Canned Dusters Must Use Less-Potent, Cheaper Greenhouse Gas

By GreenerDesign Staff
Published August 29, 2008

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Companies that sell pressurized gas dusters in California have to switch to a propellant that has a lower global warming potential, and is cheaper, than the other most-common propellant.

The California Air Resources Board, which regulates volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases in consumer products, has issued a regulation preventing companies from using HFC-134a, a chemical 1,300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, in canned dusters.

The regulation says dusters cannot contain any compound that has a global warming potential of 150 or more, leaving companies with the option of using CO2, which has a global warming potential of 1, or another propellant, HFC-152a, with a global warming potential of 140.

According to the Board, HFC-134a and HFC-152a are the main greenhouse gases used in consumer products, and the rule was set to move companies away from HFC-134a.

HFC-152a is also less expensive than the other chemical, according to the Board, which estimates that companies will see cost savings when they reformulate products. "It is actually very popular, and many of them (the manufacturers) are already moving to the alternative," said Board spokesman Dimitri Stanich.