A few years ago, I warned about the huge push to make flammable refrigerants easier to manage in the name of “global warming.” As a safety professional, this shift is alarming. Never in my career have we considered a burning rate of 10 cm/s as a means to lessen the risk associated with a flammable gas. Heck, they have even broken down the flammable gas classes/categories so that these flammable refrigerants can be managed differently.
SAFTENG members can go back and read my rants about these changes to accommodate these flammable refrigerants.
In the 2024 IFC, we see more “exceptions” for these flammable refrigerants in both Group M and S occupancies, which conflict with OSHA’s latest LOI regarding these flammable refrigerants in storage.