Recent reports from overseas have revealed that rogue refrigerants were used in hundreds of transport HFC-134a refrigeration systems, which resulted in a number of explosions and at least three deaths. World trade press, industry manufacturers, and watchdog websites have been issuing statements in recent weeks as part of this ongoing story.

The role of air conditioning and heating contractors — as well as those in the refrigeration sector — played a big part in a seminar called “Going Green and Paying for It: Green Tools for Municipalities” presented by the Illinois Chapter of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

When it comes to encouraging high school students to pursue post-secondary studies in vocational programs such as HVACR, the fall guys for failure to do so are usually the high school counselors. Well, it just might be the blame rests not with the counselors but with those who are telling the counselors what to push and promote.

One way to define newsmakers are those who make a lot of news. And that has certainly been the case for Talbot Gee and the Heating, Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI).

The year 2011 introduced the concept of dry-shipping HCFC-22 condensing units for retrofit applications, and that shipping and use is expected to continue through 2012.

“The sky isn’t falling. There are plenty of options.” Those words are from Rajan Rajendran, director of engineering services for Emerson Climate Technologies to an audience of supermarket engineers at the Food Marketing Institute Energy & Store Development Conference.

While there are no pending regulations that would curb production of HFCs, those specific refrigerants are a part of the equation when talk turns to the broad, emotionally laden topic of global warming.

In the category of “as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation,” the HVACR industry has been closely watching the impact of what is being called “the nation’s first comprehensive regulation to reduce potent greenhouse gases from commercial and industrial refrigeration.”

No technology has stirred up more attention in recent years than use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a refrigerant in both stationary and mobile HVACR applications. And yet the technology has more people head scratching over it in terms of dealing with the pressures, efficiencies, installation costs, and servicing skills.

Whether or not HCs become major refrigerant players in the U.S. depends on who you talk to. Advocates point to extremely lower global warming potential, low cost, and a proven track record in Europe and Asia. Others see the flammability issue, A3 safety rating, and current building and fire codes limiting use to smaller applications.