CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A consortium of 13 Virginia HVACR contractors and two wholesalers have partnered with the nonprofit organization Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) to address the escalating national trend of teenage refrigerant huffing.
Through the program, local HVACR contractors in Chesterfield County, Va., installed free locking caps on accessible outdoor condenser refrigeration ports to stop unauthorized access to refrigerants. According to Wayne Frith, executive director of SAFE, this is the nation’s first community-wide program of its kind. It was created in response to a 2005 survey SAFE conducted of 4,500 middle and high school youths that sought specific data about what substances young people were abusing. SAFE executives were surprised to discover 8.2 percent of students had used inhalants, substances that produce chemical vapors that can produce a high when sniffed or huffed, which was twice the national average.