Well R152a is a highly flammable gas that produces hydrogen fluoride and carbon monoxide as it burns.
R12 on the other hand is used a fire suppressant on submarines.
I don’t think banning the use of a high flammable gas in systems originally designed to operate with a fire suppressant is a bad idea.
I think it’s quite reasonable to assume that designers of R12 systems didn’t worry about accidental leaks into enclosed environments with ignition sources, on account of an R12 leak being completely safe in that situation. R152a on the other hand, that’s just an explosion waiting to happen.
Misinformation seems to abound about refrigerants as much as anything else, but 152a is definitely NOT "highly flammable" or we would see gas dusters having the same warnings that propane and isobutane (R290, R600a) come with. It is classified as "slightly flammable", and is actually rather difficult to ignite in practice.
R12 on the other hand is used a fire suppressant on submarines.
I don’t think banning the use of a high flammable gas in systems originally designed to operate with a fire suppressant is a bad idea.
I think it’s quite reasonable to assume that designers of R12 systems didn’t worry about accidental leaks into enclosed environments with ignition sources, on account of an R12 leak being completely safe in that situation. R152a on the other hand, that’s just an explosion waiting to happen.