Ammonia Refrigeration in Arenas
Did you know?
Based on the Hockey Canada/CRFC arena census done in 2005 – 1,857 arenas supplied us with building dates and at that time 45% of Canada’s rinks were already beyond their projected life expectancy. There has not been a recent study of this caliber to update these numbers.
The largest construction boom in Canada occurred throughout the 1970’s with 756 arenas built in the early 1970’s. Of 1,857 arenas that supplied construction dates 1,350 arenas were constructed before 1980; this translates to 47% of arenas being over 26 years of age. 594 arenas were constructed before 1960; this translates into 32% of arenas being over 36 years old. The oldest arena was constructed in 1921.
65% of ice arenas use ammonia as the primary refrigerant, 25% use freon as the primary refrigerant and 10% have natural ice. Primary heating fuels are natural gas with electricity being the second largest.
134 respondents indicated they had planned major renovations to their refrigeration system of $50,000 or more. 74% plan renovations between 2006 and 2008, 14% plan renovations between 2009 and 2012, 5% plan renovations between 2013 and 2015 and 7% plan renovations after 2015. The value of these renovations nationally is in excess of $335,000,000.
169 respondents indicated they had planned major renovations to the building of $100,000 to in excess of several million dollars. 48% plan renovations in 2006, 21% plan renovations in 2007, 15% plan renovations in 2008, 4% plan renovations in 2009 and 12% plan renovations beyond 2010. The value of these planned renovations nationally is in excess of $530,000,000.
Canada
- Environment Canada Implementation guidelines for Environmental Emergency Response (2011) (PDF)
- Canadian Recreation Facilities Council – National Arena Census May-Dec 2005 Executive Summary (PDF)
British Columbia
- WorksafeBC has a full and comprehensive PDF on all aspects of managing ammonia refrigeration system and is quite possibly one of the best reference pdf’s widely available in Canada referencing Canadian Legislation.
- December 2017 – BC Technical Standards issues safety order covering all Ammonia Refrigeration Systems
- BC Technical Standards Authority on Preventing Ammonia Exposure
- BC Ammonia Leak Detection
Newfoundland & Labrador
Ontario
- Ontario basic guideline for refrigeration code compliance (B-52)
- Comparison of Ammonia Systems to CO2 systems
- Excellent article: ORFA NEW Bulletin October 24th, 2017 – Ice Arena Registered Refrigeration Plant Safety Bulletin
- Also, view their Identifying Risks and Hazards PDF
- and Anhydrous Ammonia Exposure Worker Safety
Australia
Australia has a very well developed ammonia control infrastructure. Here are some resources that offer great value from down under.
- Australian Ammonia Compliance Audit Report – published by Department of Justice and Attorney-General
- Safety Audit checklist for Ammonia Refrigeration
United States
This is a very well documented and in-depth resource which is backed and supported by many key organizations.
- US Department of Labour IIAR Process Safety management Guidelines for Ammonia Refrigeration
- An overview of increasing regulatory requirements in the US
- The US Environmental Protection Agencies Accident Prevention Manual
- Evaluation and Control of Ammonia Refrigeration
- US Department of Labour Ammonia Refrigeration e-Tool on Emergency Response
United Kingdom
International
Cold Storage and Food Processing
An excellent article about managing risk in food cold storage
US Department of Labour Hazard Recognition for Ammonia Facilities