Training Fact Sheet
CFC Refrigerant Recycling
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Regulation:
Sections 608 and 609 of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA), 1990, CFC Refrigerant Recycling Requirements-Mandatory Technician Training, part of a comprehensive program to limit release of ozone depleting substances.
Who is covered:
Servicing of Non-Motor Vehicle Appliances
Section 608 of CAA applies to personnel who evacuate and recover CFC's from non-motor vehicle appliances or refrigeration systems. Appliance types are described in the definitions section below. EPA has defined these categories of technicians:
- Type I technicians - persons who maintain, service or repair small appliances
- Type II technicians - persons who maintain, service, repair or dispose of high or very high pressure appliances, except small appliances and motor vehicle air-conditioning systems
- Type III technicians - persons who maintain, service, repair or dispose of low-pressure appliances
- Universal technicians - persons who maintain, service or repair low and high pressure equipment, including small appliances
Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners
- Under Section 609 of CAA, personnel who service motor vehicle air conditioners were required to be properly trained and certified by August 13, 1992. This is a separate certification from non-automotive appliances. Personnel who are certified on automotive applications cannot work on non-automotive applications and vice versa without obtaining the appropriate certification.
- Persons who maintain, service or repair motor vehicle-like appliances (e.g. farm equipment and other non-road vehicles) must either be properly certified as Type II technicians or complete the training and certification test offered by a training and certification program approved under Section 609 (motor vehicle air conditioners).
What training is included:
Training addresses service procedures, purity of recycled refrigerant, environmental consequences of refrigerant release, adverse effects of stratospheric ozone layer depletion, and EPA regulations. Under Section 608 EPA certifies only the tests which are administered. Under Section 609, EPA certifies both the training programs and the tests. This department has a list of such EPA technician certification programs for both types of training.
When training is required:
- Class I and II CFC's must be removed prior to disposal or recycling of appliances by technicians who have been certified in an EPA approved program. This requirement becomes effective November 14, 1994.
- In addition, sale of Class I and II CFC's will be restricted only to certified technicians, effective November 14, 1994.
- Technicians who service motor vehicle air conditioners must be certified before beginning this work.
Recordkeeping requirements:
Each department that has personnel who are certified should keep a record of that certification in a department file. This may be required for purchase of CFC materials, or may be requested during an inspection by an outside regulatory agency such as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency or EPA.
Contact name and number:
For further information, call Greg Archer, environmental compliance specialist, Environmental Health and Safety, at 612-626-4399 or e-mail: arche005@tc.umn.edu
Definitions:
Chlorufluorocarbon (CFC) Recycling Definitions
Appliance means any device which contains and uses a class I (CFC) or class II (HCFC) substance as a refrigerant and which is used for household or commercial purposes, including any air conditioner, refrigerator, chiller or freezer. EPA interprets this definition to include all air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment except that designed and used exclusively for military purposes.
High pressure appliance means an appliance that uses a refrigerant with a boiling point between - 50 and 10 degrees Centigrade at atmospheric pressure (29.9 inches of mercury). This definition includes but is not limited to appliances using refrigerants -12, -22, -114, -500, or -502.
MVAC-like appliance means mechanical vapor compression, open-drive compressor appliance used to cool the driver's or passenger's compartment of a non-road vehicle, including agricultural and construction vehicles. This definition excludes appliances using HCFC-22.
Motor vehicle air conditioner (MVAC) means any appliance that is a motor vehicle air conditioner as defined in 40 CFR part 82, subpart B.
Recover means to remove refrigerant in any condition from an appliance and store it in an external container without necessarily testing or processing it in any way.
Recycle means to extract refrigerant from an appliance and clean refrigerant for reuse without meeting all of the requirements for reclamation. In general, recycled refrigerant is refrigerant that is cleaned using oil separation and single or multiple passes through devices, such as replaceable core filter-driers, which reduce moisture, acidity, and particulate matter.
Small appliance means any of the following products that are fully manufactured, charged, and hermetically sealed in a factory with five pounds or less of refrigerant: refrigerators and freezers designed for home use, room air conditioners (including window air conditioners and packaged terminal air conditioners), packaged terminal heat pumps, dehumidifiers, under-the-counter-ice makers, vending machines, and drinking water coolers.
Technician means any person who performs maintenance, service, or repair that could reasonably be expected to release class I (CFC) or class II (HCFC) substances into the atmosphere, including but not limited to installers, contractor employees, in-house servicing personnel, and in some cases, owners. Technician also means any person disposing of appliances except for small appliances.
Very high-pressure appliance means an appliance that uses a refrigerant with a boiling point below - 50 degrees Centigrade at atmospheric pressure (29.9 inches of mercury). This definition includes but is not limited to equipment utilizing refrigerants -13 and -503.