The Environment Protection Agency, with support from the United Nations Industrial Organization (UNIDO), trains master trainers in the refrigeration industry.
Group photo with participants and organisers.
A three-day workshop for master trainers and technicians from five districts was organised at the Freetown Polytechnic College, Kissy Campus, with funds from the HPMP Stage II Project (Tranche 1) to address major difficulties in hydrocarbon technology management.
International specialist, Freeborn Taruvinga, past President of the RAC Technicians Association in Zimbabwe, handled the technical aspect, which included practical exercises on the safe and effective handling of hydrocarbon-based refrigerants, which are dangerous regardless of whether they are ozone or climate-friendly. He added that switching to natural refrigerants has certain safety implications. The precise reason why such training is necessary.
Bashiru Kargbo, the EPA’s Principal Ozone Officer, remarked that the capacity-building workshop is significant because it corresponds with the sustainable methods that the globe must adopt to tackle critical environmental concerns.
He stated that the training fulfilled promises made to the technicians, as EPA-SL continues to play a critical role in providing them with up-to-date information, skills, and equipment for the advanced refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) industry.
Bashiru Kargbo discussed the evolution of refrigerant technologies, from #CFCs to #HCFCs and #HFCs, and now to the next generation of refrigerants, known as natural refrigerants.
Participants in the workshop expressed gratitude to the #EPA and its partners for providing useful insights into the current advancements in hydrocarbon technology management and preparing them to implement best practices in their work.
They concluded that such training improves their technical skills and prepares them to take on leadership responsibilities in environmental protection.
Final Day group photo