IIAR

A growing number of states and federal regulatory agencies are examining the effects of perfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, and regulatory frameworks are evolving due to concerns over their persistence in the environment and potential health impacts.

“More than 30 states have introduced or adopted regulations related to PFAS, but until recently, refrigerants were not at the forefront of those discussions. That is starting to change,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council.

There is also European legislation coming, and the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) proposal related to PFAS will be finalized in 2025. Proposed regulations in Europe would impact almost all new and current lower GWP HFC/HFO refrigerant blends.

“They may ban 10,000 chemicals that have PFAS,” said Tristam Coffin, co-founder of Effecterra and president of sustainability, policy, and technical services. “That would also have a direct impact on refrigerants, including the synthetic alternatives coming to the table as 95% of them would be classified as PFAS.”

PFAS have been incorporated into some refrigerants to enhance their stability and performance. Wright said the industry is still awaiting clarity on which refrigerants would be designated as PFAS in the U.S.

Federal Regulations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out several requirements limiting PFAS, including a record-keeping and reporting rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Under the EPA requirement, any entities, including small entities, that have manufactured, including imported, PFAS in any year since 2011 will have to report PFAS data to EPA beginning in November 2024. Small manufacturers will have to begin reporting in November 2025. Under this rule, there are civil penalties and criminal prosecutions that can be levied against those who fail to report.

Under the TSCA rule, there is no minimum reporting requirement, so even trace amounts of PFAs are still under scope for reporting.

Other EPA requirements include the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to PFAS, which was passed earlier this year. Additionally, EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap outlines actions from 2021-2024 to research, restrict, and remediate PFAS. This includes enhancing PFAS testing, expanding cleanup efforts, and prioritizing protection for certain communities.

What is PFAS?

PFAs is a class of chemicals, some of which have been known to be persistent, meaning they don’t break down slowly in the environment. While speaking during an Association of Equipment Manufacturers webinar, Justin Prosser, senior product compliance specialist at Danfoss, said each of the current laws requiring reporting a restriction of PFAS has its own PFAS definition.

“The TASCA 8(a)(7) includes a structural definition which allows us to investigate individual chemicals, but it doesn’t give us a complete definitive list of these chemicals, which is part of the struggle,” Prosser said.

To meet requirements, Prosser said a redesign of products is potentially needed. “We don’t want to be in a position where your product is obsolete and you weren’t ready for that,” he said. “So, we need to understand those risks, which means we need to know where PFAs is used in our products and how much. If we do this, we can be confident that our designs and our end product solutions are going to have futures.”

The Significance of Supermarkets

The use of refrigerants containing PFAS in the supermarket industry may become a concern given leak rates in supermarkets, which average about 12-15% in the best-case scenario to 25-30% on the high side, Coffin said.  

Wright said there are proven, technically viable PFAS-free, climate-friendly refrigerant solutions available to the supermarket refrigeration sector today. “By contrast, the HVAC sector currently has fewer low-GWP PFAS-free options. As a result, supermarkets face higher regulatory pressures to transition to the most future-proof refrigerants as quickly as possible,” she explained.

A Long-Term Plan

Refrigerant end-users need a future-proof solution to permanently halt the ongoing cycle of costly and logistically challenging refrigerant transitions. Natural refrigerants are not at risk of implications from future PFAS regulations and are the only future-proof solution for the industry. “The most important thing we can do is provide real solutions that help ease and accelerate the transition to natural refrigerants,” Wright said.

When alternatives to refrigerants containing PFAS are available, they should be strongly considered, Coffin said.

“In my mind, CO2 chillers are a possibility,” Coffin added. “There are cases where certain obstacles need to be addressed, but can they work as well or better in a chiller? I believe so, and the research and evidence coming out of the refrigeration space shows it is possible, so why are we looking at another synthetic refrigerant that will probably be on the chopping block at some point in time?”