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Protection of Stratospheric Ozone
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: October 2, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 190)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 51383-51390]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 82
[FRL-5306-4]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
SUMMARY: This action proposes restrictions or prohibitions on
substitutes for ozone depleting substances (ODSs) under the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Significant New Alternatives
Policy (SNAP) program. SNAP implements section 612 of the amended Clean
Air Act of 1990 which requires EPA to evaluate and regulate substitutes
for the ODSs to reduce overall risk to human health and the
environment. Through these evaluations, SNAP generates lists of
acceptable and unacceptable substitutes for each of the major
industrial use sectors. The intended effect of the SNAP program is to
expedite movement away from ozone depleting compounds while avoiding a
shift into high-risk substitutes posing other environmental problems.
On March 18, 1994, EPA promulgated a final rulemaking setting forth
its plan for administering the SNAP program (59 FR 13044), and issued
decisions on the acceptability and unacceptability of a number
substitutes. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), EPA is
issuing its preliminary decisions on the acceptability of certain
substitutes not previously reviewed by the Agency. To arrive at
determinations on the acceptability of substitutes, the Agency
completed a cross-media evaluation of risks to human health and the
environment by sector end-use.
DATES: Written comments or data provided in response to this document
must be submitted by November 1, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and data should be sent to Docket A-91-42,
Central Docket Section, South Conference Room 4, U.S. Environmental
Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. The docket may be
inspected between 8 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. Telephone (202)
260-7549; fax (202) 260-4400. As provided in 40 CFC part 2, a
reasonable fee may be charged for photocopying. To expedite review, a
second copy of the comments should be sent to Sally Rand, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, U.S. EPA, 401 M
Street, S.W., 6205-J, Washington, D.C. 20460. Information designated as
Confidential Business Information (CBI) under 40 CFR, part 2 subpart B
must be sent directly to the contact person for this notice. However,
the Agency is requesting that all respondents submit a non-confidential
version of their comments to the docket as well.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally Rand at (202) 233-9739 or fax
(202) 233-9577, Substitutes Analysis and Review Branch, Stratospheric
Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and
Radiation, Washington, D.C. 20460
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview of This Action
This action is divided into five sections, including this overview:
I. Overview of This Action
II. Section 612 Program
A. Statutory Requirements
B. Regulatory History
III. Proposed Listing of Substitutes
IV. Administrative Requirements
V. Additional Information
Appendix A: Summary of Proposed Listing Decisions
II. Section 612 Program
A. Statutory Requirements
Section 612 of the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to develop a
program for evaluating alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. EPA
is referring to this program as the Significant New Alternatives Policy
(SNAP) program. The major provisions of section 612 are:
Rulemaking--Section 612(c) requires EPA to promulgate rules making
it unlawful to replace any class I (chlorofluorocarbon, halon, carbon
tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, methyl bromide, and
hydrobromofluorocarbon) or class II (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) substance
with any substitute that the Administrator determines may present
adverse effects to human health or the environment where the
Administrator has identified an alternative that (1) reduces the
overall risk to human health and the environment, and (2) is currently
or potentially available.
Listing of Unacceptable/Acceptable Substitutes--Section 612(c) also
requires EPA to publish a list of the substitutes unacceptable for
specific uses. EPA must publish a corresponding list of acceptable
alternatives for specific uses.
Petition Process--Section 612(d) grants the right to any person to
petition EPA to add a substitute to or delete a substitute from the
lists published in accordance with section 612(c). The Agency has 90
days to grant or deny a petition. Where the Agency grants the petition,
EPA must publish the revised lists within an additional six months.
90-day Notification--Section 612(e) requires EPA to require any
person who produces a chemical substitute for a class I substance to
notify the Agency not less than 90 days before new or existing
chemicals are introduced into interstate commerce for significant new
uses as substitutes for a class I substance. The producer must also
provide the Agency with the producer's unpublished health and safety
studies on such substitutes.
Outreach--Section 612(b)(1) states that the Administrator shall
seek to maximize the use of federal research facilities and resources
to assist users of class I and II substances in identifying and
developing alternatives to the use of such substances in key commercial
applications.
Clearinghouse--Section 612(b)(4) requires the Agency to set up a
public clearinghouse of alternative chemicals, product substitutes, and
alternative manufacturing processes that are available for products and
manufacturing processes which use class I and II substances.
B. Regulatory History
On March 18, 1994, EPA published the Final Rulemaking (FRM) (59 FR
13044) which described the process for administering the SNAP program
and issued EPA's first acceptability lists for substitutes in the major
industrial use sectors. These sectors include: refrigeration and air
conditioning; foam blowing; solvent cleaning; fire suppression and
explosion protection; sterilants; aerosols; adhesives, coatings and
inks; and tobacco expansion. These sectors comprise the principal
industrial sectors that historically consume large volumes of ozonedepleting
compounds.
The Agency defines a ``substitute'' as any chemical, product
substitute, or alternative manufacturing process, whether existing or
new, that could replace a class I or class II substance. Anyone who
produces a substitute must provide the Agency with health and safety
studies on the substitute at least 90 days before introducing it into
interstate commerce for significant new use as an alternative. This
requirement applies to chemical manufacturers, but may include
importers, formulators or
[[Page 51384]]
end-users when they are responsible for introducing a substitute into
commerce.
III. Proposed Listing of Substitutes
To develop the lists of unacceptable and acceptable substitutes,
EPA conducts screens of health and environmental risks posed by various
substitutes for ozone-depleting compounds in each use sector. The
outcome of these risks screens can be found in the public docket, as
described above in the Addresses portion of this notice.
Under section 612, the Agency has considerable discretion in the
risk management decisions it can make in SNAP. The Agency has
identified five possible decision categories: acceptable, acceptable
subject to use conditions; acceptable subject to narrowed use limits;
unacceptable; and pending. Acceptable substitutes can be used for all
applications within the relevant sector end-use. Conversely, it is
illegal to replace an ODS with a substitute listed by SNAP as
unacceptable. A pending listing represents substitutes for which the
Agency has not received complete data or has not completed its review
of the data.
After reviewing a substitute, the Agency may make a determination
that a substitute is acceptable only if certain conditions of use are
met to minimize risks to human health and the environment. Use of such
substitutes in ways that are inconsistent with such use conditions
renders these substitutes unacceptable.
Even though the Agency can restrict the use of a substitute based
on the potential for adverse effects, it may be necessary to permit a
narrowed range of use within a sector end-use because of the lack of
alternatives for specialized applications. Users intending to adopt a
substitute acceptable with narrowed use limits must ascertain that
other acceptable alternatives are not technically feasible. Companies
must document the results of their evaluation, and retain the results
on file for the purpose of demonstrating compliance. This documentation
shall include descriptions of substitutes examined and rejected,
processes or products in which the substitute is needed, reason for
rejection of other alternatives, e.g., performance, technical or safety
standards, and the anticipated date other substitutes will be available
and projected time for switching to other available substitutes. Use of
such substitutes in application and end-uses which are not specified as
acceptable in the narrowed use limit renders these substitutes
unacceptable.
In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), EPA is issuing its
preliminary decision on the acceptability of certain substitutes not
previously reviewed by the Agency. As described in the final rule for
the SNAP program (59 FR 13044), EPA believes that notice-and-comment
rulemaking is required to place any alternative on the list of
prohibited substitutes, to list a substitute as acceptable only under
certain use conditions or narrowed use limits, or to remove an
alternative from either the list of prohibited or acceptable
substitutes.
EPA does not believe that rulemaking procedures are required to
list alternatives as acceptable with no limitations. Such listings do
not impose any sanction, nor do they remove any prior license to use a
substitute. Consequently, EPA is adding substitutes to the list of
acceptable alternatives without first requesting comment on new
listings. Updates to the acceptable and pending lists are published as
separate Notices of Acceptability in the Federal Register.
Parts A. through C. below present a detailed discussion of the
proposed substitute listing determinations by major use sector. Tables
summarizing listing decisions in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are
in Appendix A. The comments contained in Appendix A provide additional
information on a substitute. Since comments are not part of the
regulatory decision, they are not mandatory for use of a substitute.
Nor should the comments be considered comprehensive with respect to
other legal obligations pertaining to the use of the substitute.
However, EPA encourages users of acceptable substitutes to apply all
comments in their application of these substitutes. In many instances,
the comments simply allude to sound operating practices that have
already been identified in existing industry and/or building-code
standards. Thus, many of the comments, if adopted, would not require
significant changes in existing operating practices for the affected
industry.
A. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Acceptable Subject to Use Conditions
a. CFC-12 Automobile and Non-automobile Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners,
Retrofit and New
EPA is concerned that the existence of several substitutes in this
end-use may increase the likelihood of significant refrigerant crosscontamination
and potential failure of both air conditioning systems
and recovery/recycling equipment. In addition, a smooth transition to
the use of substitutes strongly depends on the continued purity of the
recycled CFC-12 supply. In order to prevent cross-contamination and
preserve the purity of recycled refrigerants, EPA is proposing several
conditions on the use of all motor vehicle air conditioning
refrigerants. For the purposes of this rule, no distinction is made
between ``retrofit'' and ``drop-in'' refrigerants; retrofitting a car
to use a new refrigerant includes all procedures that result in the air
conditioning system using a new refrigerant. Please note that EPA only
reviews refrigerants based on environmental and health factors.
In particular, when retrofitting a CFC-12 system to use any
substitute refrigerant, the following conditions must be met:
<bullet> Each refrigerant may only be used with a set of fittings
that is unique to that refrigerant. These fittings (male or female, as
appropriate) must be used with all containers of the refrigerant, on
can taps, on recovery, recycling, and charging equipment, and on all
air conditioning system service ports. These fittings must be designed
to mechanically prevent cross-charging with another refrigerant. A
refrigerant may only be used with the fittings and can taps
specifically intended for that refrigerant. Using an adapter or
deliberately modifying a fitting to use a different refrigerant will be
a violation of this use condition. In addition, fittings shall meet the
following criteria, derived from Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
standards and recommended practices:
--When existing CFC-12 service ports are to be retrofitted, conversion
assemblies shall attach to the CFC-12 fitting with a thread lock
adhesive and/or a separate mechanical latching mechanism in a manner
that permanently prevents the assembly from being removed.
--All conversion assemblies and new service ports must satisfy the
vibration testing requirements of sections 3.2.1 or 3.2.2 of SAE J1660,
as applicable, excluding references to SAE J639 and SAE J2064, which
are specific to HFC-134a.
--In order to prevent discharge of refrigerant to the atmosphere,
systems shall have a device to limit compressor operation before the
pressure relief device will vent refrigerant. This requirement is
waived for systems that do not feature such a pressure relief device.
--All CFC-12 service ports shall be retrofitted with conversion
assemblies or shall be rendered permanently
[[Page 51385]]
incompatible for use with CFC-12 related service equipment by fitting
with a device attached with a thread lock adhesive and/or a separate
mechanical latching mechanism in a manner that prevents the device from
being removed.
<bullet> When a retrofit is performed, a label must be used as
follows:
--The person conducting the retrofit must apply a label to the air
conditioning system in the engine compartment that contains the
following information:
the name and address of the technician and the company performing
the retrofit
*the date of the retrofit
*the trade name, charge amount, and, when applicable, the ASHRAE
refrigerant numerical designation of the refrigerant
*the type, manufacturer, and amount of lubricant used
*if the refrigerant is or contains an ozone-depleting substance,
the phrase ``ozone depleter''
*if the refrigerant displays flammability limits as blended,
measured according to ASTM E681, the statement ``This refrigerant is
FLAMMABLE. Take appropriate precautions.''
--This label must be large enough to be easily read and must be
permanent.
--The background color must be unique to the refrigerant.
--The label must be affixed to the system over information related to
the previous refrigerant, in a location not normally replaced during
vehicle repair.
--Information on the previous refrigerant that cannot be covered by the
new label must be permanently rendered unreadable.
<bullet> No substitute refrigerant may be used to ``top-off'' a
system that uses another refrigerant. The original refrigerant must be
recovered in accordance with regulations issued under section 609 of
the CAA prior to charging with a substitute.
Since these use conditions necessitate unique fittings and labels,
it will be necessary for developers of automotive refrigerants to
consult with