WILMINGTON, Del. — An executive from refrigerant maker DuPont here warned food retailers yesterday that the 2010 milestone for a sharp reduction in the production of R-22 refrigerant, commonly used to refrigerate store cases and displays, is only 95 weeks away. “If you’re a supermarket owner and you have 100 stores, it would be an appropriate time to begin planning for the phaseout of R-22,” said Nick Strickland, market development manager, DuPont Refrigerants, during a Web seminar hosted by SN in cooperation with Contracting Business magazine. According to the Montreal Protocol, to which the U.S. is a party, no R-22 refrigerant will be produced or imported for new equipment as of 2010. This will result in “price volatility associated with supply and demand imbalances” and the potential that not enough R-22 will be reclaimed to counter that volatility, he said. In addition, Strickland projected a “labor shortage associated with the demand for retrofits” as well as the potential for a black market for R-22 to emerge. Some retailers are beginning to replace R-22 with non-ozone-depleting refrigerants as well as to test new refrigeration systems that require less refrigerant.

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