Why is freon bad for the environment

A typical fridge can contain between 0. Consumers looking to get rid of their old fridge, freezer or air conditioning unit in a responsible fashion have a number of options open to them. In the US, old appliances can be disposed of through schemes approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Many local authorities will pick up and recycle old appliances, while manufacturers and retailers of new devices often offer to take away the old item. Efforts to phase out HFCs in the US have been added to the recent energy innovation bill that is currently going through the Senate. In the European Union, legislation already requires HFC gases to be recovered at end of life to prevent them from leaking into the atmosphere. If your fridge breaks in the UK, for example, you are required to take it to a licensed waste facility where a technician removes the gas.

It is illegal to not reclaim the refrigerants before destroying an appliance. But a recent study found that global emissions of HFC, which has the highest global warming potential of all HFCs, reached an all-time high in despite international efforts to reduce it. HFC is a byproduct in the production of HFCF, which is a common propellant and refrigerant used in air conditioning units. The rise suggests that not enough is being done to collect and destroy HFC during manufacturing processes.

In many countries there are no proper regulations in place. This is especially a concern in developing countries, according to Dean. In some cases HFCs are also finding their way into products illegally, which is threatening to undermine efforts to phase them out.

In the second half of , 54 tonnes of HFCs were seized, a ten-fold increase compared to the same period in , according to unpublished analysis by EIA. According to Perry, ineffective enforcement is allowing large-scale illegal HFC trade and some of these may end up in devices sold to consumers.

The chemical industry is taking steps to stop illegal trade in HFCs and consumers can find out which companies have pledged to take action on a website they set up.

But more needs to be done, says Perry. For those already looking to replace their fridge or air conditioning unit with something that is better for the planet, there are a growing number of options available. Manufacturers have started turning to climate-friendly chemicals, known as natural refrigerants, which have comparatively low or zero global warming potential.

Ammonia, certain hydrocarbons and CO2 are the most popular options. Coca Cola has pledged that all new cold drinks equipment it uses will be HFC-free and has already switched to using the hydrocarbon propane in many of its vending machines.

But safety concerns are hindering an industry-wide transition towards natural refrigerants. Ammonia, for example, is highly toxic meaning it would present a health risk should it escape through a leak while propane is a flammable gas. But relatively small amounts of these chemicals are needed in the sealed tubes that circulate them around fridges and air conditioning units. Environmental campaigners say chemical manufacturers are also resisting the shift to these natural substances.

US chemical manufacturer Honeywell has invested in hydrofluoroolefins HFOs instead of natural refrigerants, producing a patented chemical called HFOyf.

But Perry says these substances are not long-term solutions as they produce toxic acid as they break down in the atmosphere which pollutes groundwater.

One company that has committed to phasing out HFCs is Mabe, a major Mexican manufacturer that distributes appliances to over 70 countries. And despite millions of Black Americans fleeing the violence of Jim Crow, the South saw greater in-migration than out-migration for the first time—a direct result of AC.

The American car was similarly transformed. In , only 10 percent of American cars had air-conditioning. Thirty years later, it came standard. The cooling boom also altered the way we work. Now, Americans could work anywhere at any hour of the day. Early ads for air-conditioning promised not health or comfort but productivity. The workday could proceed no matter the season or the climate. The use of air-conditioning was as symbolic as it was material.

It conveyed class status. It conquered the weather and, with it, the need to sweat or squirm or lie down in the summer swelter. In that sense, air-conditioning allowed Americans to transcend their physical bodies, that long-sought fantasy of the Puritan settlers: to be in the world but not of it. Miracle, indeed. But it came with a price. Freon is a chlorofluorocarbon CFC , which depletes the ozone layer and also acts as a global warming gas.

By , the industrialized world was churning out CFCs, chemicals that had never appeared on the planet in any significant quantities, at a rate of one million metric tons a year—the equivalent mass of more than , cars.

By then, CFCs were used not only as refrigerants but also as spray can propellants, manufacturing degreasers, and foam-blowing agents. Without stratospheric ozone, life as we know it is impossible. Greater depletion would lead to crop failures, the collapse of oceanic food systems, and, eventually, the destruction of all life on Earth. Annual conferences to re-assess the goals of the treaty make it a living document, which is revised in light of up-to-date scientific data.

For instance, the Montreal Protocol set out only to slow production of CFCs, but, by , industrialized countries had stopped production entirely, far sooner than was thought possible. The world was saved through global cooperation. The trouble is that the refrigerants replacing CFCs, hydrofluorocarbons HFCs , turned out to be terrible for the planet, too. While they have an ozone-depleting potential of zero, they are potent greenhouse gases.

They absorb infrared radiation from the sun and Earth and block heat that normally escapes into outer space. Carbon dioxide and methane do this too, but HFCs trap heat at rates thousands of times higher.

Although the number of refrigerant molecules in the atmosphere is far fewer than those of other greenhouse gases, their destructive force, molecule for molecule, is far greater. In three decades, the production of HFCs grew exponentially. Today, HFCs provide the cooling power to almost any air conditioner in the home, in the office, in the supermarket, or in the car.

There are many types of metals and plastics that make up the components of air conditioners. However, under the Clean Air Act, the EPA regulates how these appliances are to be handled to prevent the release of Freon into the atmosphere. Recycling can only happen once the refrigerant has been properly drained and captured.

It is illegal to simply cut the lines or remove the compressor and release the gases. In other words, this is not a DIY job for the inexperienced or unequipped. Yes, Cohen takes air conditioners, as well as refrigerators, freezers, and dehumidifiers, as long as they are in compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act. If you have any questions about recycling your appliance, call your local Cohen Recycling Center. About Us.

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