Businesses cited for use of banned refrigerant

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered six Las Vegas businesses to stop using the chemical HC-12A, banned because the hydrocarbon is unsafe.

The refrigerant blend, a registered trademark of OZ Technology Inc. of Rathdrum, Idaho, has been used to replace the refrigerant CFC-12, also known as Freon-12, in vehicle air-conditioning units.

The cited businesses are: Econo Lube N' Tune at two Las Vegas locations, Specialized Import Automotive Service, Milford Automotive, Desert Buick-GMC Trucks Inc., and Sprint Corp., which services its own vehicle fleet.

Violating the order by any of the businesses could result in a $25,000-per-day penalty. In addition, knowledge of the violation and failure to obey may result in criminal charges and a possible prison sentence.

Chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC, production was banned by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments because experts say CFCs deplete the Earth's protective ozone layer. This cover protects living things from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

The EPA banned HC-12A for all uses except industrial process refrigeration. The ban on HC-12A covers all types of air-conditioning systems.

HC-12A is a flammable refrigerant. A flammable refrigerant used in a system not designed for it can be unsafe, and the EPA requires a risk assessment. OZ Technology has not submitted adequate risk assessment information to EPA to demonstrate the chemical's safe use in automobile air conditioning systems.

The federal government has cracked down on illegal Freon users. The U.S. Justice Department this month indicted a dozen people, including some in California, for smuggling Freon into the country.

Freon was banned in the U.S. during 1995 under international agreements to protect the ozone layer. Freon also contains chlorofluorocarbons.

Pennzoil markets FRIGC-12 (pronounced fridge-ik) and costs about $100 to replace Freon in vehicle air conditioners. The substitute is also EPA-approved.