[Archived Alerts]

ODS rule amendments require compliance by March 14, 2005

For more information, contact Ed Fiesinger at 713.977.8787 or 888.977.8797

The long anticipated amendments to the Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) rules were finally promulgated by the EPA on January 11, 2005, extending requirements to any type of cooling system if its refrigerants contain ODS substitutes with any amount of a Class I (CFC) or Class II (HCFC) substance. Affected facilities using more than 50 pounds of these refrigerants must be in compliance by March 14, 2005.

The EPA has clarified that initial and follow-up tests for verifying that leaks have been properly repaired only apply to industrial process cooling systems (i.e. those used in chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical and manufacturing industries to control or maintain process variables). EPA has also defined how a leak rate is to be calculated, and has differentiated between a "new leak", which is subject to a new 30-day repair period, and an "ongoing" leak after the initial repair, which is subject to the original repair timeline.

Do the amendments affect you?
If you operate a cooling system with an ODS substitute that contains a Class I or Class II substance, you are now subject to the ODS rules and all their requirements for determining leak rates, making timely repairs, and possibly retrofitting or replacing your cooling system. This rule also applies to motor vehicle air conditioning systems and to "small appliances" such as refrigerators and window air conditioning units. Systems newly subject to these rules will now have to follow certain practices for opening, servicing, disposing, recycling or reclaiming refrigerant cooling systems.

In addition, the rule prohibits you from venting a refrigerant even if it is not subject to the ODS rules - be sure to keep adequate records to demonstrate that you have captured and recycled ODS substitutes when making repairs.