4 ms·

I wouldn't worry about it, these gasses are included in the blanket PFAS classification, but they are fundamentally different and thus non-toxic. r134a, a commo

I wouldn't worry about it, these gasses are included in the blanket PFAS classification, but they are fundamentally different and thus non-toxic. r134a, a common refrigerant, and likely what your system uses if it's less than 10 years old, is used in inhalers.

rootusrootus 4y ago
> r132a, a common refrigerant Are you thinking R134A? IIRC, R132A theoretically exists but nobody makes it. And R134A is an automotive refrigerant. Most residential systems in the last 10 years likely use R410A (which is itself a mixture of R32 and R125). That is getting phased out and generally replaced with plain R32, as far as I know.
- martijnvds 4y ago
  R32 is also on its way out, and new units here in Europe tend to come with R290 (propane)
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    I have heard a lot about R290 but at least in the US, I am not seeing much of a push to go there. R32 is an A2L refrigerant and (according to the article) isn't affected by the PFAS ban. In the US at least it looks like the main choice for the future, at least in the near term.
  - jabl 4y ago
    That's interesting, a had an AC unit installed 2 years ago (in Europe), and then many units were marketed as using the new R32 instead of the traditional R410A. Now that I look at the website of the company that did the installation, it seems all their AC models now use R32.
- LazyMans 4y ago
  Sorry, 134a yes
- a1371 4y ago
  Then why are they banning R134A as the article says?
  - akira2501 4y ago
    Glaxosmithkline loves it when they do this, it allows them to create a new propellant forumlation, and then that allows them to put basic asthma medication back on patent. And the current R134a patents are just set to expire. Inhalers which should cost $5/ea are set to be $90/ea again. This is the same thing they did when CFC were banned and they switched from CFC to R134a. This is a medication that should have been off patent decades ago, but due to this "trick", it almost certainly never will be.

rootusrootus 4y ago

> r132a, a common refrigerant Are you thinking R134A? IIRC, R132A theoretically exists but nobody makes it. And R134A is an automotive refrigerant. Most residential systems in the last 10 years likely use R410A (which is itself a mixture of R32 and R125). That is getting phased out and generally replaced with plain R32, as far as I know.

martijnvds 4y ago
R32 is also on its way out, and new units here in Europe tend to come with R290 (propane)
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  I have heard a lot about R290 but at least in the US, I am not seeing much of a push to go there. R32 is an A2L refrigerant and (according to the article) isn't affected by the PFAS ban. In the US at least it looks like the main choice for the future, at least in the near term.
- jabl 4y ago
  That's interesting, a had an AC unit installed 2 years ago (in Europe), and then many units were marketed as using the new R32 instead of the traditional R410A. Now that I look at the website of the company that did the installation, it seems all their AC models now use R32.
LazyMans 4y ago
Sorry, 134a yes
a1371 4y ago
Then why are they banning R134A as the article says?
- akira2501 4y ago
  Glaxosmithkline loves it when they do this, it allows them to create a new propellant forumlation, and then that allows them to put basic asthma medication back on patent. And the current R134a patents are just set to expire. Inhalers which should cost $5/ea are set to be $90/ea again. This is the same thing they did when CFC were banned and they switched from CFC to R134a. This is a medication that should have been off patent decades ago, but due to this "trick", it almost certainly never will be.