The UK Daily Mail reports on this in terms of Obama’s EPA nominee (via Tom Nelson thru Tallbloke’s Talkshop)
Gina McCarthy, who faces a hearing Thursday morning on her fitness to serve as EPA administrator, was primarily responsible for EPA’s promotion of an automotive air conditioning refrigerant that caused engine fires in Mercedes Benz testing, MailOnline can report.
McCarthy, EPA’s current air regulation chief, ‘provided the real forward motion’ for a plan to reward US automakers who used the new climate-change-friendly refrigerant known as ‘HFO-1234yf,’ according to an EPA staffer with knowledge of the agency’s internal processes who spoke on condition of anonymity.
When her EPA subagency, the Office of Air and Radiation, approved HOF-1234yf, McCarthy said that the chemical ‘helps fight climate change and ozone depletion.’
She kinda forgot to mention all the results of the tests by Daimler.
A Daimler engineer told Reuters in December that his team was ‘frozen in shock’ when they saw test after test of HOF-1234yf turn a car’s engine compartment into an inferno after small leaks were simulated. (snip)
The fireball that engulfed their precision engines was caused by a mixture of the refrigerant and air-conditioning compressor oil spraying across the engine block, producing a quick-heated mixture of toxic gas, including hydrogen fluoride – a corrosive compound that can destroy skin after the briefest of exposures and quickly cause blindness. (snip)
He also noted that when HOF-1234yf is released into the atmosphere, it decomposes into other compounds that are ‘extremely persistent’ in the environment.
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes Benz, recalled every vehicle that used HOF-1234yf. VM, Porsche, and BMW steadfastly refuse to use it. Real world data by these companies show that there is a serious danger in the event of even a minor accident, not too mention that it is actually bad for the real environment. Yet, McCarthy pushed this refrigerant hard and seemingly downplayed the danger
Bill Wilson, president of Americans for Limited Government, called it ‘outrageous that Gina McCarthy is being considered for a promotion, when her actions in pushing this dangerous refrigerant into American automobiles shows a callous disregard both for consumers and the environment.’
‘If anything,’ he said, ‘she should be fired, and a special counsel should be appointed to get to the bottom of whether this approval is malfeasance or just incompetence.’
Yeah, but she was just trying to save us all from a burning planet, plus, hey, it would mean more cars off the road. Warmists don’t want Other People driving.
