HOW DEADLY IS FREON?
The dangers of huffing Freon are extreme. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, a single instance of abusing Freon can cause a syndrome known as Sudden Sniffing Death, or SSD. In SSD, exposure to Freon causes an irregular heart rhythm. This leads to heart failure and death within minutes of huffing the chemical. This can occur the very first time someone uses Freon, or any time after that.
Another danger specific to Freon is respiratory injury and death caused by the sudden freezing of the airways. This can occur any time someone huffs Freon, even the first time.
Chronic abuse of Freon can cause brain damage due to the brain being deprived of oxygen. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that chronic inhalant abuse can cause the brain to shrink and lead to mental impairment. It can even cause severe dementia.
Freon is also highly toxic to the liver, with chronic abuse causing severe and potentially irreversible organ damage.
Obviously, abuse of Freon is extremely dangerous. So how can you know if the Freon in your HVAC system is being abused?
SIGNS OF FREON ABUSE
The major sign to watch out for is that your air conditioner or heat pump keeps needing to be recharged with refrigerant. When your HVAC technician can’t find a leak, that may be a sign. The refrigerant in your air conditioner or heat pump is contained in a closed system. The level should stay constant unless there’s a leak. It can also mean someone is opening up your HVAC and siphoning out the Freon.
A missing cap inside of the HVAC unit can also be a sign that someone has been opening it up to get at the Freon.
People abusing Freon often use plastic bags to capture it. Finding plastic bags left around your HVAC unit could be another warning sign.
HOW CAN I PREVENT FREON ABUSE?
You can also take steps to help prevent anyone from accessing the Freon in your HVAC unit.
Safety experts recommend having a special locking cap installed on your compressor. You’ll need an HVAC technician to install one of these caps, which can only be opened with a key.
Put a fence around your HVAC unit. However, it’s very important that the fence is far enough away from the unit to allow proper airflow and so that your HVAC technician has enough room to work on the unit when necessary.
Place a lock on the gate.
Talk about the dangers of inhalant abuse with the pre-teens and teenagers in your family.
Often, young people don’t realize how dangerous huffing is. It’s particularly important that they know abusing inhalants like Freon can be deadly even the very first time someone tries it. Knowing the dangers of huffing freon from air conditioners is the first step to preventing more tragedies like the ones that have devastated so many families already. Working together, we can stop Freon abuse.
