OzonAction Division of Technology has produced a series of factsheets on the safe use of the new alternatives.
Many countries, particularly the developing countries, will soon be using the newer alternatives which possess very different toxicity, flammability or higher pressure characteristics to R22.
Safety issues need to be carefully evaluated and considered whenever refrigeration and air conditioning equipment is installed, serviced, repaired and dismantled. Many service technicians around the world will be unfamiliar with some of the properties of these new refrigerants, which is where these new guides come in.
Three separate factsheets cover the topics of toxicity, flammability and higher pressures.
Although there are several refrigerants with a higher pressure than R22, most of these are not much greater. However, the pressures of R410A and R32, two of the most common alternatives, are notably higher than many will be used to with R22, and CO2 is substantially higher pressure – typically by a factor of six.
There are a number of flammable gases amongst the new alternatives. These include HFOs, some of the new blends, R32, as well as the hydrocarbons. Again, many technicians will not have encountered these characteristics previously.
Downloads:
Safe Use of Higher Pressure Refrigerants
