>I have been living in an apartment since August, 1997, with a frige
>which I suspect has been losing Freon gas; the landlord had it
>recharged with Freon without checking the leak. He claims it is
>not toxic, but I heard from various sources that it is. Does anybody
>know about it, or can provide evidence?
>Thanks.
>Eunmi Shim
Well, I was going to say that it should be not a problem.
Presumably the freons are very safe. However, I just opened Doull
and Casarett's (4th edition) to page 442 and read that "recently the
low-pressure fluorocarbons, the Freons, have been reported to be
sensitizing agents." This is regarding sensitization of the heart to
the arrhythmogenic effect of endogenous epinephrine or to
beta-adrenergic agonist drugs. Can anyone elaborate on this?
Of course, regarding the specific question posted above, even if the
freon could cause this effect one would have to ask 1) at what
exposure level it has been observed (if it has been observed in
humans) and 2) if enough freon is leaking from the fridge to pose a
problem.
Antonio
