International News
ILLEGAL REFRIGERANT SEIZURES IN EUROPE TOP EUR500 000 FOR 2020
Romanian customs is the latest port to report seizure of another 76 tonnes of illegal HFC .
Intelligence supplied by the European Anti-Fraud Office ( OLAF ) has enabled Romanian authorities to intercept over 76 tonnes of illegal HFC refrigerant .
Thought to be the largest seizure in Europe since the F-gas phase down began , the 76 045kg of illicit refrigerant gases included R134a , R404a , R407C and R507 . OLAF investigators had been monitoring a suspicious shipment from China that had been discharged in Turkey , removed from its container and re-routed by truck to the EU .
The customs documents accompanying several shipments revealed that they were destined for five different consignees in Romania . Four of the consignees were not registered to receive imports of these refrigerants , while the fifth one would have significantly exceeded its quota for 2020 with its share of the shipment .
In addition , in most of the cases , the refrigerant gases were packaged in illegal non-refillable cylinders . OLAF is said to have alerted the Directorate General of Customs in Romania , which in turn liaised with the Ministry of Environment , Waters and Forests as well as with the National Environmental Guard , to prevent the shipment reaching the EU market .
“ This is the second case in a matter of months where OLAF intelligence has kept several tonnes of illicit refrigerant gases off the EU market ,” commented OLAF director general , Ville Itälä . “ The fight against the illegal import of HFCs into the EU is one of OLAF ’ s operational priorities .
“ The environmental impact of these illicit imports can be devastating . Preventing them from entering the EU is OLAF ’ s contribution to protecting citizens , the environment and legitimate trade ,” he added .
The European Anti-Fraud Office ’ s crackdown on the illegal trade in Hydrofluorocarbon ( HFCs ) has led to the prior seizure of 14 tonnes of illegal refrigerants at the port of Rotterdam where photographs indicate the shipment included R410A , R32 and R404A . That bust involved 1 150 cylinders – all of them also illegal non-refillables .
The successful seizures are said to have been the result of close co-operation between the European Anti-Fraud Office
Environmental Investigation Agency
( OLAF ) and authorities in the Netherlands , Lithuania and Poland where other investigations began with suspicious cargo destined for a consignee in Lithuania being identified that was not registered to receive imports of this nature .
The shipments also coming from China was initially discharged in the port of Hamburg and declared in transit towards Rotterdam , in the Netherlands , despite the fact that the final destination was Lithuania . Further investigations established that the cargo was destined for a storage facility in Poland .
“ The fight against the illegal import of HFCs into the EU is one of OLAF ’ s operational priorities , in line with the European Commission ’ s ambition to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050 with its European Green Deal ,” said Itälä .
“ The successful seizure of these dangerous imports once again underlines the importance of accurate intelligence from OLAF and good cooperation with national authorities in keeping people safe ,” Itälä added .
After some time in denying that the illegal trade was a significant problem , the European Commission ’ s Anti Fraud Office announced in January 2020 , that the fight against illegal imports of HFCs was one of its key operational priorities . Since then , it has had a number of notable successes across Europe .
This is the fourth major bust of illegal refrigerants , where prior seizures were carried out earlier this year . The first two in February 2020 , were seized in Milan , Italy with 10 tonnes and 2.5 tonnes respectively of HFC refrigerants from China and Turkey . The estimated value of the refrigerants prior to this bust is in the region of EUR219 000 . RACA
The latest seizures include R410A , R32 and R404A .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I January 2021 15