(a) Venting prohibition.
(1) No person maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of an appliance or industrial process refrigeration may knowingly vent or otherwise release into the environment any refrigerant from such appliances. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart, the following substitutes in the following end-uses are exempt from this prohibition and from the requirements of this subpart:
(i) Carbon dioxide in any application;
(ii) Nitrogen in any application;
(iii) Water in any application;
(iv) Ammonia in commercial or industrial process refrigeration or in absorption units;
(v) Chlorine in industrial process refrigeration (processing of chlorine and chlorine compounds);
(vi) Hydrocarbons in industrial process refrigeration (processing of hydrocarbons);
(vii) Ethane (R-170) in very low temperature refrigeration equipment and equipment for non-mechanical heat transfer;
(viii) Propane (R-290) in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers; self-contained room air conditioners for residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heat pumps; vending machines; and effective January 3, 2017, self-contained commercial ice machines, very low temperature refrigeration equipment, and water coolers;
(ix) Isobutane (R-600a) in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers; and vending machines;
(x) R-441A in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers; self-contained room air conditioners for residential and light commercial air-conditioning; heat pumps; and vending machines.
(2) De minimis releases associated with good faith attempts to recycle or recover refrigerants are not subject to this prohibition. Except for exempt substitutes, refrigerant releases are de minimis only if they occur when:
(i) The applicable practices in §§ 82.155 and 82.156 are observed, the applicable practices in § 82.157 are observed for appliances that contain any class I or class II refrigerant or blend containing a class I or class II refrigerant, recovery and/or recycling machines that meet the requirements in § 82.158 are used whenever refrigerant is removed from an appliance, the technician certification provisions in § 82.161 are observed, and the reclamation requirements in § 82.164 are observed; or
(ii) The requirements in subpart B of this part are observed.
(3) The knowing release of a class I or class II refrigerant or a non-exempt substitute refrigerant after its recovery from an appliance is a violation of the venting prohibition.
(b) No person may maintain, service, repair, or dispose of an appliance containing a class I or class II refrigerant or a non-exempt substitute refrigerant without:
(2) Using recovery and/or recycling equipment that is certified for that type of refrigerant and appliance under § 82.158.
(c) Sales Restriction.
(1) No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any substance that consists in whole or in part of a class I or class II substance or, starting on January 1, 2018, any non-exempt substitute for use as a refrigerant unless:
(i) The buyer has been certified as a Type I, Type II, Type III, or Universal technician under § 82.161;
(ii) The buyer employs at least one technician who is certified as a Type I, Type II, Type III, or Universal technician under § 82.161 and provides proof of such to the seller;
(iii) The buyer has been certified in accordance with 40 CFR part 82, subpart B and the refrigerant is acceptable for use in MVACs under 40 CFR part 82, subpart G;
(iv) The buyer employs at least one person who is certified under 40 CFR part 82, subpart B, and provides proof of such to the seller and the refrigerant is acceptable for use in MVACs under 40 CFR part 82, subpart G. Nothing in this provision relieves persons of the requirements of § 82.34(b) or § 82.42(b);
(v) The refrigerant is sold only for eventual resale to persons certified under § 82.161 or 40 CFR part 82, subpart B or to appliance manufacturers (e.g., sold by a manufacturer to a wholesaler, sold by a technician to a reclaimer);
(vi) The refrigerant is sold to an appliance manufacturer;
(vii) The refrigerant is contained in an appliance with a fully assembled refrigerant circuit or an appliance component;
(viii) The refrigerant is charged into an appliance by a certified technician or an apprentice during maintenance, service, or repair of the appliance; or
(ix) The non-exempt substitute refrigerant is intended for use in an MVAC and is sold in a container designed to hold two pounds or less of refrigerant, has a unique fitting, and, if manufactured or imported on or after January 1, 2018, has a self-sealing valve that complies with the requirements of paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
(2) Self-sealing valve specifications. This provision applies starting January 1, 2018, for all containers holding two pounds or less of non-exempt substitute refrigerant for use in an MVAC that are manufactured or imported on or after that date.
(i) Each container holding two pounds or less of non-exempt substitute refrigerant for use in an MVAC must be equipped with a single self-sealing valve that automatically closes and seals when not dispensing refrigerant.
(ii) The leakage rate from each container must not exceed 3.00 grams per year when the self-sealing valve is closed. This leakage rate applies to new, full containers as well as containers that may be partially full.
(iii) The leakage rate must be determined using the standards described in appendix E (incorporated by reference, see § 82.168).
(iv) All testing to demonstrate compliance with this paragraph must be conducted by an independent test laboratory in the United States. For purposes of this requirement, an independent test laboratory is one that is not owned, operated, or affiliated with the applicant certifying equipment and/or products.
(3) Recordkeeping.
(i) Persons who sell or distribute, or offer to sell or distribute, any class I or class II refrigerant, or, starting on January 1, 2018, any non-exempt substitute refrigerant must keep invoices that indicate the name of the purchaser, the date of sale, and the quantity of refrigerant purchased unless they are selling exempt substitutes (those substitutes used in the end-uses specified as exempt in paragraph (a)(1) of this section) or small cans of MVAC refrigerant in accordance with paragraph (c)(1)(ix) of this section. In instances where the buyer employs a person certified under § 82.161 or 40 CFR part 82, subpart B, the seller must keep the documentation provided by the buyer to demonstrate such employment. All records must be kept for three years.
(ii) Electronic or paper copies of all records described in appendix E must be maintained by manufacturers of containers holding two pounds or less of non-exempt substitute refrigerant for use in an MVAC to verify self-sealing valves meet the requirements specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section. All records must be kept for three years after each purchase.
(d) Sale of Used Refrigerant. No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, for use as a refrigerant any class I or class II substance or non-exempt substitute consisting wholly or in part of used refrigerant unless the refrigerant:
(1) Has been reclaimed by a person who has been certified as a reclaimer under § 82.164;
(2) was used only in an MVAC or MVAC-like appliance and is to be used only in an MVAC or MVAC-like appliance and recycled in accordance with 40 CFR part 82, subpart B;
(3) is contained in an appliance that is sold or offered for sale together with a fully assembled refrigerant circuit;
(4) is being transferred between or among a parent company and one or more of its subsidiaries, or between or among subsidiaries having the same parent company; or
(5) is being transferred between or among a Federal agency or department and a facility or facilities owned by the same Federal agency or department.
(e) Manufacture and Sale of Appliances.
(1) No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any appliance (except small appliances and appliances containing only refrigerants that have been exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section) unless it is equipped with a servicing aperture to facilitate the removal of refrigerant at servicing and disposal.
(2) No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any small appliance (except appliances containing only refrigerants that have been exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section) unless it is equipped with a process stub to facilitate the removal of refrigerant at servicing and disposal.
(f) One-time expansion devices. No person may manufacture or import a one-time expansion device unless the only refrigerants it contains have been exempted under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(g) Rules stayed for consideration. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subpart, the effectiveness of 40 CFR 82.154(c), only as it applies to refrigerant contained in appliances without fully assembled refrigerant circuits, is stayed from April 27, 1995, until EPA takes final action on its reconsideration of these provisions. EPA will publish any such final action in the Federal Register.
[81 FR 82352, Nov. 18, 2016, as amended at 81 FR 86881, Dec. 1, 2016; 82 FR 61184, Dec. 27, 2017; 85 FR 14171, Apr. 10, 2020]