Home | Shop | Send Us Info | Subscribe | Advertise | Help |

The U.S. Clean Air Act (Section 608) Governs Refrigerant Gas Emissions

Daniel J. Stouffer
March 27, 2009
Regulations are set forth under Section 608 of The US Clean Air Act which detail best procedures for handling, recovery and recycling of refrigerants during maintenance, repair, disposal or service. Refrigerant gas is known to contribute to global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer, as it contains chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, known to be harmful.

According to Section 608, it is illegal to intentionally vent refrigerants into the air during routine maintenance, repair, service or disposal of equipment. So long as monitoring is in place, discharge of refrigerants during normal operation is allowed.

The current restrictions on refrigerant gas usage are covered by The U.S. Clean Air Act (Section 608) and guidelines are set out to cover the phase out, the eventual elimination of compounds and acceptable, approved substitutes. Many different applications are covered, including industrial process refrigeration, transport refrigeration, retail food refrigeration, chillers, cold storage warehouses and packaged air-conditioners.

Heavy fines await those involved in the use, servicing of equipment, or sale of refrigerant gas who fail to conform to the recordkeeping requirements specified by Section 608. Those affected include owners and operators of systems which use the gases, wholesalers of refrigerants, technicians and reclaimers. A fine of $32,500 per day per violation will be levied by the EPA to those who do not keep proper records including the date, type of service and the amount of refrigerant.

The U.S. Clean Air Act (Section 608) outlines the leak repair requirements applicable to commercial refrigeration, air conditioning systems, heating ventilation and air conditioning systems, and industrial process refrigeration appliances. Once a leak occurs the facility owner is required to keep precise records of the quantity of discharged gas.


Leak repairs must be fixed within a 30 day period as spelled out by Section 608. This time frame is decided by the projected discharge over a 12 month period rather than the total quantity of refrigerant loss. To ensure that the information is correctly tracked, regulations dictate that companies maintain and submit accurate records.

A refrigerant reclaimer who reprocess used refrigerant back to specified purity levels must be certified by the EPA. Further, technicians must follow strict evacuation requirements when opening coolant and refrigeration systems during maintenance, service and repair.

A variety of topics are covered under The U.S. Clean Air Act (Section 608). Rules apply to those who are involved in refrigerant sales and distribution as well as refrigerant reclamation and leak repairs. Importers or manufacturers of refrigerant recovery and recycling equipment must have the equipment tested at an EPA approved facility, to provide certification to buyers.

Additional Resources:

Clean-Tech solutions provided by Verisae help to manage the emissions tracking and reporting requirements of The U.S. Clean Air Act (Section 608) across an entire organization. Verisae makes it easier to report carbon emissions and track refrigerant gases. To learn about effective refrigerant gas management tactics, you can visit www.Refrigerant-Tracker.com
Print Email
Bookmark and Share

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)

Got Debt? Get Debt Wise.