Black market refrigerants pose major shipping risk
Disposable cylinders represent a significant risk to port workers and support a black market in counterfeit refrigerants.
In 2011, several refrigerated, reefer containers exploded, killing three port workers. While there has been no further tragedies since then, counterfeit refrigerants remain in circulation and still represent a significant safety risk.
Counterfeit refrigerant cylinders typically consist of a dangerously unstable cocktail of gases, blended to roughly mimic the most common refrigerant, R-134a. These cylinders are often loaded with rogue gases such as R-40. Though