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Gov’t to impose total freon ban by 2010

Written by anyajulia on 27 December 2008

AT P280 against P600 per kilo, it is quite logical that people convert to R12, but with a devastating effect it gives to earth’s ozone layer, it is also understandable why the government is off to a phase-out of the cheaper refrigerant.

Come 2010, all those cars, refrigerators and air-conditioning units using the dreaded chlorofluorocarbons (R12 Freon) may be wasted, unless they are retrofitted with the environment friendly hydrofluorocarbons (HFC 134a).

CFC-12 or Freon, an ozone depleting substance, is widely used as cooling agent especially in car air-conditioning systems. However, a freon total phase-out following zero importation by year 2010 would force the refrigerant to be irrelevant in the Philippines, being among the signatories to the Montreal Protocol on the Protection on the Ozone Layer, sources said.

In short, what becomes vogue in 2010 are those that use non-CFC, because freon is the earth’s biggest ozone depleting substance.

How does a retrofit cost? Well, according to air-conditioning technicians, not much, except that units need to be using different capilla oil, one that has Society of Automotive Engineers 20 viscousity.

The Department of Transportation and Communication – Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is implementing a regulation under the DOTC-DENR Joint Administrative Order No. 3 series of 2006.

This would also impose upon car-owners the mandatory inspection of their car aircon systems as a prerequisite for renewal and registration.

This means all model 1999 vehicles to present should only have R-134a or non-CFC air-conditioning system to be registered.

It also means HFC-134a air-con system vehicles are banned from converting to freon as commo practice to skip the expensive hydrofluorocarbons and other blends.

Older models with Freon-using airconditioning system may be allowed to register until 2012, but they have to retrofit.

Notwithstanding its commercial and industrial value, CFCs pose serious environmental threats.

Studies undertaken by various scientists revealed that CFCs released into the atmosphere accumulate in the stratosphere, where they had deleterious effect on the ozone layer.

Stratospheric ozone shields the earth’s living organisms from harmful ultraviolet rays.

For the concern over ozone depletion, the ban against CFCs in aerosol-spray dispensers have now graduated into total ban for CFC. (rachiu/PIA)

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