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The ALICE RPCs are operated with a mixture of 89.7% $C_{2}H_{2}F_{4}$, 10%i-$C_{4}H_{10}$ and 0.3% $SF_{6}$. $C_{2}H_{2}F_{4}$ and $SF_{6}$ arefluorinated greenhouse gases with a high Global Warming Potential (GWP). NewEuropean Union regulations have imposed a progressive phase-down of theproduction and usage of F-gases, aiming to cut down their emission by twothirds in 2030 with respect to 2014. Even though research activities areexcluded from these regulations, the phase-down will inevitably increase theirprice and CERN is also aiming to cut down on its emissions. For these reasonsit is crucial to find a more eco-friendly gas mixture for RPCs by the time ofthe LHC long shutdown 3, foreseen in 2026. Since $C_{2}H_{2}F_{4}$ is the maincontributor to the mixture GWP, an extensive R&D process has started to replaceit with tetrafluoropropene ($C_{3}H_{2}F_{4}$), due to its chemical similaritywith $C_{2}H_{2}F_{4}$ and its low GWP (around 7). Preliminary tests withcosmic rays have shown promising results in terms of detector performance. Thenext step is to study the long-term behavior of RPCs operated with these newgas mixtures (aging studies). Since this is a subject of interest for all (andnot only) the LHC experiments, a collaboration, ECOgas@GIF++, was setup tocarry out joint studies. Among others, a small ALICE-like RPC was installed atthe Gamma Irradiation Facility at CERN, where they are exposed to a strongradiation field, coming from a 12.5 TBq $^{137}$Cs source, which allows one tosimulate many years of operation in a relatively short time. The facility alsoprovides a muon beam at specific times of the year, which can be used to studythe detector performance (e.g. efficiency and cluster size) during and afterirradiation.

Searching for an eco-friendly gas mixture for the ALICE Resistive Plate Chambers