[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 46 (Monday, March 10, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10700-10703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5887]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 82
[FRL-5701-1]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of acceptability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: March 10, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Information relevant to this notice is contained in Air
Docket A-91-42, 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: Sally Rand at (202) 233-9739 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://
[[Page 10701]]
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),
and October 16, 1996 (61 FR 54030).
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 through C 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 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. Secondary Loop Systems
In the Notice published September 5, 1996 (61 FR 47012) EPA
solicited information about fluids used in secondary loop systems. EPA
believes that the use of secondary fluids offers potential
environmental and safety benefits, and requested this information to
determine whether it would be
[[Page 10702]]
appropriate to list secondary fluids formally under the SNAP program.
EPA received no comments or information supporting the listing of
these fluids under SNAP. In fact, one company provided information
urging EPA to not list secondary fluids under SNAP. The company
expressed concern that listing secondary fluids would discourage their
use and would be extremely burdensome to the Agency and the regulated
community. The company also indicated that EPA had vastly
underestimated the number and variety of fluids used as secondary
fluids.
EPA has decided not to list secondary fluids under SNAP based on
the above discussion and the lack of information or data suggesting
that the use of these fluids in secondary loops poses any environmental
or safety risk. EPA is also sensitive to the resources required for
preparing submissions, reviews, and listings and to the disincentive
that regulating them may create. However, EPA will keep abreast of new
secondary fluids as they are introduced in the market, and may revisit
this decision as appropriate. EPA will also include information about
secondary fluids in outreach materials and encourage their use where
the potential for environmental and safety benefits could be attained.
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. HFC-236fa. HFC-236fa, when manufactured using any process that
does not convert perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) directly to HFC-236fa in a
single step, is acceptable as a substitute for CFC-114 in industrial
process refrigeration. HFC-236fa does not harm the ozone layer because
it does not contain chlorine. HFC-236fa has an extremely high 100-year
GWP of 6,300, but its lifetime is considerably shorter than that of
perfluorocarbons. HFC-236fa is the only alternative submitted to date
that is safe for the ozone layer, is low in toxicity, and can be a
substitute in industrial process heat pumps. Note that the prohibition
on venting, which applies to all substitute refrigerants, was mandated
in section 608(c)(2) and took effect on November 15, 1995.
EPA is aware of several methods for manufacturing HFC-236fa,
including one that produces HFC-236fa directly from PFIB. PFIB is an
extremely toxic substance that could pose risks in very small
concentrations. Thus, EPA believes it is appropriate to distinguish
among the different methods for producing HFC-236fa.
B. Foam Blowing
1. Acceptable Substitutes
a. Polyisocyanurate and Polyurethane Rigid Boardstock Foam. (a)
Saturated Light Hydrocarbons C3-C6. Saturated Light Hydrocarbons C3-C6
are acceptable substitutes for HCFCs in polyisocyanurate and
polyurethane rigid boardstock 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 building codes and other safety requirements necessary
for use of hydrocarbon-blown boardstock foam would have to be met.
b. Polyurethane Rigid Appliance Foam. (a) HFC-134a. HFC-134a (or
blends thereof) is an acceptable substitute for HCFCs in polyurethane
rigid appliance foam. HFC-134a has low toxicity and is non-flammable.
However, HFC-134a has relatively high thermal conductivity and has the
potential to contribute to global warming.
(b) Saturated light hydrocarbons C3-C6. Saturated light
hydrocarbons C3-C6 (or blends thereof) are acceptable substitutes for
HCFCs in polyurethane rigid appliance foam. Hydrocarbons are more
flammable than CFCs and HCFCs and use would likely require additional
investment to assure safe handling and use. 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.
(c) Carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide (or blends thereof) is an
acceptable alternative to HCFCs in polyurethane appliance foam.
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: February 28, 1997.
Mary D. Nichols,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
Note: The following Appendix will not appear in the Code of
Federal Regulations.
Appendix A: Summary of Acceptable Decisions, Refrigeration Sector
[Acceptable Decisions]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End-use Substitute Decision Comments
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFC-114, Industrial Process HFC-236fa............ Acceptable when
Refrigeration. manufactured using any
process that does not
convert
perfluoroisobutylene
(PFIB) directly to HFC-
236fa in a single step,
is acceptable as a
substitute for CFC-114 in
industrial process
refrigeration.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 10703]]
Foam Sector--Acceptable Decisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HCFCs Rigid polyurethane and Saturated Light Acceptable................ Zero ODP and GWP but must
polyisocyanurate laminated Hydrocarbons C3-C6. adhere to VOC
boardstock. regulations. Flammable.
HCFCs Rigid polyurethane appliance HFC-134a............. Acceptable................ Non-flammable and low
toxicity but may
contribute to global
warming.
Saturated Light Hydrocarbons C3- Acceptable........... Zero ODP and GWP but must
C6 adhere to VOC
regulations. Flammable..
Carbon Dioxide....... Acceptable................ High thermal
conductivity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 97-5887 Filed 3-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P