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California Air Resources Board (CARB) Placing A Freeze on Air Pollution

Daniel J. Stouffer
February 16, 2009
Control air pollution, lower the emission of greenhouse gases and reduce toxic chemicals in consumer products. These are all challenging goals that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is tackling on an ongoing basis to ensure better air quality for the residents of California and its neighboring states. But for 2009 and beyond, CARB is focusing on a major initiative involving refrigerant gas management.

Refrigerant gases are of great concern to CARB because of their high global warming potential. Refrigerant gases are found in refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems used in supermarkets; hotels; cold storage warehouses; food preparation, processing and service; hospitals and other medical facilities; military bases; schools, universities and other institutions; recreational facilities; office, commercial and industrial buildings; and industrial and manufacturing process refrigeration and cooling.

Refrigerant gas management is part of the environmental research groups 2006 California Global Warming Solutions Act. Developed by CARBs 11-member board that includes experts in chemistry, physics and engineering, the Stationary Equipment Refrigerant Management Program is aimed at reducing greenhouse gases by regulating CO2E emissions from refrigeration and air conditioning equipment that ranges in size from 50 pounds to over 2,000 pounds. There are an estimated 180,000 facilities in California meeting these refrigerant parameters.

Components under the refrigerant gas management program include refrigerant leak detection and monitoring; refrigerant gases leak repair; refrigerant system retrofitting or retirement; reporting and record keeping of refrigerant gases; enhancing and enforcing service practices to reduce discharge; reporting requirements for refrigerant distributor, wholesaler and reclaimer; technician certification requirements for the sale and service of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems with high global warming potential; and proper refrigerant cylinder use, sale and disposal.

Implementing a refrigerant gas management program is just one of many areas the California Air Resources Board is focusing on to improve air quality. Since its formation in 1967 as part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, CARB has worked closely with residents, businesses, and local government to protect the public health and welfare and the states ecological resources by reducing air pollutants.


Recovering refrigerant is of particular concern to the California Air Resources Board because of the large number of facilities that utilize stationary refrigeration and air conditioning. As a result, emissions in the state from refrigerant gases are expected to increase to more than 35 MMTCO2E by the year 2020.

Recognizing that facilities impacted by the new refrigerant gas management program will need to put the necessary resources in place to meet EPA compliance and EPA reporting standards, CARB is holding several workshops throughout the state.

In addition, Verisae has developed a web-based refrigerant gas management application that automatically updates as new requirements are released from CARB, the California EPA and other government agencies. The Refrigerant Tracker enables companies with systems containing 50 or more pounds of refrigerant gas to easily monitor and control their refrigerant gas usage and detect and report refrigerant gas leaks. The application also ensures EPA compliance by providing the necessary forms and reports to meet EPA reporting requirements.

Although air pollution has dropped by 25 percent since 1980 and annual exposure to smog has been reduced by 50 percent, the state of California continues to face the most air quality challenges than any other state in the United States. But with the Stationary Equipment Refrigerant Management Program and the success of efforts in other areas, CARB can breathe easier knowing its initiatives are improving the air quality in California.

Daniel Stouffer has much more detail on the importance of effective refrigerant gas management and the place the new California Air Resources Board regulations will have on your business planning. Refrigerant Tracker (from Verisae, Inc.) makes it easy to monitor, manage, and report refrigerant gas usage. Learn more at -- www.Refrigerant-Tracker.com
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Daniel J. Stouffer

I am Daniel Stouffer. I am a part-time writer, passionate Solar Energy Consultant, and a full-time Product Manager for Refrigerant Tracker, a solution to help manage, track, report refrigerant gases.

Educated in English and Mathematics, I dabble in writing pieces of this or that on the Internet while I work my day job building demand side energy management, carbon footprint reporting, and refrigerant gas tracking software.

I work for Verisae, Inc. I'm deeply involved in carbon management and renewable energy. My quest is to bring solar energy to U.S. Residential homeowners and to better manage the substances that harm our environment.

I'm also a small business owner working to promote the adoption of renewable energy. Solargies (Solar Energies), my goal is to spread the use of renewable solar power as simply and as rapidly as possible. He is also a writer, investing his time and energies educating people about renewable energy, the exciting world of interactive marketing, and other oddities of interest. (www.Solargies.com)

My personal mission statement: To gather data, to distill information, to build knowledge, and to attain wisdom. To learn, to work hard, and to be internally motivated when acquiring skills. "Every person that you meet knows something you do not - learn from them."

Verisae's Refrigerant Tracker and the Enterprise Carbon Footprint (ECF) products allows companies to take inventory of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and refrigerant gas emissions. CO2 gas, Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), and refrigerant gas emissions are tracked and better manage. Organizations can have a direct effect on the environment through better data management and taking accurate inventories of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to their Carbon Footprint.

In my position, I work collaboratively with client teams to understand their goals, document the solution, and mange User Centered Design projects. I'm driven to implement solutions that deliver measurable business value and enhanced user experience.

As a Product Manager for Refrigerant Tracker, I help design how to make the right content available to the right people at the right time. My role involves the design of interactive systems that help users find and manage information or functionality more successfully. (www.refrigerant-tracker.com)