Ever wonder how your local grocery store keeps all their produce, meats, drinks, and bread fresh by the time it gets distributed for your weekly grocery run?
Suppliers must refrigerate all food and drinks once the product is made to the time it is delivered to your local HEB or Trader Joe’s. Most people think of freon as a refrigerant, but ammonia is actually the most commonly used commercial refrigerant in the food and beverage industry today.
Ammonia has replaced the more popular use of freon for two essential reasons:
Environmentally friendly
Cost-effective
Unlike freon, or otherwise known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), ammonia has an ozone depletion rating of 0. Throughout the years, it has been discovered that CFCs have a huge contribution to greenhouse gases that destroy the ozone layer.
In addition to being earth-friendly, ammonia is extremely cost-effective when compared to freon. Due to its chemical properties, ammonia requires less piping material and is a more efficient refrigerant resulting in less costs in building an ammonia system and maintaining daily operations.
But what’s the catch?
It’s vital for everyone working at an ammonia refrigeration plant to understand the hazards. Exposure to ammonia at high concentrations can cause lung damage or even death. It’s imperative that all companies working with ammonia take the right precautions to prevent any harm to their employees. Process & Safety Solutions (PSS) develops and maintains OSHA and EPA regulatory compliance for our clients by helping out in areas such as:
Annual Visual Inspections
Testing & Inspection Safety Systems
Compressor Oil Sampling & Analysis
PHA Revalidation
Operator Refresher Training
And more!
Contact PSS today to get started with a process safety management plan and OSHA compliance audit.