The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (RACCA) is sending out a formal notice warning permit holders to be on the look-out for counterfeit refrigerant in Australia.
The notice, which will be issued in early July, follows ongoing consultation between the federal government and industry.
A spokesperson for the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, said that once the notice has been issued, the government hopes to have more answers and to be in a better position to provide advice.
“We really are in unchartered territory which is why we are treading carefully,” the spokesperson said.
As reported in the June edition of CCN, Heatcraft announced a voluntary product recall to locate units charged with counterfeit R134A refrigerant.
Tests showed the units, which came from China, were actually made up of R22, R143B and R40 (methyl chloride).
Heatcraft has removed every one of the 187 units affected but a bigger concern is the discovery of R40 turning up in the general refrigerant reclaim circuit.
The rogue R40 has not been located and is proof of a serious contamination problem here in Australia.
Local refrigerant is tested, the real concern is pre-charged imports.
Methyl chloride is the same counterfeit refrigerant responsible for a string of explosions and fatalities that grounded reefer units around the world last year.
Last month Russian authorities said they seized a shipment of contaminated coolant.
Customs officers in St Petersburg found more than a thousand cylinders of coolant marked as Freon that actually contained methyl chloride.
The shipment originated in China and passed through Poland on its way to Russia.
Another issue is the safe disposal of refrigerants.
The Canadian air conditioning and refrigeration industry has introduced an environmental care program to minimise the damage that can occur when refrigerants such as R-22 are released into the atmosphere.
Refrigerant Management Canada (RMC) is encouraging contractors to purchase refrigerants directly from suppliers supporting the program.
These suppliers voluntarily submit a levy to RMC on all of their R-22 sales.
This levy funds the RMC program so that contractors handling end-of-life refrigerant can effortlessly meet all applicable government regulations.
Program information available at www.refrigerantmanagement.ca/therightwholesaler.php