Hi members,

I'm sure many of you may already be aware about the new laws regarding the sale and purchase of F-gas for use in MAC systems, however we've received some correspondence from the Environment Agency asking us to remind any MAC operators of the change to these laws, what they need to do to remain compliant and the potential punishments for not doing so.

There are a further set of rules, specific to re-sellers/wholesalers, that I can stick up in another post if members are interested.

As usual with these types of things, I'm sure this will be met with a degree of scepticism/disdain by some, but for those that want to ensure compliance then some guidelines are listed below:

Since 2009: Technicians who recover F-gas from Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) systems of cars and light vehicles (e.g. vans lighter than 3.5 tonnes) have been legally required to hold a personnel qualification in refrigerant recovery. Failure to hold the appropriate qualification for this activity is an offence.

From 01 January 2015: Any person purchasing F-gas for use in a MAC system must prove to the person they are purchasing from that the technician who will use the gas holds a recovery qualification. It is an offence to sell F-gas for use by an unqualified technician.

What this means for you: If you work for a business which services the MAC systems of cars and/or light vehicles, you need to ensure that any technicians who recover F-gas from a MAC system hold a suitable qualification in refrigerant recovery; otherwise you are breaking the law. You are no longer allowed to purchase F-gas without demonstrating that it will be used by a qualified technician. This will prevent ‘over-the-counter’ purchases of F-gas if you cannot provide evidence of qualification.

Qualifications needed: The qualifications in Regulation (EC) 307/2008 set-out the training requirements to recover F-gas from the MAC systems in cars and light vehicles.Existing Level 3 qualifications achieved prior to 2015 are still valid.

Purchasing F-gas: Refrigerant wholesalers will need you to prove that your company employs qualified MAC technicians when you buy F-gas, otherwise your F-gas purchase will be refused. When setting-up an account with your supplier, you may be asked to provide training certificate details and sign a declaration that your qualifications are valid on a ‘letter of assurance’ document.

Compliance monitoring: The Environment Agency will be making routine checks of MAC service centres to ensure that technicians are suitably qualified. Those found to be operating illegally will face regulatory action which may include prosecution.

If you are concerned that you may not hold suitable qualifications, you should enrol on an appropriate course without delay. The Environment Agency’s F-gas Support Helpdesk can give you further advice on what is required.

Further information: New Defra approved guidance relating to F-gas in the MAC sector is available at www.gov.uk.

 For MAC search ‘F-gas in cars’.
 For more general guidance search ‘F-gas Regulations’.

For those that want direct queries answered then they can email: f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk

I also have a PDF copy of the compliance guidelines document for MAC operators which I can email through to any interested parties - please just drop us a line at pmm@hamerville.co.uk