Posted on 04/15/2014 6:23:23 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
The clock is ticking for Minnesota's indoor ice rinks.
By 2020, the refrigerant chemical now used at half the state's 240 arenas to make ice no longer will be manufactured or imported into the U.S. as part of a global effort aimed at ridding the world of greenhouse gases linked to depletion of the ozone layer.
The phaseout of the odorless gas R-22 is expected to be costly for arenas -- most of which are publicly owned -- because of an anticipated rise in its cost. After the deadline, arenas still will be able to use the refrigerant gas for existing cooling systems, but the supply will be limited to what is left over and reclaimed and recycled.
To what extent cities will be affected financially will depend on the R-22 market after the deadline, as well as the age of their ice-making equipment and if they plan to upgrade it, said Craig Flor, president of the Minnesota Ice Arena Manager's Association.
"This isn't impending doom for us," Flor said. "But there is a lot of concern because the big unknown is cost and funding."
Cities with decades-old cooling systems could swap them out with ones that use an environmentally friendly chemical, but at a cost that could push $2 million.
Some, such as Hastings and West St. Paul, say they plan to roll the dice and budget for the cost of leaks that could spring up from time to time until there is money to upgrade.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
It can be, but the smell drives people away quickly at concentrations well below danger, doc.................
http://www.goodway.com/hvac-blog/2009/08/ammonia-as-a-refrigerant-pros-and-cons/
Sounds like you can become a hero in Minnesota selling ammonia.
Yes it was, and when they had a refrigerant leak people would die.... But I am sure the EPA doesn’t give a crap about that.
Thank gawd for the government, AGAIN!
Lets list some things that our government has helped to make worse or destroy through imperial regulations:
Light bulbs, dishwashers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, automobiles, stoves, furnaces, air conditioners, mattresses, pillows, toilets, shower heads, plumbing fixtures, insulation, paint, adhesives, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, insect repellent, fertilizers, etc.
Do you ever wonder why your parents appliances seemed to last 15 to 20 years and you can’t seem to get one to do much over 10? Why do they put all these plastic parts in our machines today? GOVERNMENT!!! They need to meet efficiency standards so the transmissions have to lighter.
All adhesives have to be water based and can’t have VOCs (smell funny). Dish washing and Laundry detergent can’t have phosphates any more. DDT was banned (could have saved millions of 3rd world lives). Diesel gas engines used to be VERY efficient... until the government decided they put out too much sulfur and mandated a different fuel.
Sorry, but there are countless documented cases of death caused by ammonia leaks back when it was used as a refrigerant... Go back to ammonia you will have people dying once again when systems leak.
Ammonia is still used as an industrial refrigerant, smelly stuff and quite dangerous when there is a spill.
I have worked in ammonia spills and it was not that bad. It is lighter than air and disperses quite well while R22 will sink and fill low spots. R22 had little effect on ozone but the manufactures wanted to make more money and get rid of the competitors of R22.
As long as it’s safe for “gaia” it has to be good, right?
A few less people may reduce the stress on “gaia” also....
You have to remember that was prior to the 1920’s rise of the CFC’s. Sealing systems and technology have progressed to a point to where that would not be such a huge problem today..................
sell amonia that smells like lutefisk and the swedes will never leave the rink.
LMAO
And poor Frederic Tudor is still crying over the ammonia innovation.
Obviously technologies have improved, but no matter how well built all systems fail, and ammonia is toxic and if we go back to using Ammonia as our primary refrigerant, you will have people die from it, its just the way it is.
The fact folks died from refrigerant leaks when it was the primary refrigerant used was one of the big reasons CFC’s became the primary refrigerant used.. because they didn’t kill folks when they leaked.
Ammonia is also a component in meth-amphetamines. Farmer’s ammonia tanks, usually located way out in the fields, have been burglarized by druggies trying to make them. Now they have to have alarms and cameras to try and stop it................
Ice, ice, baby!.................
Ammonia is still used in large scale refrigeration, including ice rinks.
The cost of changeover from cfc is another issue.
Minnesota: saw off the roof and let “global cooling” do the work, LOL
We had a mass casualty event at my last job after an ammonia leak in a local food plant.
Corrected
Is the patent on the refigerant expiring?
Is a company waiting on “approval” for the latest “green” refigerant that will fix all the problems like the previous was supposed to?
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