Brussels, 03/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Last January, Michèle Rivasi, the vice president of the Greens/EFA Group at the European Parliament, highlighted the dangers of the refrigerating fluid HFO-1234yf (or R1234yf) - an inflammable and toxic gas used in car air conditioning. On Wednesday 3 October, she was delighted with the decision by the Daimler group to stop equipping its new cars with the R1234yf gas for safety reasons, following further tests. Although the European Commission was expected to give its verdict on the results soon, Rivasi sees this announcement made on 25 September as bearing out the fears already held about this refrigerating gas - which is supposed to be used in all car air conditioning systems in the world.
Rivasi stated: “Daimler has shown responsibility by attempting to prove the dangers identified by other independent studies. Although the tests carried out in laboratories for the homologation of R1234yf followed very precise protocols and were supposed to reproduce real conditions, Daimler sought to carry out its own complimentary tests outside a laboratory environment, in a genuine experimental scenario in real conditions. By simulating a head-on collision, the refrigerating fluid (which has a low inflammable level in laboratory conditions) proved to be very inflammable in its contact with an engine compartment that was still very hot. These results totally challenge the protocol of studies and illustrate that dangers are very real.”
This refrigerating gas is supposed to replace HFC-134a (the gas used until then) but could endanger the lives of drivers in the event of head-on collisions between vehicles or even injure fire fighters attempting to put out car fires. Directive 2006/40/EC sought to change the air conditioning systems for cars and light utility vehicles in an attempt to ensure that the gas used had a global warming potential that was less than 150. (AN/trans/fl)