DUPONT has warned industry of the rapidly diminishing time available to retrofit HCFC equipment.
Speaking at the recent IKK exhibition, Phil Bardsley, business manager for the DuPont Refrigerants business for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said 'As you are likely well aware, by 1 Jan 2010, all countries in this region [ME and Africa] must be out of CFCs. There will be no further sale of 'virgin' material allowed and EU must be out of HCFCS, again, with no sales of 'virgin' material allowed from that date. There are only four years left to retrofit a huge bank in the region, which for CFCs includes CIS, Middle East and Africa. The refrigeration and air conditioning systems in these areas must be retrofitted. Likewise, there exists a huge bank of R22 in the EU that must be retrofitted. Now is the time to begin in earnest.'

Phil Bardsley revealed that in the EU DuPont is working with end users and contractors to move away from ozone depleting substances by using the company's Isceon 9 series of HFC-based retrofit refrigerant blends.