JMS Hockey

Freon, a chloroflourocarbon, is very useful for our ice rinks, but very very bad for the environment… being phased out according to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, but it's super costly. In MN, there are about 120 rinks that still use Freon--about 450,000 pounds total. The rinks need to upgrade and the process is very costly as it involves jackhammering up the rink floor to put in an ammonia-based system. Klobuchar working with EPA specifically on ice rinks part of freon phase-out and some state legislators are trying to get the state to help out cash-strapped (usually podunk) municipalities that own the rinks. How bad is Freon? A pound does same ozone damage as CO2 emissions from 75 gallons of gas. http://www.startribune.com/local/254055631.html

I know this thread is older. But I wanted to comment that Freon is only harmful when allowed to escape into the ozone. the systems are closed, and as long as there are no leaks there is no harm to the environment.