President’s Message by Gary Schrift

This month I’m dedicating my column space to one of our organization’s most important ongoing activities, our membership. As an IIAR member, we all depend on you to take that essential first step to participate in the activism and advocacy of our industry, by keeping your membership current. If you are not yet a member, this is a great time to join IIAR.

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Chairman’s Message

It seems like we were all just in Savannah, and now we’re looking at starting another membership year. That means we’re wrapping up preparations now for the next IIAR annual conference, in Long Beach, Calif., March 12- 15, and I’m approaching the last annual meeting during my term as Chairman.

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HYDROCARBONS: IIAR EXPANDS HORIZONS WITH NEW STANDARD

IIAR is moving closer to completing its first standard for hydrocarbons—such as propane and butane—in refrigeration systems and is hoping to release the standard for public review in early 2023.

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IIAR Releases Updates to IIAR-1 and IIAR-3 Standards

IIAR reviews and updates existing standards every five years for periodic maintenance and has recently released updates on IIAR 1 and IIAR 3. The periodic maintenance reviews and updates meet the “Procedures for the Development of IIAR Standards for ANSI Approval” and ANSI’s Essential Requirements.

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IIAR Latin America Seminar Turns Out Record Attendees

The recent IIAR Seminar for Latin America in Guadalajara, Mexico, August 24- 26, brought together nearly 400 manufacturers, contractors, and end users from 12 countries for a unique opportunity to meet, learn and do business. Attendees took part in 14 technical paper presentations, five technomercials, networking events, and a heavy equipment exhibition. The event is the only one of its kind in the world outside the U.S. and is the most attended event in Latin America.

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Refrigerant Leaks in Commercial Mechanical Equipment Rooms

Industrial and commercial refrigeration systems use different types of heat transfer fluids (HTF), many of which are toxic and/or bad for the environment when they leak. The most common HTF refrigerants are Ammonia and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), however while ammonia has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 0, the HFC’s all have a very high GWPs and are currently being evaluated by the EPA for phase down as per the US Government’s December 2020 AIM Act and per the recent United States ratification of the Kigali agreement.

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EPA’s Proposed Amendments to RMP Burdensome on Industry

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed amendments to its Risk Management Program regulations, which include several changes to the accident prevention program requirements, enhancements to the emergency preparedness requirements, and increased public availability of chemical hazard information.

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IIAR Comments on Risk Management Programs

The undersigned organizations submit these comments regarding Docket ID No. EPA-HQ- OLEM-2022-0174 Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act; Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention (Proposed Rule).

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OSHA Considering Revisions to Process Safety Management Regulation

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently taken steps to advance the rulemaking process to update the Process Safety Management (PSM) regulation. The OSHA effort is taking place in parallel to EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) rulemaking, raising concerns about coordination and consistency between the two regulatory schemes. The underlying rulemaking was actually initiated during the Obama Administration.

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Concerned About Timing the Market?

Buy low. Sell high.” While this age-old investment advice may seem simple, it can be extremely precarious due to its emphasis on market timing. During a bull market, investors following this advice may be reluctant to invest and too eager to sell.

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Its’ HOT!

Sometimes it may be difficult to understand but we all have free agency to believe what we want. Some people believe the earth is flat. Some believe we never landed on the moon. I suppose there are people who believe those amazing photos from various robotic machines on Mars are fake too.

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Don’t Curse the Purger

The goal of operators, contractors, and design engineers is to operate a closed loop refrigeration system as close to design intent as possible. The owner wants maximum value from the equipment and personnel employed at the facility. The presence of gases that do not liquify within the operating conditions add cost to the running of the system.

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