Dedicated to promoting natural refrigerants as alternatives to harmful PFAS refrigerants and supporting an ambitious European PFAS regulation.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, October 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ATMOsphere, a market accelerator of natural refrigerant-based systems, has become a founding member of the Coalition for PFAS Free Cooling & Heating, a new organization dedicated to promoting natural refrigerants as alternatives to harmful PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in cooling and heating systems and supporting an ambitious European PFAS regulation.

In addition to ATMOsphere, founding members of the coalition include Fenagy, Secon, Teko, Konvekta, Refra and Güntner. Additional members will be joining, beginning in November. The coalition is open to other companies focused on the use of PFAS-free natural refrigerants – CO2 (R744), ammonia (R717), hydrocarbons, air and water, all found in nature – in HVAC&R applications.

Because PFAS refrigerants are increasingly considered a potential threat to human health and the environment, the Coalition for PFAS Free Cooling and Heating intends to promote restrictions on these refrigerants and their degradation products over the next two years through the impending EU PFAS Restriction Regulation. This will include engaging with policymakers and offering detailed research and technical data to prove that there are many commercially available alternatives today.

“It’s not easy for policymakers to address this PFAS file, especially with regard to refrigerants, which are the largest and fastest growing source of PFAS in Europe,” said Marc Chasserot, CEO of ATMOsphere, which publishes NaturalRefrigerants.com and hosts ATMO conferences around the world. “We want to make sure that policy makers have accurate data so that they are fully informed about alternatives as they evaluate this critical issue.”

PFAS also known as “forever chemicals” for their persistence in nature, encompass more than 14,000 synthetic chemicals that are used in many common consumer and industrial products, including firefighting foams, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and furniture, and water-resistant clothing.

In the HVAC&R industry, PFAS can be found in the O-rings, seals and electronics of HVAC&R systems, In addition, many f-gas refrigerants, including HFC-134a, HFO-1234yf and HFO-1234ze(E), are considered PFAS in the EU because they have at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. Importantly, HFO-1234yf, the most common HFO refrigerant, breaks down rapidly and completely in the atmosphere to produce another PFAS, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), which has been proliferating in the environment, including drinking water.

PFAS such as PFOA and PFOS, which contain eight carbon atoms, have been linked to serious health problems, including kidney and testicular cancer, changes in liver function, lower birth weights, pregnancy-induced hypertension, increased cholesterol levels and decreased immune response to vaccines. Exposure to TFA, an ultrashort-chain PFAS with two carbon atoms, has not been conclusively associated with health effects, but the German government this year linked TFA to reproductive toxicity, and it has been correlated to liver effects in lab animals.

Natural refrigerants, which are already used as a substitute for ozone-layer-depleting CFCs and global-warming-increasing HFCs, can be used in place of PFAS refrigerants in virtually all applications, the coalition believes. Natural refrigerant systems have been widely adopted in many European industries, including supermarkets, cold storage and food processing, demonstrating that these systems are energy efficient and cost competitive.

About ATMOsphere

For the past 20 years, market accelerator ATMOsphere (formerly shecco) has been active in helping bring climate-friendly technologies faster to market. ATMOsphere supports over 100 partners worldwide in the HVAC&R sector, where the focus is on sustainable refrigeration, heating & cooling technologies using natural refrigerants.

Marc Chasserot
ATMOsphere
marc.chasserot@shecco.com
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