Refrigerator Leaks Causes Hazmat Response

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Leaking sulfur dioxide in a home

It might be a bit of an overreaction, but I think it was an appropriate one, I remember up at the Pittsburgh Appliance Recycler one of these refrigerators started leaking sulfur dioxide they evacuated this huge warehouse the smell was so bad. this was a major hazard when these refrigerators were in common use, fortunately they were heavily built enough that it almost never happened in Normal use.

John
 
I was talking to someone about this a day or so ago.  In the article linked where the emergency services hospitalized someone for an SO2 leak in June 2024; it seems they were trying to "dispose of" the refrigerator which had been in their basement out of service. Apparently they decided it was too heavy to move as one piece so they started trying to dismantle it, and cut something. 
 

My initial thoughts were that the pictures associated with the article are not high enough resolution to see any damage to the evaporator. The bottom also doesn't seem to be rusted which could have compromised the steel tubing.

In my 10 plus years dealing with them, as well as hearing others' stories while working with this and other forums; I have only seen a "tiny handful" of spontaneous catastrophic SO2 leaks. If leaks do develop they are typically very small. The vast majority of catastrophic leaks are caused by accidents of some sort (typically while moving the fridge) or by people puncturing or cutting the system accidentally or on purpose. It seems that likely the last one is the reason for this release.

 

What follows is a cautionary tale which came to mind when this story was sent to me.

 

The TL;DR (too long, didn't read) version is this - Do not call the fire department if you have an SO2 leak. They may cause severe damage to your home and its contents. Once they decide it is an emergency you are powerless to ask them to leave your property. Because many departments are unfamiliar with this situation they are likely to declare it an emergency because that is how they are trained to react to unknown gases.

 

The correct course of action is to leave the area while opening all windows and doors. Ventilate the building with a fan. Use the fan to stay upwind of the fridge while you move it it outside.

 

Now for the long version. This has been a few years back and was in the northeast if I remember. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(John L you may be familiar with this one!) The owners had a beautiful two-door Frigidiare AP-series two-tone porcelain fridge. It had been in their family since it was new. The cabinet was in near-perfect condition but the cooling unit had not run in years. The larger AP-series cabinets weigh around 700 pounds. The grandson of the owners disturbed the compressor (I would assume he forced the flywheel to turn while it was stuck.) This caused an SO2 leak. They called emergency services and the fire department responded. Once they detected there was an unfamiliar irritating odor in the house, they did not allow the owner to re-enter and did not ask for any further permission from the home owners as to what they were planning to do. As opposed to ventilating the house and making a sane and safe plan to remove the leaking refrigerator, they tried manually moving it out of the house. It was too heavy so they used cables to slide it out of the house, without any sort of protection for the flooring. They also tipped the cabinet against walls. Once it was outdoors, they tipped the cabinet over face-down on a trailer, destroying the hinges, handles, porcelain, and basically the whole cabinet. In addition to the destroyed fridge which had great sentimental value, there was damage to the house in the many thousands of dollars range; by way of damaged hardwood floors, ripped carpet, and punctured walls. The fire department said "take it up with your homeowners' insurance" when confronted about this. They also were not allowed to have any part of the Frigidaire back once it was taken away for hazmat disposal.

Sincerely,

David 

 
Old refrigerators, leaking sulfur dioxide

Wow, David that’s quite a story, The refrigerator like the one in this post that caused the problems in the huge warehouse in Pittsburgh they accidentally severed the line where they come out under the top at the back where they’re exposed. That’s what caused the leak. I would agree. It’s very unlikely these refrigerators would leak in normal use. Even the evaporator was so heavily, defrosting it with an ice pick would be unlikely to cause a leak.

We had a similar experience to the other story you recounted David when I found an AP7 in a basement at an estate sale back in the mid 1980s I made a deal with the estate sale guy to buy it for $50. We were contemplating how to get it out of the basement and into my enclosed Dodge van and I was looking the thing over, luckily there were no stairs and looking over I turned the main crankshaft pulley a little bit to see if it was seized or anything and a few minutes later we noticed this awful smell that was burning our nose, etc. we went ahead and got the refrigerator out outside the basement door, but decided there was no way we were going to put it in the van and drive so I took a wrench and I loosened up one of the flare fittings on top of the receiver tank and the green liquid. Continue to bubble out for a long period of time. So we decided to leave it there overnight and come back and get it on Sunday, when we came back the next day, the grass and a lot of shrubbery had brown leaves on it, and it was in the backyard of a small townhouse and it had killed shrubbery in the neighbors yard too.

We just tightened it back up and took the refrigerator with us , I remember calling poison control when this started happening and they had no idea what to do. Luckily, we did not call the fire department.

The refrigerator had been sitting in the basement many years because it stopped working, but someone didn’t want to throw it away because I’m sure it was expensive in the day .

My brother Jeff fitted an R12 system in the refrigerator and it’s still working today with a whirlpool rotary compressor in fact.

Poor Dan takeoff the rose colored glasses. There is no evidence this refrigerator that caused the problem ran for 90 years, yes it was 90 years old, but it might’ve died 60 years ago.

There is also no evidence that current simple refrigerators and freezers without fan motors and such may not last 30 40 even 50 years there’s no reason to believe they won’t, only time will tell.

John
 
Happy ending

John, it is great that the AP-7 was able to be saved in the end and you and your brother didn't have a Bad Experience with the authorities!  I also learned the hard way about forcing the flywheels on these old belt-drive compressors. The shaft seal will corrode and seize up, then leak catastrophically when moved. 

Now, when I go on a recovery mission for one of these, I take the proper tools to close the compressor service valves before doing anything. Also the old Frigidiares like the W- and AP-series have methods to lock down and secure the condensing unit frame for transport which should be secured. That will prevent cracked lines during transport or loading / unloading.

 

The Frigidiare M5-2 currently in my collection was placed in the General Motors records vault in the 30's as it was part of a court case. I obtained it about 4 years ago. During the rebuild of its cooling system, I discovered a full charge of SO2 trapped in the system. I had tried to discharge it safely before repairs, but over the decades of sitting, it had formed multiple blockages in the valves. The system didn't discharge and I was met with "issues" when dismantling it.  Had to roll it outdoors and walk away from it overnight while it fizzed and fumed.

As for current model fridges lasting 40 - 50 years I will also be interested. In the past, the oils used with R134A have been the life limiting factor when they break down and crystallize, blocking the system. The newer systems with R600A have gone back to mineral or AB oils which do not have this problem. Assuming the actual mechanical engineering of the compressor is up to the task, there is absolutely no reason these cannot have similar life spans to the earlier models we like here.  I fear, however, that while the sealed system may last a very long time, the plastics which make up the cabinet may end up being the life limiting factor which causes many new fanless units to be replaced in the end. 
 
I work in a mine with Sulphide ore
When exposed to fresh air the ore begins to oxidize, sometimes it smoulders.

It's hard to describe the smell, but its irritating.
If your not familiar with it, like most odds things you smell that you are not familiar with you might not recognize the danger at first.
As the gas contacts your eyes throat and other mucous membranes it become acid.
In high enough doses it will kill you.

I've worked in places where the SO2 has stripped the enamel off the teeth of the men that worked on the melt deck.
That's at a constant low dose.
Still nothing you want to be around....
 
I guess I need to have a plan?

My old girl still has SO2 and there’s been times I’ve wondered what to if it ever developed a leak.
She sits in a recessed spot in the kitchen and the only way I can move it, is first empty it, then sit on the floor with my legs under it, with my feet against the wall behind it for leverage and then pull it out by its front feet. At least that’s how I’ve move her before to paint behind.
That’s as far as I can go by myself, as it takes at least two people to lift off the top.
Then it would have to be carried down 5 steps to get it outside. (Pic below of back steps and pic of recessed spot it sits in)
After reading David’s story.. I know not to call the Fire Dept!
So I suppose..just open the windows turn on all the ceiling fans, then get out of the house til help arrives.. and hope the gas don’t eat the paint off the walls?

stan-2024060600215305928_1.jpg

stan-2024060600215305928_2.jpg
 
SO2 myths....

Stan; I know you're being facetious about a Monitor Top leaking SO2 and removing the paint from the walls; but I want to explain how SO2 does cause damage.  If you lose that entire charge in the house all at once, it would leave no lasting evidence once it was ventilated.

 

The corroded systems you've seen me restore in videos happen from very longterm, low concentration exposure to SO2.  For instance a belt-drive Frigidiare system with 5 pounds of the stuff seeping out over a period of decades. It slowly interacts with moisture in the air and causes the area around the leak to get corroded.  

 

As one of the last few who work on SO2 systems, I can say for sure that my shop has seen its share of SO2 releases and the paint is still on the walls, and everything is not corroded in the shop. 

 

If you detect a leak on your Monitor Top, have someone assist you move it outdoors. Then, crate it up and send it to me and I'll get it working like new and recharged with R152A as opposed to SO2. :) 

 

 
 
As far as I know, SO2 is significantly heavier than air.
So most small leaks in a normal living area will dilute pretty quickly and with very little hazard to a person.

The original article mentions it's a basement - so if the leak is significant enough for all of it to leak out over a few hours, you could end up with a very unpleasant situation where the basement acts like a bathtub catching all the gas with minor dilution.
So doing anything to mitigate the situation would possibly require spending extended time in a very high concentration environment of that stuff.
All ways risk property damage rather than your health - one is expensive, the other is expensive and not restorable.

Refrigerants are a terrible thing, really.
The really good ones are toxic.
The non-toxic ones attack the ozone layer.
The non-toxic, ozone friendly ones are incredibly intense greenhouse gases.
And those that aren't are flammable/explosive.

Really can't win with these...
 
GE vintage refrigerator

Hi Stan, I would not worry about using that refrigerator in my own home. It’s very unlikely to ever start leaking sulfur dioxide, if in the very unlikely event that it does leak put an exhaust fan in a Window ideally near the refrigerator such as a kitchen window and get the air moving out of the house until the odor goes away using a ceiling fan is not generally helpful that just mixes up the air with the heavier gas into room.

John
 
Thank you

David and John for ur responses..David is correct.. I was being a little facetious!
Thanks John for putting the skids on the ceiling fan idea...I hadn’t thought of that.
I do have legitimate concerns about moving her. That part I wasn’t being facetious about.
I ain’t getting any younger and she’s heavy!
Hopefully I’ll never have to move her far.
 

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