Dangerous R-134a Contamination Found Worldwide

December 21, 2011

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By aftermarketNews staff

EXTON, Pa. – Neutronics, a provider of gas analysis and gas handling technologies, yesterday issued a warning distributed by the Mobile Air Conditioning Society, advising that all industries using R-134a refrigerant immediately test all cylinders thought to be virgin R-134a (including new 30 pound cylinders) due to reports of widespread contamination.

Several months ago, Neutronics' Refrigerant Analysis Division was engaged by the ocean-going shipping industry to assist with a R-134a refrigerant contamination problem that reportedly resulted in several deaths and a significant interruption to ocean-going transport. During the course of this activity, Neutronics reports that it was discovered that this dangerous refrigerant contamination problem was not isolated to a single industry but had potentially penetrated the R-134a refrigerant supply for applications in many global markets, including automotive.

Much of the contaminated R-134a refrigerant has been shown to contain significant quantities of R-40 (aka Methyl Chloride or Chloromethane). R-40 is extremely toxic, flammable and highly reactive when exposed to aluminum in that it forms a third, highly volatile compound. Neutronics points out that it is critical to note the safety concerns with R-40. It is a harmful and dangerous material that is not suited for use in R-134a refrigeration air conditioning systems. Most, if not all of the contaminated R-134a has been found in counterfeit labeled "virgin" R-134a cylinders. In one instance, Neutronics says it was reported that "thousands" of 30 lb. R-134a refrigerant cylinders have been found to be counterfeits of name-brand product. Other suspect virgin R-134a containers have also been found to contain large quantities of R-22 and R-12 refrigerants.

Neutronics says it has evaluated the performance of both current and legacy refrigerant identifiers to determine their suitability for use in testing cylinders with the suspect R-40 material. To date, all reported cases of "virgin" cylinder contamination have included at least 30 percent to -40 percent R-40 in the cylinder.

No current or previous Neutronics R-134a identifier is/was designed for detection of R40 as a direct contaminant. Not all Neutronics refrigerant identifiers are suitable for safely detecting the presence of R-40 in R-134a (e.g. the "Mini ID R-134a" identifier is not suitable for R-40 detection).

A new reference chart published by Neutronics Refrigerant Analysis is now available on the Neutronics website that details the various Neutronics Identifiers currently in the field and how they should react when exposed to R-40 refrigerant. Interested parties should visit www.refrigerantid.com for more information. This information will be readily available on the home page.

As refrigerant identification equipment is widely used in the automotive service industry, Neutronics has determined that its "DX" model automotive refrigerant identifier that meets SAE J1771 requirements can be used for testing "virgin" R134a cylinders to determine the possible presence of the R-40 contaminant.

Neutronics Vice President Peter Coll commented, "As far as R-134a contaminants are concerned, R-40 is about as bad as it can get. Neutronics Refrigerant Analysis will continue to work closely with SAE, AHR and all other pertinent organizations to help mitigate this very troublesome development."

For additional information, contact Neutronics toll-free at 800-378-2287.

Québec Adopts Regulation Establishing the Cap-and-Trade System for Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowances

Yesterday, Québec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Pierre Arcand announced the adoption of the Regulation respecting the cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances, which is based on the rules established by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).

"Cap-and-trade systems for emission allowances are recognized as one of the most effective and least costly economic tools for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By adopting this regulation, Québec acquires the means to achieve the transition toward a green, sustainable and prosperous economy", declared Minister Arcand.

Québec thus officially steps to the starting line, next to California. The first year of implementation of the system will be a transition year. It will begin on January 1, 2012 and will allow emitters and participants to familiarize themselves with how the system works. Over the course of the year, emitters will also be able to make any adjustments that may be necessary to meet their obligations under the system for capping and reducing GHG emissions, which will come into force on January 1, 2013. 

Industrial establishments subject to the system are those that emit 25 000 tonnes or more of CO2 equivalent per year. Note however that starting in 2015, companies that import or distribute in Québec fuels that are used in the transportation and building sectors (and whose combustion generates an amount of GHGs greater than or equal to 25 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year) will also be subject to the capping and reduction of their emissions. 

For all participating members of the WCI, the adoption of a regulation establishing a cap-and-trade system for GHG emission allowances is the first of two main steps toward the emergence of a regional North American carbon market. The second step will consist of concluding a series of recognition agreements, between the different partners, to link their systems together. 

"The results of the international conference on climate change at Durban show clearly that regional initiatives like the WCI play a key role in efforts to reduce GHG emissions worldwide. Québec is one of the leaders in the fight against climate change, and that is something to be proud of," concluded the Minister. 

More information, including links to the text of the regulation, is available on the website of the Ministère at: 

http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/changements/carbone/Systeme-plafonnement-droits-GES-en.htm

VERs: the Preferred Carbon Offset Instrument for Communicating Voluntary Action

Posted December 16, 2011

Even with the recent fall in CER prices, our Strategic Development Manager Oliver Crouch doesn’t expect voluntary buyers to switch from VERs. He explains how their high standards, innovative use of technologies, and societal benefits make them the instrument of choice for many buyers.
Over the years, a number of our clients that first used compliance-grade offsets, namely Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), as part of their carbon management strategies have switched to voluntary offsets, or Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). VERs have become the instrument of choice for achieving voluntary emission reduction goals. This preference is reflected in the wider market as evidenced by the reducing share of CERs within the over the counter voluntary market.

Despite the recent fall in CER prices and what that might suggest for the competitiveness of VERs, we don’t expect the trend of voluntary buyers sourcing VERs to reverse. As corporate carbon management programmes evolve they increasingly look to their offset portfolio to deliver social, environmental and economic benefits beyond the core GHG reduction requirement of carbon finance. VER standards offer a level of variety and responsiveness that is best placed to meet these evolving needs. More specifically, VERs continue to be our clients’ offset instrument of choice for the following reasons:

VER standards generate high quality instruments that are real, measurable and additional

VER standards like the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard often use well established Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodologies as the basis for quantifying project baselines and emission reductions. They follow similar quality assurance processes for verification and validation as the CDM and use the same independent third party verifying organisations, or DOEs. Indeed a significant proportion of projects generating VERs are aspiring CDM projects, and once registered with the CDM Executive Board will generate CERs.

To inspire consumer confidence in the quality of VERs as financial instruments, infrastructure providers have developed robust credit-accounting registries that bring clarity of ownership and transparency to the VER market. Registries utilise serial numbers as an accounting tool to track credit issuance through to proof of retirement.

VER standards are a driver of methodology and technology innovation

The governance structure of VER standards allows them to be more responsive to market needs, meaning they typically lead innovation in terms of project types and project tools. For example, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) introduced the buffer mechanism for forestry and land use projects to account for non-permanence risk. In 2010 the VCS approved the first reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) methodology.

VER standards also have pioneered methodologies for innovative project types, including community bicycle sharing programs, water purification programs, and the destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). VER standards have been the first to adopt more innovative and streamlined procedures, particularly in relation to additionality. The Climate Action Registry (CAR), for example, only credits projects that meet a particular technology requirement or benchmark instead of evaluating projects on a case-by-case basis. Such an approach is seen as key to rapidly scaling carbon finance.

VER standards are a driver of social and ecosystem benefit quantification

The demand for projects that go over and above emission reductions comes from voluntary buyers of offsets. Different VER standards have evolved specialist focuses, and have found ways of collaborating to meet the evolving needs of the marketplace.

For example, the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard does not quantify carbon reductions, but is often combined with VCS projects to certify a forest project’s additional social and environmental contributions. The Gold Standard was designed by NGOs to raise the bar with regard to local stakeholder engagement.

Similarly the Social Carbon Standard has been developed specifically to certify emission reduction projects for their contributions to sustainable development. This is achieved by continuous assessment of the changes in key social indicators such as employment and health and safety conditions, with a focus on improvements over time.

VER standards promote the inclusion of small-scale projects.

Demand for offsets varies, not only by type and location, but also by project size. Corporate buyers often favour smaller scale projects as they have the potential to source all of the projects credits and feel a greater level of ownership.

Project development costs for VER standards tend to be lower than the CDM, due to more streamlined processes, making carbon finance accessible to smaller scale projects. The Gold Standard’s Community-focused Micro-scale Scheme (CFMS) has streamlined its procedures, resulting in lower costs which help project developers to overcome cost barriers.

Project grouping tools like the VCS ‘Grouped Project’ guidelines allow aggregation of similar projects under a single registered programme. The aim is to reduce costs for household-level activities like efficient cook stoves, solar water heaters and biogas to overcome the small-scale threshold and become economically viable

VERs offer greater price stability and range

CER prices are determined by the market price within the EU-ETS, meaning they are subject to its supply and demand dynamics, and directly linked to political forces in play. In contrast, VER prices have remained more stable over recent years. VER prices are influenced by the attributes of the underlying project technology, location and contribution to social benefits. Accordingly, VER prices span a wide range, allowing buyers to identify projects appropriate for their budgets. More stable prices and a wider range of prices means greater price certainty and flexibility for offset inclusive carbon management programmes built around VERs.

As members of ICROA (International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance), The CarbonNeutral Company works with standards that meet the highest quality requirements. These quality standards, combined with the track record of innovation and breadth of project types with access to VER finance, provides the voluntary buyer with choice.

VERs offer the flexibility to design a carbon portfolio that meets specific requirements for price, charisma and communication value. VERs have consequently become the instrument of choice for action ahead of and beyond compliance. While some early buyers favoured CERs for the quality of a compliance grade instrument, they now place confidence in the quality VER standards. In 2012, CERs will continue as an instrument of compliance under Kyoto and the EU-ETS. It is unlikely, however, that CERs will regain a meaningful share of the voluntary carbon market.

Save The Date - Women in HVACR will host a FREE Educational Session at AHR EXPO

What We Are Thankful For.....

RemTec International is thankful for our employees going above and beyond this year when it comes to those in need. We are proud to share this letter with you to show our gratitude to our family here at RemTec for being so generous even in this down economy.

International golfers for Pan Gulf event

OVER 100 golfers from around the world will be taking part in the Pan Gulf Golf Day at Awali Golf Club on October 14.

The event, which is being held in cooperation with Pan Gulf Industrial Systems, will consist of two competitions.

The first, teeing off in the early morning, will be a strokeplay tournament comprising more than 100 entrants. It will also act as a KPAO (Kingsbury, Pinhey, Ayto, O'Sullivan) qualifier, the final of which will be held at Awali Golf Club in April next year.

The other is an invitational Stableford competition. Scheduled to tee off at around midway, around 20 invited golfers from the US, Australia, Bahrain and the rest of the GCC will be in the fray.
Both tournaments will be played over 18 holes along Awali Golf Club's sand course.
Amateurs
The players taking part are all amateurs. They will be vying for attractive cash prizes in each competition, with additional awards for the day's various side competitions also to be given out, such as a Harley Davidson motorbike for the first player to sink a hole-in-one.

"The main aim of our Pan Gulf Golf Day is for everyone to have a good time out on the golf course and to make some money for charity," event organiser Martin Allison told the GDN yesterday.

Part of the event's proceeds will be donated to the Think Pink charity.

Following the day's play, there will be live music featuring the Gruesome Twosome band and a dinner.

The Pan Gulf Golf Day's main sponsors are Remtec and Chemetron; while other sponsors are Notifier, Autronica, Stahl, Nalco, DNH Speakers and ATP.

Arctic ozone loss at record level

By Richard BlackEnvironment correspondent, BBC News

Ozone loss over the Arctic this year was so severe that for the first time it could be called an "ozone hole" like the Antarctic one, scientists report.

About 20km (13 miles) above the ground, 80% of the ozone was lost, they say.

The cause was an unusually long spell of cold weather at altitude. In cold conditions, the chlorine chemicals that destroy ozone are at their most active.

It is currently impossible to predict if such losses will occur again, the team writes in the journal

Nature.

Early data on the scale of Arctic ozone destruction were released in April, but the Nature paper is the first that has fully analysed the data.

"Winter in the Arctic stratosphere is highly variable - some are warm, some are cold," said Michelle Santee from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

"But over the last few decades, the winters that are cold have been getting colder.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Why [all this] occurred will take years of detailed study”

Michelle SanteeJPL

"So given that trend and the high variability, we'd anticipate that we'll have other cold ones, and if that happens while chlorine levels are high, we'd anticipate that we'd have severe ozone loss."

Ozone-destroying chemicals originate in substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that came into use late last century in appliances including refrigerators and fire extinguishers.

Their destructive effects were first documented in the Antarctic, which now sees severe ozone depletion in each of its winters.

Their use was progressively restricted and then eliminated by the 1987 Montreal Protocol and its successors.

The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet-B rays from the Sun, which can cause skin cancer and other medical conditions.

Longer, not colder

Winter temperatures in the Arctic stratosphere do not generally fall as low as at the southern end of the world.

Ozone destruction takes place within polar stratospheric clouds, with chlorine the main culprit

No records for low temperature were set this year, but the air remained at its coldest for an unusually long period of time, and covered an unusually large area.

In addition, the polar vortex was stronger than usual. Here, winds circulate around the edge of the Arctic region, somewhat isolating it from the main world weather systems.

"Why [all this] occurred will take years of detailed study," said Dr Santee.

"It was continuously cold from December through April, and that has never happened before in the Arctic in the instrumental record."

The size and position of the ozone hole changed over time, as the vortex moved northwards or southwards over different regions.

Some monitoring stations in northern Europe and Russia recorded enhanced levels of ultraviolet-B penetration, though it is not clear that this posed any risk to human health.

While the Arctic was setting records, the Antarctic ozone hole is relatively stable from year to year.

This year has seen ozone-depleting conditions extending a little later into the southern hemisphere spring than usual - again, as a result of unusual weather conditions.

Chlorine compounds persist for decades in the upper atmosphere, meaning that it will probably be mid-century before the ozone layer is restored to its pre-industrial health.

September 11, 2001

We will always remember those that were lost on this day and those that have since lost their life protecting our freedom and rights.

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2011 AHR Expo

Thank you to all who stopped by our Booth during the 2011 AHR Expo. This year’s show was a huge success and we look forward to working with you all in 2011. Thank you for your interest and continued business