Julius Banks of the EPA, Nick Strickland of DuPont, David Boyd of Appion, and Dana Shanower of the United Association will clarify the confusion about the Clean Air Act as it relates to refrigerants.

On January 1, 2010, equipment manufacturers will no longer manufacture equipment using HCFC R-22. In addition, the EPA will no longer allow production or the importation of HCFC R-22 in 2020.

There is a great deal of confusion about the Clean Air Act as it relates to refrigerants. To make certain that wholesalers, re-claimers, teachers and contractors understand the Clean Air Act, refrigerant changes and other pertinent issues, the ESCO Institute has recruited some of the industry leading voices in refrigerants and regulations to address these issues at the 2010 National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference.

Monday March 15, 2010, Mr. Julius Banks, the Team leader and Program Manager for the United States Environmental Protection Agency National Refrigerant Recycling and Emissions Reduction Program will address a general session at the conference. Mr. Banks office administers Section 608 of the Federal Clean Air Act. Section 608 gives the EPA the authority to regulates refrigerants, mandate certification for technicians, restricts the sale of refrigerants, covers leak repair provisions, set refrigerant reclamation requirements, set refrigerant recovery equipment requirements, and set the requirements for safe disposal of appliances.

Mr. Banks will cover changes to the Montreal Protocol - the more aggressive phase-out of HCFC's including R-22, the domestic implementation including the new limits on production and importation of HCFC's, and what that will mean for persons who service HVACR equipment.

Tuesday March 16, 2010, Mr. Nick Strickland the Market Development Manager for DuPont ISCEON Refrigerants will address a general session at the conference. Mr. Strickland is responsible for U.S. strategy and execution for the R-22 Drop In category of refrigerants.

Mr. Strickland will be providing an important market update on the status of refrigerants including a regulatory update on the phase-out of HCFC-22. This can have major implications on the bottom-line for many companies. This session will also address the potential for additional climate change legislation and the probable impact on HFC's, the next generation of refrigerants, R-22 retrofit refrigerant options, and the specific implications for you and your customers / students.

Mr. David Boyd, Vice President of Appion Inc., will provide sessions on both days. Mr. Boyd will cover Changing to POE Oil with the New HFC's and it's Effect on System Efficiency. This program will give detail instruction regarding the instruments and process used to assure that a quality system evacuation is achieved. Systems that contain POE oils are dramatically affected by the integrity of system evacuation. The affects of a poor evacuation on system performance, system longevity, and system efficiency will be emphasized in detail. The presentation will also include how to dramatically speed the evacuation process (The greater the Flow - the Faster it will go) and accurately measure and verify a properly evacuated system ready for charging.

Mr. Dana Shanower the lead instructor for the United Association R-410A Train the Trainer program, will conduct sessions both days on how to teach R-410A refrigerant safety, handling, proper application, and retrofitting.

The National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference is an industry sponsored event that will be held March 14-16, 2010 at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The conference offers sessions on: new and changing technologies, changes in federal legislation, energy efficiency, best practices, training techniques that work, and green and sustainable technologies. The conference is open to anyone in the HVACR industry interested in learning about new and changing technologies and better methods for training others. A full list of sessions, speakers and conference information is available at www.escoinst.com or by calling 1-800-726-9696.