National property consultants Wakemans are alerting building owners and landlords to the latest legislation on refrigerants and other air conditioning related matters to help ensure they do not fall foul of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSHH).
European regulations implemented in December 1994 as supporting the Montreal Protocol ratified a previously introduced ban on the production of CFCs throughout the European Union.
In practical terms, this means that the CFC refrigerant R11 - which was one of the most commonly used refrigerants for larger chilling plants - is now banned.
Furthermore, HCFC refrigerants, which include R22 - one of the most common refrigerants currently in use and one which is particularly suitable for air conditioning plants servicing small to medium sized developments - are also being phased out. Related compressors have been banned from manufacture since 1 January 2004, while manufacture of the R22 refrigerant will be outlawed from 1 January 2010.
While many building owners and managers will be aware that R11 is no longer available, they may not appreciate that use of another common refrigerant, R22, will soon become subject to the COSHH legislation.
Although these regulations will not take effect for some time, the important factor is that replacement compressors for HCFC installations will not be available, other than from stock supplies, in less than three years time.
The legal requirement preventing the use of R11 as a replacement refrigerant also marks time on any equipment specifically designed for its use. Any failure of the equipment which necessitates replacement of items within the refrigerant circuit now requires not only removal of the refrigerant under controlled conditions but also the total replacement of the plant.
Of equal importance is the heat dissipation from air conditioning installations. Older installations, including hospitals and multi-story office blocks, often incorporated open circuit cooling towers to dissipate heat from cooling installations.
The continued use of such towers, which create mist carry over, must now be questioned in view of building owners liabilities in relation to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and, more specifically, to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988.
Wakemans has a specialist team which is helping building owners and landlords to understand the implications of the new legislation relating to refrigerants and air conditioning. The team recently advised on the replacement of the water chiller plant and associated cooling towers at a 1980s office development in Milton Keynes.
Wakemans carried out a review of the air conditioning system at the 8,500sqm office development, recommending removal of the air conditioning plant and open circuit cooling towers and their replacement with a new water/glycol cooled chiller and dry coolers.
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