 |
| Background |
Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has been the basic Federal law that regulates air emissions from area, stationary and mobile sources. It authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish national air quality standards and implement action plans for industry sectors.
|
|
 |
|
The Act was amended in 1977 and 1990. The last amendment was necessary to tackle the challenge of ozone depletion.
|
| Impact on MAC |
The amendments of 1990 established requirements regarding refrigerants for mobile air conditioners (MAC). Since 1992, section 609 has made the recycling of MAC refrigerants compulsory.
Standards for a number of uses have to be at least as stringent as the standards of the Society of Automotive Engineers SAE J091990 and J091989. These include:
• the use of approved refrigerant recycling equipment,
• the prevention of leakage during servicing, and
• the training and certification of persons dealing with the recycling of refrigerants.
|
| Targets |
In Section 601-607, the Act lists ozone-depleting substances used as refrigerants in any air conditioner. It distinguishes between Class I and II substances, and regulates monitoring and reporting requirements for their production, import and export.
Class I substances, mainly chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), were phased out by 1 January, 2000.
Class II substances - with an ozone-depletion potential of less than 0.2 - include hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The final phase-out of production and consumption is scheduled for 2015.
|
| Official documents |
|
| Latest & Next steps |
EPA will review alternative systems or products that do not operate with Class II substances. Its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) programme evaluates and regulates substitutes for CFC-12 in mobile air conditioning. R744 (CO2) has been accepted as an alternative. Early 2008, a technical workshop will focus on R744.
|
| More information: |
|
