Technician Safety Information

HANDLING PRECAUTIONS
R-12 is known as a safety refrigerant. In other words, this refrigerant is non-combustible, non-explosive, non-toxic, non-irritating, odorless and tasteless. Nevertheless, you should observe the following points:

- All contact with liquid or gaseous refrigerant must be avoided. Affected areas of the skin must be treated like frostbite; wash off immediately with cold water and then consult a physician. Protective goggles must be worn to protect the eyes. If refrigerant nevertheless enters the eyes, consult a physician immediately. Rubber gloves must be worn to protect the hands.

- When performing repairs on the air conditioning system, all refrigerant must be extracted from the system and the refrigerant cleaned. Refrigerant MUST NOT be allowed to escape into the environment, because it attacks the ozone layer of the earth.

- Welding MUST NOT be performed on parts of the closed air-conditioning system or in its close proximity under any circumstances. Irrespective of whether the system is filled with refrigerant or not, a very high pressure is produced by heating up which may lead to damage to the system or even to an explosion. R-12 is completely non-toxic at normal temperatures, but decomposes into hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride after contact with a flame or at high temperature. These decomposition products contain among other things, chlorine and phosgene. Since these products are injurious to health, corresponding care must be taken.

- Refrigerant bottles MUST NOT be thrown and MUST NOT be exposed to direct sun or other sources of heat for long periods. The maximum permitted temperature of a filled refrigerant bottle MUST NOT exceed 45°C (122° F).