REFRIGERANTS
Detection and protection from refrigerants
Refrigerants can pose a significant threat to the environment and an even greater hazard to the health and safety of workers if a leak occurs. Shaun Evers, managing director of Stonegate Instruments, discusses how, faced with these potential risks in addition to increasingly stringent legislation, companies across a broad range of sectors are seeking out the latest high-tech gas detection systems.
F
rostbite, chemical burns and even brain damage – all can be attributed to prolonged exposure to refrigerant gases.
While such serious scenarios are thankfully rare, employees working with cold stores, air conditioning units and refrigerated systems can be at risk of these and other symptoms including eye, throat and skin irritation if refrigerant gases escape.
Under the F-Gas regulations, from January 2020, there will be a ban on any refrigerant with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of more than 2,500, while businesses will be prevented from topping up systems that use some hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant gases such as R404a and R507a – both commonly used in the food supply chain – with new fluid. New F-Gas regulations also place a greater emphasis on carrying out regular gas leak checks on refrigeration systems. Operators of stationary refrigeration equipment, air conditioning, heat pumps and refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and trailers that contain F-Gases in quantities of five tonnes
CO2 equivalent (CO2e), or more, must ensure that equipment is routinely checked for leaks. For apparatus without gas leak detection systems installed, the period between mandatory gas leak checks lessens.
38 March 2020
The flammable characteristics of some class A2L refrigerants mean operators must ensure the concentration level in a room stays below the lower flammability level (LFL) to avert any threat of ignition. Requirements to maintain levels below the flammability threshold in case of leakage are underpinned by safety legislation and standards such as ISO 5149 and EN 378. The key to limiting exposure to F-Gas and therefore risk of injury lies in the early detection of any gas release. The latest generation of sophisticated yet
compact gas leak detectors can pinpoint a comprehensive range of popular refrigerants including HFCs, CFCs and HCFCs. This ensures not only a company’s workforce remains safe but also the environment. In order to tackle climate change, the EU has drawn up a list of targets to meet, including reducing F-gas emissions by two-thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels, and by up to 95% of 1990 levels by 2050. Currently, the Environment Agency has the power to impose civil penalties of up to £200,000 for breaches of various elements of the existing F-Gas regulations, including failure to comply with provisions in the EU regulations or permitting another person to breach those provisions.
www.acr-news.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
