RELEASE OF REFRIGERANT GASES IS BANNED

The new federal Clean Air Act that takes effect Wednesday will ban the release of refrigerant gases into the atmosphere.

The measure, aimed at protecting the earth's ozone layer, requires that refrigerants used in air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, coolers, and automobile air conditioners be captured and recycled.

Most of the gases contain chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are believed to damage the ozone.

But not all refrigerants are the same and, according to Cape Girardeau contractor Ralph Flori, the Clean Air Act does little to take into account their differences or specific uses.

Flori said there are primarily four types of refrigerants on the Clean Air Act's "hit list." They include:

R-11, a refrigerant that's often used in large refrigeration processes and chiller systems for large buildings.

Flori said R-11 contains CFCs and is on the top of the list of refrigerants banned by the Clean Air Act. But to convert a chiller from R-11 can cost as much as $400,000, he said.

R-12 is used in household and commercial refrigerators and freezers. "Almost every convenience store in Cape Girardeau has nothing but R-12 refrigerant," Flori said. This gas also contains CFCs, and its release into the atmosphere is prohibited by the Clean Air Act.

R-22 also is used in household and commercial air conditioners. Although it contains hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and is considered less an environmental threat, the government also has indicated it would speed up R-22's removal from the refrigerant market.

R-502 is mixture of two refrigerants, one of which is R-12. Flori said its most common application is in low-temperature systems, such as those needed in frozen-food sections of supermarkets. He said many manufacturers planned to convert R-502 systems to R-22, until the government targeted that refrigerant.

Flori said that although the Clean Air Act is aimed at phasing out the use of today's refrigerants in lieu of less-harmful replacements, the alternatives aren't yet available.

"The replacements are just not there, and those that have come out all the possible replacements that now are on the market are more expensive and aren't compatible with the existing equipment," he said. "And who knows down the road what these will do to the atmosphere."

Also the demand for equipment needed by repair contractors to capture and reclaim refrigerants has exceeded manufacturers' supplies.

"A lot of the manufacturers are not ready with the reclaiming equipment," Flori said. "Right now there's a waiting list for reclaiming equipment a mile long."