Important Info on Refrigerant Handling Certificates
03/10/19
Do you have a Refrigerant Handling Certificate? Read on for important information!
Do you work in a garage or auto dealership that offers an air conditioning refrigerant refill service for vehicles?
Do you purchase refrigerant chemicals or are you a licensed refrigerant handler?
Most importantly, do you have a valid certificate?
Regulation surrounding these certificates are scheduled to change soon. Keep an eye on these upcoming changes, and make sure you’re covered- you have until 31st October.
What's Changing?
Preparing for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is not just a matter for the EU and national authorities, but also for professionals and businesses.
As blanket regulations would not be suitable for multiple markets, people must exchange their certificates to ensure they will be recognised in their respective regions.
Should a “No Deal” Brexit go ahead in its current form, all Refrigerant Handling Certificates issued to Irish technicians through UK cities and guilds will no longer be valid.
For the refrigeration industry, this included certificates issued by City & Guilds, CITB, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), BESA and Logic Certification Ltd.
Previously, awarding bodies for all Irish certs have been predominantly UK-based, but these will not be recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland.
What is provided to protect individuals and businesses in event of Brexit?
Legislation has been drawn up in Ireland which will allow UK-issued personal certificates to be exchanged for Irish certificates which will be valid in the Republic of Ireland as well as in the 27 remaining member states of the EU, and in the UK. However, this exchange must be completed by 23.00hours on 31st October 2019. No applications for exchange of certificates will be accepted after this date.
As a supplier of air-conditioning refrigerants R134A and 1234YF, we wished to remind you of these imminent changes to refrigerant handling certification.
Please note that all questions regarding these changes should be addressed directly to the Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.ie) who is the authority handling the matter, and not to Würth Ireland.
The exchange process is outlined below as on the EPA website:
What do you need to do?
YOU WILL NEED TO ACT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID LOSING YOUR QUALIFICATION
To exchange your certificate, you will need to log on to the EPA website (www.epa.ie) and complete the application process: http://www.epa.ie/air/airenforcement/ozone/training/brexitodsfgas/
Or
Go to EPA website www.epa.ie
Search for “Brexit”
Select “Training and Qualifications”
Select “Brexit ODS/FGas”. This should bring you to the application process where you will be asked to provide your profession
Select your current qualification i.e. mobile air conditioning (MAC), Refrigeration or Fire etc.
Included in the process is a requirement to upload a current engineer’s certificate for exchange.
The uploaded certificates will be examined for authenticity and assuming everything is in order the EPA will issue an exchange EU-recognised certificate via e-mail.
This exchange must be completed by 23.00hours on 31st October 2019.