United States. Tests conducted on U.S. Army vehicle cooling systems found that about 25% contain some degree of refrigerant contamination. More than 18 different refrigerants have been detected, including methyl chloride (R40, responsible for explosions and three deaths in the refrigeration industry in 2011.
Following the R40 incidents in the container industry, the U.S. Army's Automotive Tank Research, Development and Engineering Center formed an integrated process team (IPT) in response to a message sent early last March of the previous year, alerting the military to the possibility that they were supplied with counterfeit contaminated refrigerant.
Incidents in the refrigeration industry resulted in thousands of refrigerated containers that are quarantined and the unauthorized refrigerant that is sold as R134a is analyzed, but is actually composed of a dangerous cocktail of refrigerants.
They are thought to originate in China, to mimic the properties of R134a by combining a variety of cheaper gases including R22, R30, R142b, sometimes a hydrocarbon and, invariably, methyl chloride.
"To date, there have been no reports of personnel injuries or significant loss of weapons in the military due to contaminated refrigerants... although approximately 25% of the vehicles tested have contained some level of coolant contamination," Shultz said.
Due to the large varieties of contaminants found in the initial stages of testing, laboratory analysis is required to determine what combination is in the refrigeration system and whether it does not contain pure R134a. Procedures for the safe repair of contaminated vehicles are currently being developed and, for now, contaminated vehicles are isolated until the procedures are validated.
The field test kit will also help isolate the source of contaminated refrigerants, allowing officials to ensure that contaminated sources are not used in the future.
