Imagine you’re inside a steel factory, and a highly advanced cybernetic organism from the future is moving towards you on a mission to kill you. It’s been chasing you for days, but you’ve managed to escape it narrowly every time. With every second, it is inching closer. If you let this robot get to you, the planet will be ruled by its evil robot friends in the future. You’re out of ideas. What do you do?
Sorry, we don’t have a clue what you should do. But we know what not to do. You should not do like John Connor and company in Terminator 2 and cover the whole friggin’ place in halon gas – that’s a massive source of f-gas emissions!
Sure, you might save humanity from a future without evil robots, but you would instead have a heavily polluted planet.
But wait a minute. That last part has actually already happened.
“A Teflon frying pan is not even close to these kinds of emissions”
Due to the abundant use of f-gases in most of the world’s heating and cooling systems, such as your heat pump, refrigerator, car’s air conditioner, or – as in the case of Terminator 2 – a factory fire suppressant system, our planet now faces several challenges, such as ozone depletion and PFAS pollution. Leaving the ozone layer aside for now and looking at the PFAS part of f-gases, the annual emissions from this use sit at a whopping 63 per cent. That’s right – f-gas emissions are responsible for over half of all PFAS pollution – every year.
The annual volumes of PFAS in the form of f-gases are similar; 59 per cent of* all PFAS goes towards this end. How can this be?
You’re hot, then you’re cold
Because there are vast amounts of heating and cooling systems worldwide, and calculations say that about 80 to 90 per cent of these use f-gases as the active ingredient. While many systems today are hermetically sealed during operation, gas leaks can still occur during transport, installation, and maintenance. That’s why, for example, you need to fill up your car’s air conditioner every now and again. These small amounts of gases combined make up this vast source of PFAS emissions.
A Teflon frying pan is not even close to these kinds of emissions. In fact, in its finished form, a frying pan is less problematic from a PFAS emission standpoint; it’s more of a problem in the manufacturing and waste phase, but that’s another story.
Nevertheless, you would need to produce a helluva lot of frying pans to come close to the PFAS emissions we see from f-gases. And since we’re constantly installing more air conditioners and heat pumps, we’re setting ourselves up to create even more emissions in the future. We’re heavily invested, frankly speaking.
What’s the f-gas problem?
F-gas is a synthetic gas that contains fluorine, hence the F in the name. Once set free, most f-gases undergo a transformation into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) – a minuscule yet very potent PFAS. TFA often eludes scrutiny in environmental assessments and is not part of the so-called PFAS 4 (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, or PFNA), the substances commonly targeted in contamination controls of water. Still, if actively sought out, TFA is found extensively in nature.
“We will be exposed to TFA through drinking water for the foreseeable future”
TFA is very mobile, hence its prevalence in our waters, and it is also persistent, which means nature has difficulty breaking down the substance. This combination is problematic since it means we will be exposed to TFA through drinking water for the foreseeable future. In addition, TFA has toxic properties. Due to these characteristics, TFA was added to ChemSec’s SIN List as a persistent, mobile, and toxic (PMT) substance in 2019. Recently, authorities have followed suit, and Germany has requested a reassessment of the substance, with the aim of classifying TFA as a substance toxic to reproduction under the CLP legislation.
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Health effects aside, many f-gases also contribute to climate change due to their high global warming potential (GWP). Some f-gases like freons, notorious for their role in ozone depletion, and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), also known for their exceptionally high GWP, fall under the so-called f-gas regulation and are taken care of that way. However, since they possess a lower GWP, most hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) evade direct regulation under f-gas guidelines. HFOs degrade into TFA, so they now fall under the EU’s proposed PFAS ban instead of the existing f-gas regulation.
Hasta la vista, f-gas
As it represents such a big chunk of the total use of PFAS and the emissions (reminder: 59 and 63 per cent, respectively), the f-gas issue should be a top priority for lawmakers. The good news here is that there’s a wide range of well-functioning alternatives for almost every use, making the ban of f-gases a textbook example of a legislative low-hanging fruit. The prevalence of so-called natural refrigerants like propane or butane predates the use of f-gases. These substances enjoyed widespread use in the early to mid-20th century and continue to maintain a market share today. Sure, propane or butane have problems; they pose a more acute threat if not handled properly (which there are protocols for). However, they lack the environmental impact or chronic health effects compared to f-gases, underscoring a longstanding tradition of their utility.
We urge policymakers to keep the focus here and get to work. In one swift decision, it’s possible to cut PFAS emissions in half without any real sacrifices. Who could say no to that?
*Calculations are based on data from the PFAS restriction dossier put together by the member states Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.
