Delayed HFC bans to become law
With new US HFC refrigerant bans about to become law, industry pressure has delayed measures which could have banned R134a and R404A from the end of this year.
However, the two commonly used refrigerants, along with a number of other high GWP service and retrofit blends, will be banned in certain applications, some from as early as January 1, 2017.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first announced a proposal to delist a range of HFCs from its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) in July last year. This included their use in a number of industrial applications, including use as refrigerants, blowing agents, fire suppressants and aerosols.
The pre-publication final rule signed today by EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, reveals that R404A and R507A will now be effectively banned from use in new supermarket systems from January 1, 2017 and as retrofits from July 1, next year. The full list can be seen in the table below …