CANADA: The Canadian province of Manitoba is fighting a battle against refrigerants being sold in illegal, disposable (non-refillable) cylinders.


The Manitoba Ozone Protection Industry Association (MOPIA), a group with 5,000 members representing the industry, government bodies and the general public, has been forced to issue warnings to acr wholesalers and contractors after 'significant quantities' of refrigerant was found being sold in disposable cylinders. Concern has also been raised over several issues including the import of refrigerants that are 'inappropriately labeled'.

Mark Miller, MOPIA's executive director, told ACR News that investigations had unearthed significant quantities of disposable cylinders in three different distribution warehouses in the province. A truckload of R134a in disposables had also been intercepted.

The problem appears to arise from Canada's relatively open trade borders with the USA where non-refillable cylinders are still legal.

'The cylinders we have found originate from Asia and have entered Manitoba through the US ports of Tacoma in the west and some through Maryland in the east,' said Mark Miller.

MOPIA recently met with senior government officials from Environment Canada and Manitoba Conservation to discuss issues of refrigerants that are labeled inappropriately. In some instances, says MOPIA, the refrigerant contained within the cylinder is not as labeled, particularly in the case of R134a and R22.

'One cylinder we analysed, which was supposed to contain virgin R134a, actually contained a mixture of R22, a hydrocarbon and R134a,' said Mark Miller.