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FACT SHEET: Proposed Rule - Listing of Four Hydrocarbon Substitutes for Household Refrigerators and Freezers and Retail Food Refrigeration
Action
- This rulemaking lists four hydrocarbon substitutes as acceptable, subject to
use conditions, for ozone-depleting CFC-12 and HCFC-22 in: household
refrigerators and freezers and retail food refrigeration (stand-alone units
only).
The updates to the listing are as follows:
- Isobutane (R-600a) as a refrigerant in residential refrigerators, freezers, or combination refrigerator and freezers;
- Propane (R-290) as a refrigerant in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone only);
- HCR-188C® as a refrigerant in household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerator and freezers; and
- HCR-188C1® as a refrigerant in household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerator and freezers.
Background
- Under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program (Section 612 of the Clean Air Act), EPA reviews alternatives to Class I and Class II ozone depleting substances (ODS) to find substitutes that pose less overall risk to human health and the environment.
- These provisions are designed to allow for additional alternatives and do not impose regulatory burdens beyond use conditions designed to ensure safe handling of flammable compounds. The four hydrocarbon substitutes are not ozone-depleting and have low global warming potentials.
- Hydrocarbons already are used as a refrigerant in Europe and Asia.
How to Comment
- EPA will accept comments on this proposed rule for 60 days, unless a public
hearing is requested. If a public hearing is requested, the comment period will
be 75 days. All comments should be identified by E-Docket No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0286. Comments may be submitted by one of the following
methods:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
- Email: A-and-R-Docket@epa.gov
- U.S. Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0286.
- Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to EPA Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0286. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.