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Safety
2.3.12
Protecting the operator as well as the environment
Industrialisation affects our environment, and it is therefore essential that we do what we can to
minimise the harmful effect on nature.
Many countries have passed legislation in an effort to reduce pollution and preserve the environ-
ment. This legislation applies to all fields of industry, including refrigeration, and must be com-
plied with.
Pay extra attention to the following substances:
•
Refrigerants
•
Cooling media (brine, etc.)
•
Lubricating oils
Refrigerants usually have a natural boiling point considerably below 0°C. This means that liquid
refrigerants can be extremely harmful in contact with skin or eyes. High concentrations of refrig-
erant vapours can be suffocating when they displace air. If high concentrations of refrigerant va-
pours are inhaled, they will attack the human nervous system.
When halogenated gasses come into contact with open flame or hot surfaces (over approx. 300°
C), they will decompose to produce poisonous chemicals. These have a very pungent odour and
will thus warn personnel of their presence.
In high concentrations, R717 causes respiratory problems. When the amount of ammonia vapour
in the air is between 15 and 28 vol. %, the combination is explosive and can be ignited by an elec-
tric spark or open flame.
Oil vapour in the ammonia vapour increases this risk significantly as the point of ignition falls be-
low that of the mixture ratio stated.
Usually the strong smell of ammonia will warn personnel before the concentration be-
comes dangerous.
The following table shows the values for the max. permissible refrigerant content in air measured
in volume %. Certain countries may, however, have official limits different from the ones stated.
TWA
Unit
Vol. %
Time-weighted average
during a work week.
Warning smell
Vol. %
Operating manual - ComPAC
011769 en 2020.03
Halogenated refrigerants
HFC
R134a
R404A
R407C
0.1
0.1
0.1
25/56
HCFC
R410A
R507
R22
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.2
Ammo-
CO
2
nia
R717
R744
0.005
0.5
0.002
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