ILLEGAL REFRIGERANT SEIZED ENTERING EUROPE

A shipment of illegal air-con refrigerant has been seized before entering Europe.

The seizure took place at the port of Gdynia in Poland and was a joint effort between refrigerant producer Honeywell and local customs authorities. In this instance the purchaser of the illegal shipment consented to the seizure and agreed to pay the cost of destroying the product.

The seizure is the latest action taken by Honeywell to stop the infringement of its Solstice products which are designed for automobile and other air conditioning systems. In the past year alone, customs authorities in coordination with the producer, have seized multiple shipments of HFO-1234yf around the world.

As reported in CAT in June the amount of illegal refrigerant on the market has increased dramatically over the past two years, bringing both safety concerns and depriving legitimate suppliers of income.

Honeywell has recently brought patent infringement lawsuits against one European and two Chinese companies who were either making or distributing infringing HFO-1234yf.

“We’re working around the clock to protect users from products made by unknown sources, as they can be potentially harmful to equipment or to human health,” said Richard Winick, VP and GM Automotive Refrigerants at Honeywell. “There are several easy ways to avoid buying illegal refrigerants including purchasing refrigerants only from a reputable distributor who can prove in writing that their product was supplied by Honeywell or a licensed source, never buy refrigerants in generic, or in unbranded packaging and never buy refrigerant in Europe in illegal disposable tanks.”