/oss/taxonomy/term/2690/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/are-your-refrigerator-habits-inviting-unwanted-bacteria <p>As a kid I grew up being told that I had to let food cool down before putting it in the fridge. I was under the notion that placing warm food directly in the refrigerator could cause the other foods in the refrigerator to warm up. I had also been told that placing warm food in the refrigerator was a waste of energy as the fridge would have to work harder to maintain a cool temperature. I was shocked when I learned that leaving leftovers to cool on the countertop posed a potential risk for my health.</p> Fri, 02 Aug 2024 14:39:35 +0000 Daniela Padres 10014 at /oss /oss/article/environment-you-asked/refrigerators-and-climate-change <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5194"><img alt="" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/05/CFC-150x150.gif" width="150" /></a>The walls of refrigerators have to be heavily insulated in order to maintain efficient cooling. Polyurethane foam insulation has been the classic material used for this purpose and guess what it used to be “blown” with? Chlorofluorocarbons! Foams are created by blowing a gas into an appropriate substance to form bubbles. Of course the gas must not react with the material, and in the case of insulation, should not transmit heat. CFCs, the same substances used as refrigerants, were ideal, at least until their environmental consequences were discovered. Legislation was then introduced that called for the removal of the refrigerant from any discarded refrigerator. But, surely surprising to most people, far more CFCs were used for foam blowing than for refrigeration.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/05/06/by-law-chlorofluorocarbons-cfcs-used-as-refrigerants-in-refrigerators-must-be-removed-before-the-appliance-can-be-discarded-this-only-solves-part-of-the-ozone-depletion-and-global-warming-problem">Read more</a></p> Mon, 06 May 2013 21:51:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1932 at /oss