Thursday, December 15, 2011

Alternative Refrigerants Approved Under SNAP Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added three hydrocarbons as acceptable alternatives in household and small commercial refrigerators and freezers through EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. The three hydrocarbon refrigerants approved as acceptable substitutes, with use conditions, are propane, isobutane, and a chemical known as R-441A. These newly-approved refrigerants can be used to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-12 and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22 in household refrigerators, freezers, combination refrigerator-freezers, and commercial stand-alone units.

Under the Clean Air Act, the SNAP program evaluates substitute chemicals and technologies for ozone-depleting substances (ODS). SNAP is globally recognized as the only program designed specifically to evaluate substitutes for ODS and to focus on the industrial sectors that use them.

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