HFC Refrigerants Do Not Contribute to PFAS Found in Water

Lately, there have been many news stories about PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," found in drinking water, rivers, and people’s bloodstreams. Forever chemicals are getting attention because they don’t break down easily, and many cause health problems. However, confusing forever chemicals with the refrigerants we use in air conditioners and refrigeration systems is a mistake.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) refrigerants are very different from forever chemicals in how they act in the environment and how they affect people.

HFCs Don’t Mix with Water

One of the most significant problems with PFAS, specifically those considered forever chemicals, is that they dissolve in water. This helps them move through soil and into drinking water supplies, where humans can absorb them.

HFC refrigerants don’t do that. When released into the atmosphere, HFCs are gases and rise into the air and break down in the atmosphere. They do not mix with water and do not build up in rivers, lakes, or groundwater.

What Happens After It Breaks Down in the Atmosphere?

Some HFCs, like R-134a and R-1234yf (which is a component of R-454B), break down in the air into a chemical called TFA (trifluoroacetic acid). TFA eventually falls to the ground when it rains and can end up in surface water. Scientists have found TFA in the environment for decades, long before modern refrigerants were in use.

That sounds concerning, but here’s the important part: TFA does not build up in the body like PFAS forever chemicals. Because forever chemicals aren’t easily cleansed from the body, the chemicals build up in tissues, which causes health issues. TFA, on the other hand, is easily removed from the body by its natural processes. For this reason, the EPA and international researchers have not found any health risks from TFA at the levels seen in the environment.

Other refrigerants like R-22 and R-125 (used in R-410A) break down into intermediate compounds like carbonyl fluoride, which further degrades into carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride. Both of these molecules are also released from natural sources. R-32 degrades directly into carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride.

Why the Difference Matters

HFCs and forever chemicals contain fluorine, but that doesn’t mean they behave or pose the same risks. HFCs are mainly a climate issue, and they’re already being phased down under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act.

This difference hasn’t stopped some policymakers from lumping HFCs together with PFAS, which creates rules that do more harm than good. Banning refrigerants based on incorrect assumptions would make it harder for homes and businesses to stay cool without solving the real problem.

We all want clean water and a safe environment. But we need to focus on what the science says. HFC refrigerants are not the same as forever chemicals. They do not pollute water, and their breakdown products are not known to harm people.

Regulators and the public need to understand the difference to keep HVACR products running safely without creating new problems based on bad information.

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