2010: Next Major Milestone in the HCFC Phase-out

Over a decade ago, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed regulations concerning the proper handling of refrigerants (Clean Air Act, Section 608). These regulations and the required exam have dramatically changed the way refrigerants are sold.

History:


In 1987 - twenty four nations signed the Montreal Protocol an International treaty to reduce production of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Today one hundred ninety one countries, virtually every country has signed Montreal Protocol.

In 2007 the EPA proposed a more aggressive phase out of HCFCs with stepwise reductions for developing countries. The benefit of these changes is the equivalent of removing climate emissions from fifty to seventy five million U.S. passenger cars each year, for next thirty years. It is also equivalent of eliminating the climate emissions from electricity needed by thirty to forty million U.S. households.

The EPA working with ESCO Institute their largest provider of the Section 608 Certification exam (over half a million certified technicians), presented an in-depth history of the Montreal Protocol and the accelerated phase-out of HCFC's during the HVAC Excellence National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference earlier this year. ESCO Institute sponsored a session where Mrs. Cindy Newberg, Lead Analyst for Domestic Implementation of the HCFC Phase-out at the United States Environmental Protection Agency presented information on the more aggressive phase-out of HCFCs. The presentation included R-22, the domestic implementation including new limits on production, and the importation of HCFCs.

ESCO Institute would like all of the persons that service air-conditioning and refrigeration systems to be able to view the full presentation. Therefore they have placed the full slide show on their website at www.escoinst.com where it can be downloaded and viewed.


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