EPA moves against auto refrigerant, other aftermarket products

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed prohibiting the use of HFC-134a in motor vehicle air conditioners in 2021 and in some retail automotive products starting in January 2016. Those aftermarket products include tire inflators, auto lubricants and brake cleaners.

Aaron Lowe, senior vice president of the Auto Care Association, says the primary impact with be on fix-a-flat products. "We are concerned that the 2016 timeframe is too short considering that companies are still working through whether there will be any issues involved in the use of alternatives," he said.

The EPA proposal to make use of HFC-134a unacceptable in automotive, refrigeration and foam blowing applications is part of a proposed rule the agency issued on August 6. The agency proposed changes of status for a number of chemicals as part of a major revision to the agency's Significant New Alternatives Program – called SNAP. The move has a lot to do with President Obama's Climate Action Plan, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which was unveiled in June 2013.

The SNAP program has been around for 20 years. It is designed to replace ozone depleting substances (ODS) and greenhouse gas (GHG)-producing substances used in consumer and commercial products with safer, thus acceptable, alternatives. HFC-134a was deemed an "acceptable" substitute to CFC-12 in the 1990s, but alternatives to HFC-134a with lower greenhouse gas warming potential (GWP) numbers have emerged recently.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Environmental Investigation Agency-US (EIA) petitioned the EPA in May 2010 to remove HFC-134a from the list of acceptable substitutes that could be used in motor vehicle air conditioning units. The EIA submitted a separate petition asking the EPA to ban the use of 134a in consumer, commercial and technical products.

HFC-134a was deemed a safe substitute for CFC-12 in 1994 because 134a is non-ozone depleting, though it has a GWP of 1430. CFC-12's GWP is 10,900.

But now there are safer alternatives for motor vehicle ACs, including, most prominently HFO-1234yf, whose production is being ramped up, and which is being used in some new cars. For motor vehicles, EPA is listing three alternative refrigerants that could be used for new vehicles, including HFO-1234yf, R-744 and HFC-152a. For consumer automotive aerosols, there are three alternatives with lower GWPs that meet other environmental regulatory requirements, including HFC-152a, HFO-1234ze(E) and CO2. 

HFO-1234yf is currently in use in motor vehicle AC systems in approximately nine models in the United States by several manufacturers of light-duty vehicles. Its use will expand exponentially from 2017 to 2021 as the phase 2 Light Duty GHG rule program progresses.

Manufacturers receive "credits" for substituting low-GWP refrigerants in their AC units. The EPA estimates that substitution will be at the rate of 20 percent a year over that five-year period, mainly with 1234yf being used. But some car companies, especially in Europe, are developing systems that can use R-744.

There will be a significant cost differential between 1234yf and 134a. That gives rise to some concern at the EPA that service centers and do-it-yourselfers might try to replace 1234yf with 134a. The SNAP regulations prohibit using a substitute refrigerant to top-off a system that uses another refrigerant.

Second, the original refrigerant must be recovered in a way consistent with EPA regulations. That would require a consumer, for example, to have access to refrigerant recovery equipment. In addition, the SNAP listings for HFO-1234yf and HFC-134a require the use of unique fittings for each alternative refrigerant. Using an adapter or deliberately modifying a fitting to use a different refrigerant is a violation of these use conditions.

However, HFC-134a can continue to be sold in aftermarket retail stores for use in automotive AC systems currently using that chemical, which is most motor vehicles.

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