There are a number of changes effective Jan. 1, 2018 regarding Section 608 of the Clean Air Act.
TECHNICIANS
- You must be a Section 608 certified technician to purchase hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant. Note that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not requiring recertification of current technicians at this time, nor it is changing the types of certifications.
- Refrigerant distributors may only sell HFC refrigerants to certified technicians and must maintain records for those sales.
- You must be a Section 608-certified technician to open HFC appliances.
- Starting Jan. 1, 2018, certifying organizations must post a list of new technicians certified after Jan. 1, 2017.
- Technicians must use certified recovery and/or recycling equipment when opening an HFC appliance.
- Technicians must evacuate to the specified levels of vacuum when opening HFC appliances.
APPLIANCE DISPOSAL
For appliances with 5 lbs. of refrigerant or less, existing safe disposal requirements are extended to HFC appliances.
For appliances with between 5 and 50 lbs. of refrigerant, new records require:
- Company name, location of the appliance, date of recovery, and type of refrigerant recovered for each appliance.
- Amount of refrigerant (by type) recovered from all disposed appliances in each calendar month.
- Quantity of refrigerant (by type) transferred for reclamation and/or destruction, the person to whom it was transferred, and the date.
- These records must be maintained by the technician and not the owner or operator of the appliance.
RECLAIMERS
Annual reporting to EPA on amounts of refrigerant received and reclaimed includes HFCs (Starting 2018, for refrigerant received beginning Jan.1, 2017).
For more information:
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-11/documents/608_rule_webinar.pdf
Publication date: 1/3/2018
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