CFC/HCFC Requirements & Enforcement Issues

Don GansertManaging Consultant

November 20, 2008

trinityconsultants.com

40 CFR Part 82 Subpart A – Production & Consumption Controls Subpart B – Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air

Conditioners Subpart C – Ban on Nonessential Products Containing

Class I Substances & Nonessential Products Containing or Manufactured with Class II Substances

Subpart D – Federal Procurement Subpart E – Labeling of Products Using Ozone

Depleting Substances (ODS) Subpart F – Recycling and Emissions Reduction Subpart G – Significant New Alternatives Policy

Program

Part 82 Subpart F Recovery/recycling equipment

certifications Technician training and

certifications Leak rate calculation for

equipment containing greater than 50 lbs of refrigerant (per circuit)

Maintenance, recordkeeping, & reporting requirements

Most facilities have the necessary certifications or use contractors

Common problem areas!

Sample Enforcement Actions

Non-compliance with stratospheric ozone protection requirements is low-hanging fruit for USEPA and state agencies. $3.6 Billion in penalties for Part 82 in 1999 alone.

Company Date Violation Settlement Agreement Penalties

University of California 2/22/2005

Berkely & Davis campuses - Did not properly remove CFC, repair leaks within 30 days or prepare a retrofit plan. Incomplete records.

$118,404 civil penalty (addresses all 15 identified violations at the two campuses through a single settlement).

Abbott Laboratories 8/25/2004Illinois plant violated the leak repair provisions

$17,903 civil penalty plus conversion of two refrigerant systems to equipment that does not contain ozone depleting compounds ($123,000)

Earthgrains Baking Companies 7/30/200357 facilities violated the leak repair provisions

$5.25 Million civil penalty plus conversion of all refrigerant systems to equipment that does not contain ozone depleting compounds (estimated $5 Million)

Ganes Chemicals Inc. 2/19/2003New Jersey plant violated the leak repair provisions

$303,600 civil penalty

Air Liquide America Corp. 6/21/200122 facilities violated the leak repair provisions

$4.5 Million civil penalty, providing $500,000 for supplemental environmental projects, and conversion of all refrigerant systems to equipment that does not contain ozone depleting compounds

Meyer's Bakery 9/11/20005 facilities violated the leak repair provisions

$3.5 Million in overall penalties plus conversion of all refrigerant systems to equipment that does not contain ozone depleting compounds

Leak Repair Provision Requirements Each time your people or contractors add

refrigerant to a system that holds > 50 lbs of a Class I or Class II compound Promptly calculate the annualized leak rate If leak rate > trigger rate, do one of the

following Repair leaks in a timely fashion (later slides) Retrofit the system so no longer using a

regulated CFC (within 1 year) Retire the system from service (within 1 year)

Applicable Trigger Rates

Commercial refrigeration units – 35%

Industrial process refrigeration units – 35%

Comfort cooling systems – 15% All other refrigeration systems – 15%

Leak Rate Calculation Method #1 –“Annualizing Method”

Step 1. Take the pounds of refrigerant added to return appliance to a full charge and divide it by the pounds of refrigerant the appliance normally contains at full charge;

Step 2. Divide 365 days by the shorter of the # of days that have passed since the last day refrigerant was added or 365 days;

Step 3. Take the # calculated in Step 1 and divide it by the # calculated in Step 2; and

Step 4. Multiply the # calculated in Step 3 by 100 to calculate a percentage

Leak Rate Calculation

100addedlast t refrigeran since days 7

day/yr 365charge fullin t refrigeran lbs 250

addedt refrigeran lbs 2

Determines the amount of refrigerant that would leak out in a year if nothing done

Example (using “Annualizing Method”):Day 1 - Unit fully charged with 250 lbs of refrigerantDay 8 - Unit found to have lost 2 lbs of refrigerant

Leak Rate = 41.7% =

Leak Rate Calculation Method #2 –“Rolling Average Method”

Step 1. Take sum of the quantity of refrigerant added to the appliance over the previous 365-day period (or over the period that has passed since leaks in the appliance were last repaired, if that period is less than one year);

Step 2. Divide the result of Step 1 by the quantity of refrigerant the appliance normally contains at full charge; and

Step 3. Multiply the result of Step 2 by 100 to obtain a percentage

Leak Repair Timeline If leak rate exceeds applicable trigger rate,

then Repair within 30 days (not to 0% leak rate but

must be less than applicable trigger rate)* If repair within 30 days, no notification needed If need > 30 days to repair due to delays beyond

your control, must notify the USEPA to request more time

Can request up to 1 year but only the amount of time truly needed to make the repair (e.g., to receive a new part)

If cannot repair in a timely fashion, develop retrofit or retirement plan within 30 days

*If industrial process shutdown needed to make repair, then have120-day repair window

Verification Testing Requirements For Industrial Process Refrigeration units

(and federally-owned commercial refrigeration & comfort cooling systems): Perform an Initial Verification of the repairs

upon completion (e.g., soap bubble test) Perform a Follow-Up Verification test within 30

days after the Initial Verification test Frequently performed as “best

management practice” for other refrigerant-containing appliances to ensure success of repairs

If Fail Follow-up Verification Test Must develop a retrofit or retirement plan

within 30 days of the failed test Can avoid implementing retrofit or repair

plan, if Attempt repairs again and retest within 30

days; if succeed 2nd time around, must notify USEPA that retrofit or retirement plan is not needed within 30 days, or

Demonstrate, within 180 days of the initial failed follow-up verification test, that the appliance's annual leak rate does not exceed the applicable trigger rate; must notify USEPA that retrofit or retirement plan is not needed within 30 days

Leak Repair – Recordkeeping & Reporting

Facilities must keep the following records for all systems with a charge > 50 lbs of a regulated CFC (required even when work is done by contractors)

The system type (e.g., Comfort Cooling) Full charge for each system (e.g., 100 lbs of R-12) Date & type of any maintenance and leak discoveries Who performed the work (to verify certification) Amount of refrigerant added When the refrigerant added was purchased Any leaks that were repaired and the dates of repairs Calculated annualized leak rate For Industrial Process Equipment leaking > trigger rate:

Date & result of Initial Verification test Date(s) & result(s) of Follow-Up Verification test(s)

Common Mistakes Assuming your contractor is handling the leak

repair provisions (calculations, etc.) for you You are responsible for violations no matter what the

cause! Not knowing which units are > 50 lbs full charge Not performing leak rate calculations promptly, if at

all Only have 30 days to repair leaks if over trigger rate

Not performing follow-up verification tests Not recording verification test dates & results Incomplete service records (often just an invoice is

not enough)

Small Appliances

Small appliances Water fountains, refrigerators, window

mounted air conditioning units, etc. Removal of the CFC/HCFC prior to

disposal Recordkeeping requirements

Name and date of company performing work Certification/proof 3 year retention period

Summary

Develop CFC/HCFC inventory of all units

Identify the units with a capacity of 50 lbs or more Keep all service records – 3 years Maintain Leak Rate Calculations

Small (CFC/HCFC containing) Appliance Disposal Keep records/certification – 3years

If you use a contractor, keep copy of the contractor’s certification on file

Questions?Questions?