A developer has launched a full investigation after video emerged of white spray being emitted from an air conditioning unit during a demolition job in Brentford.

Video filmed on November 11 by local news site Brentford Today & TV/Facebook shows a demolition taking place on a site owned by developers Ballymore behind Brentford High Street.

In the video, steel jaws grip the air conditioning unit, then pull it away from the wall.

"As the unit breaks loose, the leads snap and you can see – and hear – an intense white spray being emitted," John Dale of Brentford Today said of the footage.

After studying the footage, local air conditioning engineer Lui Lui told Brentford Today that it "is illegal to release air conditioning refrigerant to the atmosphere. Just from seeing how they took this unit and all the refrigerant that came out is not good. You need to have a F-GAS certificate to work with this kind of refrigerant and it needs to be reclaimed before being disconnected as it's bad for the atmosphere."

Brentford Today & TV/Facebook informed local councillor Steve Curran, who is also leader of Hounslow council, which has just declared a climate emergency. Curran said he was in contact with Ballymore.

In a statement, Ballymore said: "Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We take such issues seriously and have spoken with the demolition contractor as protocol was not followed on this occasion. We have worked with this contractor for many years and we are conducting a full investigation. No further units will be removed until they have been fully degassed."

Most common refrigerants in use today are harmful to the environment and include the likes of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Demolition is taking place on a development site owned by developers Ballymore behind Brentford High Street. Steel jaws grip the air conditioning unit, then pull it away from the wall. As the unit breaks loose, the leads snap and you can see – and hear – an intense white spray being emitted.
After studying it carefully, local air conditioning engineer Lui Lui told us: "Is illegal to release air conditioning refrigerant to the atmosphere. Just from seeing how they took this unit and all the refrigerant that came out is not good. You need to have a F-GAS certificate to work with this kind of refrigerant and it needs to be reclaimed before being disconnected as it's bad for the atmosphere."
Brentford Today & TV/Facebook informed local councillor Steve Curran, who is also leader of Hounslow council – which has just declared a Climate Emergency. He immediately said he was asking Ballymore – the developers to deal with it this morning. Depending on the facts, the matter may go further.
"Companies and individuals who breach the F-gas regulations could face fines of up to £200,000 in new civil penalties being considered by DEFRA." – Cooling Post October 2017.
Are refrigerants dangerous? Here is more from the web 19 March 2019: "Refrigerant leaks are dangerous from an environmental, health and safety perspective. Nearly every refrigerant today poses some kind of danger.
"Most common refrigerants in use today are harmful to the environment, and the types of refrigerants that fall under this category include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
"CFCs and HCFCs are considered ozone-depleting substances (ODS), while HFCs are considered fluorinated gases with high global warming potentials."
https://blog.mybacharach.com/articles/are-refrigerant-leaks-dangerous/


? Council tells developer to investigate immediately.