Page 14 - Climate Control News Dec-Jan 21

CCN Live 2020
Industry must rethink recovery process
Farrelley said work practices need to change immediately and this needs to be accompanied by a widespread education campaign.
“As we progress through the HFC phasedown many refrigerants will ultimately be flammable,” she said.
“We know flammables are coming through the supply chain now and the problem is going to increase rapidly.
“As an industry we need to rethink how un- wanted gas is handled, stored and destroyed.”
RRA recommends using a gas analyser to identify what’s left in the system, especially when using a blend that starts with a four or a five.
In future wholesalers will provide a non-flam- mable recovery cylinder and a flammable recov- ery cylinder.
“My advice is to stay informed because this landscape is changing quickly,” Farrelley said.
ABOVE LEFT: What goes into a system may not be what is recovered at end of life.
TECHNICIANS MAY NOT be aware of how quickly non-flammable refrigerant can become flammable during the recovery process.
With the refrigerant landscape changing so quickly Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA) is looking at ways to manage this new environ- ment.
RRA general manager, Kylie Farrelley, said the HVACR industry has to understand the risks as- sociated with flammable mixes because what goes into a system may not be what is returned for destruction at end of life.
“The challenge we face is not knowing at what ratios and blends a mix becomes flammable at end of life, there is no software app to calculate this yet,” she said.
Time to act on training, education
is training. This is essential because know that the people dealing with flammable refrigerants are compe- tent,” he said.
“This is a challenge because we don’t have laws specifically related to flammable refrigerants and safety.
“The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) look after licensing on the environmental side but we need to do more.”
we need to
“We are working to develop software with like-minded groups internationally to address this problem.
“What we do know is that at 40 per cent con- centrations some mixtures become flammable.” Speaking at CCN Live 2020, Farrelley said the amount of flammable refrigerant received by
RRA in 2019 was just short of 40 per cent and it is increasing every year.
“If you went to a R410a system and recovered the refrigerant it may not be R410a,” she said.
“We have found that 40 per cent of R32 and 60 per cent R134a is a flammable mix, while 40 per cent concentrations of other refrigerant is not.
“For example, 50 per cent of R32 and 50 per
cent of R125 is non-f lammable.” ABOVE: RRA general manager, Kylie Farrelley
REFRIGERANT AUSTRALIA EXECUTIVE di- rector, Greg Picker, said the HVACR industry needs to do more to ensure everyone under- stands the risks and challenges associated with f lammables.
He said this is important for the industry to operate safely.
“The big issue now that needs to be addressed
In addition to training Picker said there needs to be greater awareness of the risks.
He said licensing needs to be backed up with more information.
Another speaker at CCN Live was Sally North, director of WorkSafe Service Industries and Spe- cialists Directorate in the West Australian De- partment of Mines, Industry and Safety.
North has been working in the area of work- place safety for many years and first became familiar with refrigerants in 2008.
She coordinated the development of a national work health and safety posi- tion paper on flammable refrigerants produced by the Heads of Workplace
Refrigerants Australia executive director, Greg Picker.
Safety Authorities (HWSA) across Australia. The focus of North’s presentation was work- place safety, she shared her own experiences identifying refrigerant hazards when developing
the position paper.
“There were concerns about compatibility be-
tween refrigerant and system, as well as compli- ance because training is not a licensed area at this stage,” North said.
“There have been recent amendments to the WH&S Act in Western Australia that are not spe- cific to flammables but the laws are now similar to the other states so there is better alignment.
“All the states are now aligned in the area of workplace health and safety with the exception of Victoria.”
North said it will make it easier for anyone working in multiple jurisdictions and it should be in place in 2021. ✺
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