USA: Rumours that the dangerous counterfeit 'R134a' refrigerant may have turned up in military vehicles in Afghanistan appears to have been confirmed by the US Society of Automotive Engineers International.
The US Army is reported to have sought help and advice from the SAE's Interior Climate Control Standards Committee in a meeting during the SAE Congress in Detroit last month.

Two engineers with TARDEC, the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center told meeting attendees that the R134a system in an Army 'vehicle from theatre' (of operations) had been discovered to be contaminated with refrigerant containing more than 30% of R40 (methyl chloride).

This is the same constituent found in some R134a reefer systems last year that caused explosions and three deaths. Earlier this month a similar counterfeit blend containing R40 turned up in stationary refrigeration units in Australia forcing manufacturer Heatcraft to issue an urgent recall.