Action Needed On Cheap Refrigerants
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday January 21, 1994
MOST of the automotive technology we enjoy in Australia originates overseas, from the latest engine-management systems to vehicle-safety components.
Someone else's research efforts, their trials and errors, have gone into the development of a great many products we use. Australia is therefore in the fortunate position of being able to benefit from the mistakes, as well as the hard work, of others.
An example is the race to develop a replacement for CFC-based refrigerants in car airconditioners. CFCs, said to damage the ozone layer, are being phased out of production as quickly as possible.
The most common CFC-based refrigerant is R12, which is used widely in vehicle air-conditioning systems. Products containing R12 have been banned worldwide from December 31, 1995.
A more benign refrigerant called R134a is being rapidly brought in to replace R12, but there are a number of other contenders for this lucrative market.
One such alternative refrigerant is a blend of LP gas, butane and propane. It has a significant price advantage over R134a and similar competitors, performs the same function and is broadly compatible with existing airconditioning systems.
The shortage of a replacement for R12 and the higher cost of R134a has induced the owners of an estimated 50,000 vehicles in the United States to have them fitted with LP gas-based refrigerants, so why should they not be used in Australia?
Unlike R134a and similar substances, LP gas-based refrigerants are highly inflammable. Jack Keebler, engineering editor of the respected US publication Automotive News, says that these gases "threaten 50,000 US drivers and the technicians who repair their cars".
The matter is so serious that the US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a national ban on flammable gases as refrigerants to take effect from February 15 this year. This follows the banning of such substances by 13 other States and the District of Columbia.
Simon Oulohojian, president of the Mobile Air Conditioning Society of the US, outlined the reasons for concern.
"You've got that stuff in the condenser at 200 to 400 (pounds per square inch) in the front of the vehicle and you have an accident with the slightest spark and you've got a serious problem," he said.
Another potential danger is from refrigerant gases entering the vehicle's passenger compartment via the air-conditioner's evaporator located in the firewall.
The International Association of Arson Investigators conducted tests with as little as 5 1/2 ounces of an LP gas-based refrigerant introduced into a vehicle's interior. When the gases were ignited the explosion blew the windows out of the car.
Florida's State fire marshal, Tom Gallagher, issued a consumer-alert warning that vehicle owners who had recently had their air-conditioning refrigerant replaced should immediately contact the place where the work was performed to determine the product used.
"If the product contains any LP gases, steps should be taken to remove the refrigerant as quickly as possible," he said. "LP gases are highly flammable and, if used improperly, could ignite. It's imperative that consumers and service technicians use extreme caution."
The Motor Traders' Association of NSW is concerned that there is no legislation restricting the sale or use of inflammable refrigerants in automotive air-conditioning systems.
Because the conversion process from R12 to alternative products is just now getting under way in Australia, this country represents a prime new market for overseas refrigerant manufacturers.
Publicity promoting the availability of at least one LP gas-based refrigerant has already appeared in Australian publications.
A further indication that the issue needs urgent attention came with the publication in November of a paper entitled "Hydrocarbon Refrigerants and Motor Car Air-Conditioning" by an academic from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of NSW in which replacement refrigerants for R12 are discussed.
The paper gives step-by-step instructions on how to replace the R12 in a vehicle's air-conditioning system with a mixture of propane and butane as a do-it-yourself project, adding: "No warranty or representation of any kind is made about the results to be expected. Personal injury and damage to the motor vehicle (are) possible."
We hope that those who read the paper take heed of this warning and avoid the temptation to conduct their own experiments.
The MTA believes that the threat to public safety posed by LP gas-based refrigerants demands immediate action by the authorities.
To delay and allow Australian vehicles to be turned into potentially lethal firebombs means that we are incapable of learning from the mistakes of others
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald
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