Protection of Stratospheric Ozone

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 82

[FRL-5833-7]

Protection of Stratospheric Ozone

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of acceptability.

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SUMMARY: This notice expands the list of acceptable substitutes for

ozone-depleting substances (ODS) under the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency's (EPA) Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP)

program.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Information relevant to this notice is contained in Air

Docket A-91-

[[Page 30276]]

42, Central Docket Section, South Conference Room 4, U.S. Environmental

Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Telephone: (202)

260-7548. The docket may be inspected between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

weekdays. As provided in 40 CFR Part 2, a reasonable fee may be charged

for photocopying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Weisner at (202) 233-9193 or fax

(202) 233-9577, U.S. EPA, Stratospheric Protection Division, 401 M

Street, S.W., Mail Code 6205J, Washington, D.C. 20460; EPA

Stratospheric Ozone Protection Hotline at (800) 296-1996; EPA World

Wide Web Site at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/snap/snap.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Section 612 Program

A. Statutory Requirements

B. Regulatory History

II. Listing of Acceptable Substitutes

A. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning: Substitutes for Class I

Substances

B. Foam Blowing

III. Additional Information

Appendix A-- Summary of Acceptable Decisions

I. 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

refers 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 substance to or delete a substance 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 6

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 compose the principal

industrial sectors that historically consumed the largest volumes of

ozone-depleting compounds.

As described in the final rule for the SNAP program (59 FR 13044),

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

substance. Consequently, by this notice EPA is adding substances to the

list of acceptable alternatives without first requesting comment on new

listings.

EPA does, however, believe that Notice-and-Comment rulemaking is

required to place any substance on the list of prohibited substitutes,

to list a substance as acceptable only under certain conditions, to

list substances as acceptable only for certain uses, or to remove a

substance from either the list of prohibited or acceptable substitutes.

Updates to these lists are published as separate notices of rulemaking

in the Federal Register.

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 substitute manufacturers, but may include

importers, formulators or end-users, when they are responsible for

introducing a substitute into commerce.

EPA published notices listing acceptable alternatives on August 26,

1994 (59 FR 44240), January 13, 1995 (60 FR 3318), July 28, 1995 (60 FR

38729), February 8, 1996 (61 FR 4736), and September 5, 1996 (61 FR

47012), and published final rulemakings restricting the use of certain

substitutes on June 13, 1995 (60 FR 31092), May 22, 1996 (61 FR 25585),

October 16, 1996 (61 FR 54030), and March 10, 1997 (62 FR 10700).

II. Listing of Acceptable Substitutes

This section presents EPA's most recent acceptable listing

decisions for substitutes for class I and class II substances in the

following industrial sectors: refrigeration and air conditioning, and

foam blowing. In this Notice, EPA has split the refrigeration and air

conditioning sector into two parts: substitutes for class I substances

and substitutes for class II substances. For copies of the full list,

contact the EPA Stratospheric Protection Hotline at (800) 296-1996.

Parts A and B below present a detailed discussion of the substitute

listing determinations by major use sector. Tables summarizing today's

listing decisions are in Appendix A. The comments contained in Appendix

A provide additional information on a substitute, but for listings of

acceptable substitutes, they are not legally binding under section 612

of the Clean Air Act. Thus, adherence to recommendations in the

comments is not mandatory for use as a substitute. In addition, the

comments should not 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 to

their use of these substitutes. In many instances, the comments simply

allude to sound operating practices that have

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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: Class I

1. Clarification on the Use of Fittings With Manifold Gauges

EPA has issued several rules imposing the condition that motor

vehicle refrigerants be used with unique fittings. Specifically,

regulations require that

The fittings must be used on all containers of the refrigerant, on

can taps, on recovery, recycling, and charging equipment, and on all

air conditioning system service ports. A refrigerant may only be

used with the fittings and can taps specifically intended for that

refrigerant and designed by the manufacturer of the refrigerant.

Using a refrigerant with a fitting designed by anyone else, even if

it is different from fittings used with other refrigerants, is a

violation of this use condition. Using an adapter or deliberately

modifying a fitting to use a different refrigerant is a violation of

this use condition.

One interpretation of this requirement is that manifold gauge sets

must be dedicated to a single refrigerant. They are frequently used as

part of ``recovery, recycling, and recharging equipment'' and would,

therefore, have to use a permanently attached set of fittings unique to

one refrigerant. Furthermore, adapters to change the manifold gauges

from one refrigerant to -another would be illegal. EPA believes this

interpretation is overly restrictive and costly to service shops.

Manifold gauges allow technicians to diagnose system problems and

to charge, recover, and/or recycle refrigerant. A standard fitting has

traditionally been used at the end of the hoses attached to the

manifold gauges (designated ``end 1'' for purposes of this discussion).

In contrast, the SNAP use conditions require the use of unique fittings

at the other ends of the hoses that attach to vehicle air conditioning

systems and recovery or recycling equipment (designated as ``end 2'').

This use condition still applies; once a unique fitting is attached to

end 2, it may not be removed. However, it is legal to continue to use a

standard fitting at end 1, changing hoses with unique fittings on end 2

to allow the use of the manifold gauges with multiple refrigerants.

An example will clarify the application of these requirements.

Assume a technician has been working on a car that contains refrigerant

X. The car and recovery or recycling equipment have permanently

attached fittings unique to X. End 2 of the manifold gauge hoses also

have permanently attached matching fittings unique to X. Before working

on a car containing refrigerant Y, the technician must: (1) Recover

refrigerant remaining in the hoses to the vacuum specified in the

appropriate EPA standard for recovery and/or recycling, (2) disconnect

the hoses from the vehicle and the recovery or recycling equipment, (3)

disconnect the hoses from the manifold gauges, (4) using standard

fittings, attach end 1 of the new hoses to the manifold gauges (these

hoses must have permanently attached fittings at end 2 that are unique

to refrigerant Y), and (5) attach end 2 of the new hoses to the vehicle

containing refrigerant Y and to recovery or recycling equipment that

meet the applicable standards for refrigerant Y.

Following this procedure will benefit the environment, the vehicle

owner, and the shop. Refrigerants will not be released from the hoses,

different refrigerants and lubricants will not be mixed within the

hoses, and shops will not have to purchase multiple manifold gauges.

2. Acceptable Substitutes

Note that EPA acceptability does not mean that a given substitute

will work in a specific type of equipment within an end-use.

Engineering expertise must be used to determine the appropriate use of

these and any other substitutes. In addition, although some

alternatives are listed for multiple refrigerants, they may not be

appropriate for use in all equipment or under all conditions.

a. MT-31

MT-31, the composition of which has been claimed as confidential

business information, is acceptable as a substitute for CFC-12 in the

following retrofitted and new systems:

Centrifugal and Reciprocating Chillers.

Industrial Process Refrigeration.

Cold Storage Warehouses.

Refrigerated Transport.

Retail Food Refrigeration.

Vending Machines.

Water Coolers.

Commercial Ice Machines.

Household Refrigerators.

Household Freezers.

and as a substitute for HCFC-22 in all retrofitted end-uses.

Because this blend contains an HCFC, it contributes to ozone

depletion. However, this concern is mitigated by the scheduled phaseout

of this chemical. Regulations regarding recycling and reclamation

issued under section 608 of the Clean Air Act apply to this blend. This

blend does not contain any flammable components, and all components are

low in toxicity. Note that although this blend was submitted for motor

vehicle use, the submission did not include the technical drawings,

sample fittings, or sample label required by the final rule that took

effect on November 15, 1996. This part of the submission remains

incomplete, and it therefore remains illegal to use this blend as a

CFC-12 substitute in motor vehicle air conditioning systems.

b. GHG-X5

GHG-X5, which consists of HCFC-22, HFC-227ea, HCFC-142b, and

isobutane, is acceptable as a substitute for CFC-12 and R-500 in the

following retrofitted and new systems:

Centrifugal and Reciprocating Chillers.

Industrial Process Refrigeration.

Cold Storage Warehouses.

Refrigerated Transport.

Retail Food Refrigeration.

Vending Machines.

Water Coolers.

Commercial Ice Machines.

Household Refrigerators.

Household Freezers.

Residential Dehumidifiers.

Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners (both automotive and non-

automotive).

Because HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b contribute to ozone depletion, they

will be phased out of production. Therefore, these blends will be used

primarily as retrofit refrigerants. However, these blends are also

acceptable for use in new systems. Regulations regarding recycling and

reclamation issued under section 608 of the Clean Air Act apply to

these blends. HCFC-142b has one of the highest ODPs among the HCFCs.

The GWPs of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b are 1700 and 2000, respectively,

which are somewhat high. However, this concern is mitigated by the

scheduled phaseout of these refrigerants. Although HCFC-142b and

isobutane are flammable, these blends are not. In addition, testing of

this blend has shown that it does not become flammable after leaks. All

components are low in toxicity.

On October 16, 1996, (61 FR 54029), EPA promulgated a final rule

that prospectively applied certain conditions on the use of any

refrigerant used as a substitute for CFC-12 in motor vehicle air

conditioning systems. That rule provided that EPA would list new

refrigerants in future Notices. This Notice marks the first such

determination. Therefore, the use of GHG-X5 as a CFC-12 substitute in

motor vehicle air conditioning systems is governed by the standard

conditions that have been imposed on previous

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refrigerants, including the use of unique fittings designed by the

refrigerant manufacturer, the application of a detailed label, the

removal of the original refrigerant prior to charging with GHG-X5, and

the installation of a high-pressure compressor cutoff switch on systems

equipped with pressure relief devices. In addition, because GHG-X5

contains HCFC-22, barrier hoses must be used with this refrigerant. The

October 16, 1996 rule gives full details on these use conditions, and

it takes precedence in any conflict with this Notice. The fittings to

be used with GHG-X5 are as follows:

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Thread pitch

Fitting type Diameter (inches) (threads/inch) Thread direction

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Low-side service port.................... .5625 (9/16)................ 18 Left.

High-side service port................... .5 (8/16)................... 20 Left.

large (>20 lb. containers)............... .5625 (9/16)................ 18 Left.

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Note: There is no fitting for small cans; until such time as a

fitting is developed and listed in a future notice, it remains

illegal to distribute this product in small cans. The labels will

have an orange background and black text.

c. HCFC-142b/HCFC-22 (ICOR)

This blend, which consists of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b, is acceptable

as a substitute for CFC-12 in the following retrofitted and new

systems:

Centrifugal and Reciprocating Chillers.

Industrial Process Refrigeration.

Cold Storage Warehouses.

Refrigerated Transport.

Retail Food Refrigeration.

Vending Machines.

Water Coolers.

Commercial Ice Machines.

Household Refrigerators.

Household Freezers.

Residential Dehumidifiers.

Because HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b contribute to ozone depletion, they

will be phased out of production. Therefore, this blend will be used

primarily as a retrofit refrigerant. However, is also acceptable for

use in new systems. Regulations regarding recycling and reclamation

issued under section 608 of the Clean Air Act apply to this blend.

HCFC-142b has one of the highest ODPs among the HCFCs. The GWPs of

HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b are 1700 and 2000, respectively, which are

somewhat high. However, these concerns are mitigated by the scheduled

phaseout of these refrigerants. Although HCFC-142b is flammable, the

blend's worst-case formulation is not. After significant leakage, this

blend may become weakly flammable. However, the worst-case

fractionation will result in 100% HCFC-142b remaining in the system,

which is similar to the result of a significant leak of R-406A, a

refrigerant previously found acceptable. Therefore, this blend should

be at least as safe to use as R-406A. Both components are low in

toxicity.

B. Foam Blowing

1. Clarification on Overlap of Sec. 610 Non-essential Use Ban and SNAP

in the Regulation of Integral Skin Foams

Section 610 of the Clean Air Act required EPA to ban the sale and

distribution of integral skin foam and many other products manufactured

with HCFCs (with the exception of integral skin foam utilized to

provide for motor vehicle safety in accordance with Federal Motor

Vehicle Safety Standards) as of January 1, 1994 (58 FR 69637; 12/30/

93). HCFCs were banned from motor vehicle safety integral skin foam

effective January 1, 1996. See 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart C for details on

integral skin or other products where CFCs and/or HCFCs are prohibited

under the Non-essential Products Ban.

In the initial SNAP listing of acceptable and unacceptable

substitutes for integral skin, EPA listed a number of HCFCs and zero-

ODP substitutes as acceptable (59 FR 13044; March 18, 1994). Users of

substitutes listed under SNAP are, however, subject to all other

environmental, health or safety regulations. Consequently, between

January 1, 1994 and January 1, 1996, only the sale and distribution of

integral skin foam used for motor vehicle safety could legally be

manufactured with HCFCs. After, January 1, 1996 all use of HCFCs was

banned in integral skin foam.

Persons who violate Title VI of the Clean Air Act may be subject to

civil and administrative penalties of up to $25,000 per day for each

violation. Any person who knowingly violates Title VI may be subject to

criminal penalties of imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up

to $10,000.

2. Acceptable Substitutes

Under section 612 of the Clean Air Act, EPA is authorized to review

substitutes for class I (CFCs) and class II (HCFCs) chemicals. The

following listing expands the list of acceptable substitutes for HCFCs

in integral skin applications. a. Polyurethane Integral Skin Foam

a. Polyurethane Integral Skin Foam

(a) Saturated Light Hydrocarbons C3-C6

Saturated Light Hydrocarbons C3-C6 are acceptable substitutes for

HCFCs in polyurethane integral skin foam. Hydrocarbons are more

flammable than CFCs and HCFCs and use would likely require additional

investment to assure safe handling, use and shipping. These

hydrocarbons have zero global warming potential (GWP) but are volatile

organic compounds (VOCs) and must be controlled as such under Title I

of the Clean Air Act. Relevant consumer product and other safety

requirements necessary for use of hydrocarbon-blown integral skin foam

would have to be met.

III. Additional Information

Contact the Stratospheric Protection Hotline at 1-800-296-1996,

Monday-Friday, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern

Standard Time).

For more information on the Agency's process for administering the

SNAP program or criteria for evaluation of substitutes, refer to the

SNAP final rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 18,

1994 (59 FR 13044). Federal Register notices can be ordered from the

Government Printing Office Order Desk (202) 783-3238; the citation is

the date of publication. This notice may also be obtained on the World

Wide Web at http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/snap/snap.html.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 82

Environmental Protection, Administrative Practice and Procedure,

Air Pollution Control, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements.

Dated: May 23, 1994.

Mary D. Nichols,

Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

Note: The following Appendix will not appear in the Code of

Federal Regulations.

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Appendix A.--Summary of Acceptable Decisions

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End-use Substitute Decision Comments

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Foam Blowing

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HCFCs, Polyurethane Integral Skin. Saturated Light Acceptable............... Additional investment is

Hydrocarbons C3-C6 likely to be required to

ensure safe handling,

use and shipping.

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Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

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CFC-12 Centrifugal and GHG-X5 Acceptable............... Only the composition

Reciprocating Chillers, submitted is acceptable;

Industrial Process Refrigeration, compositions with

Cold Storage Warehouses, different percentages of

Refrigerated Transport, Retail the components require

Food Refrigeration, Vending new submissions.

Machines, Water Coolers,

Commercial Ice Machines,

Household Refrigerators,

Household Freezers, and

Residential Dehumidifiers

(Retrofitted and New).

MT-31 Acceptable............... Only the composition

submitted is acceptable;

compositions with

different percentages of

the components require

new submissions.

HCFC-22/HCFC-142b Acceptable............... Only the composition

submitted is acceptable;

compositions with

different percentages of

the components require

new submissions.

CFC-12 Motor Vehicle Air GHG-X5 Acceptable............... Only the composition

Conditioning, Automotive and Non- submitted is acceptable;

Automotive (Retrofitted and New). compositions with

different percentages of

the components require

new submissions.

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[FR Doc. 97-14447 Filed 6-2-97; 8:45 am]

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