Page 35 - Climate Control News magazine February 2022

Refrigerants
Interpol said environmental crime is the fourth largest criminal activity in the world and is growing at a rate of five to seven per cent per annum.
Cylinder ban
opposed
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Agency (EPA) has introduced a ban on disposa- ble or single use refrigerant cylinders in the Unit- ed States from 2025.
US cylinder manufacturer, Worthington In- dustries, has filed petitions asking the US Court of Appeals to overturn the ban.
Australia and the European Union already have a ban in place on non-refillable cylinders.
Worthington Industries director of refriger- ants, Wayne Powers, said the EU ban introduced in 2007 has not stopped the illegal trade in HFCs.
According to the EPA non-refillable cylinders are typically discarded with about a pound of re- frigerant still in the cylinder. This residual refrig- erant is expelled when the cylinder is crushed for disposal or metal recycling.
By replacing disposable cylinders with refilla- ble cylinders, EPA estimates that the US can avoid approximately 29,500,000 MTCO2e in emissions between the years 2022 and 2050.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) supports a global ban on disposable refrig- erant cylinders.
ABOVE: Disposable cylinders are banned in Australia.
EU gets tough on environmental crime
THE EUROPEAN UNION has made environ- mental crime, including the illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances, a priority in its or- ganised crime plan from 2021 to 2025.
According to estimates from the United Na- tions Environment Program (UNEP) and Inter- pol, annual losses related to environmental crime ranges from $US 91 to 258 billion.
This makes environmental crime the fourth largest criminal activity in the world after drugs trafficking, human traf- ficking, and counterfeiting and it is grow- ing at an annual rate of between five and seven per cent.
The European Commission has announced a proposal to increase fines and introduce a maxi- mum term of imprisonment of at least six years for breaches of the F-gas regulations.
The new proposals seek to replace and update the environmental criminal law Directive 2008/99/EC by setting common minimum measures for European member states in the prosecution of environmental crimes.
A review of the current regulatory framework found conviction rates low as well as considera- ble enforcement gaps.
It said sanction levels imposed were too low to be dissuasive and cross-border cooperation did not take place in a “systematic manner”.
The biggest problem in the EU is the black market trade in illegal refrigerant.
Environmental groups have also been critical of inconsistent and unharmonised enforcement of the F-gas regulation.
The legislative proposal will now be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council.
AD?
Solutions for Pressure, Temperature, Air Quality, Flow and Thermal Energy Monitoring
WET/WET DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE TRANSMITTER SERIES 629HLP
ROOM PRESSURE MONITOR SERIES RPME
MAGNESENSE® DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE TRANSMITTER SERIES MSX
DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE SWITCH SERIES ADPS
INSERTION THERMAL ENERGY METER SERIES IEFB
CARBON DIOXIDE/ TEMPERATURE TRANSMITTER SERIES CDT
+61 (0) 2 4272 2055 I dwyer-inst.com.au
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS FEBRUARY 2022
35