[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 99 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28251-28253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13125]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 82
[FRL-6015-3]
Protection of Stratospheric Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of acceptability.
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SUMMARY: This document expands the list of acceptable substitutes for
ozone-depleting substances (ODS) under the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP)
program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 22, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Information relevant to this document is contained in Air
Docket A-91-42, U.S. Environmental Agency, Office of Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center, Room M-1500, 401 M Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20460. Telephone: (202) 260-7548. The docket may be
inspected between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays. As provided in 40
CFR Part 2, a reasonable fee may be charged for photocopying.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Monroe at (202) 564-9161 or
fax (202) 565-2093, U.S. EPA, Stratospheric Protection Division, 401 M
Street, S.W., Mail Code 6205J, Washington, D.C. 20460; EPA
Stratospheric Ozone Protection Hotline at (800) 296-1996; EPA World
Wide Web Site (http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/snap).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Section 612 Program
A. Statutory Requirements
B. Regulatory History
II. Listing of Acceptable Substitutes
A. Aerosols
III. Additional Information
Appendix A--Summary of Acceptable Decisions
I. Section 612 Program
A. Statutory Requirements
Section 612 of the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to develop a
program for evaluating alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. EPA
refers to this program as the Significant New Alternatives Policy
(SNAP) program. The major provisions of section 612 are:
Rulemaking--Section 612(c) requires EPA to promulgate
rules making it unlawful to replace any class I (chlorofluorocarbon,
halon, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, methyl bromide, and
hydrobromofluorocarbon) or class II (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) substance
with any substitute that the Administrator determines may present
adverse effects to human health or the environment where the
Administrator has identified an alternative that (1) reduces the
overall risk to human health and the environment, and (2) is currently
or potentially available.
Listing of Unacceptable/Acceptable Substitutes--Section
612(c) also requires EPA to publish a list of the substitutes
unacceptable for specific uses. EPA must publish a corresponding
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list of acceptable alternatives for specific uses.
Petition Process--Section 612(d) grants the right to any
person to petition EPA to add a substance to or delete a substance from
the lists published in accordance with section 612(c). The Agency has
90 days to grant or deny a petition. Where the Agency grants the
petition, EPA must publish the revised lists within an additional 6
months.
90-day Notification--Section 612(e) requires EPA to
require any person who produces a chemical substitute for a class I
substance to notify the Agency not less than 90 days before new or
existing chemicals are introduced into interstate commerce for
significant new uses as substitutes for a class I substance. The
producer must also provide the Agency with the producer's unpublished
health and safety studies on such substitutes.
Outreach--Section 612(b)(1) states that the Administrator
shall seek to maximize the use of federal research facilities and
resources to assist users of class I and II substances in identifying
and developing alternatives to the use of such substances in key
commercial applications.
Clearinghouse--Section 612(b)(4) requires the Agency to
set up a public clearinghouse of alternative chemicals, product
substitutes, and alternative manufacturing processes that are available
for products and manufacturing processes which use class I and II
substances.
B. Regulatory History
On March 18, 1994, EPA published the Final Rulemaking (FRM) (59 FR
13044) which described the process for administering the SNAP program
and issued EPA's first acceptability lists for substitutes in the major
industrial use sectors. These sectors include: refrigeration and air
conditioning; foam blowing; solvent cleaning; fire suppression and
explosion protection; sterilants; aerosols; adhesives, coatings and
inks; and tobacco expansion. These sectors compose the principal
industrial sectors that historically consumed the largest volumes of
ozone-depleting compounds.
As described in the final rule for the SNAP program (59 FR 13044),
EPA does not believe that rulemaking procedures are required to list
alternatives as acceptable with no limitations. Such listings do not
impose any sanction, nor do they remove any prior license to use a
substance. Consequently, by this notice EPA is adding substances to the
list of acceptable alternatives without first requesting comment on new
listings.
EPA does, however, believe that Notice-and-Comment rulemaking is
required to place any substance on the list of prohibited substitutes,
to list a substance as acceptable only under certain conditions, to
list substances as acceptable only for certain uses, or to remove a
substance from either the list of prohibited or acceptable substitutes.
Updates to these lists are published as separate notices of rulemaking
in the Federal Register.
The Agency defines a substitute as any chemical, product
substitute, or alternative manufacturing process, whether existing or
new, that could replace a class I or class II substance. Anyone who
produces a substitute must provide the Agency with health and safety
studies on the substitute at least 90 days before introducing it into
interstate commerce for significant new use as an alternative. This
requirement applies to substitute manufacturers, but may include
importers, formulators or end-users, when they are responsible for
introducing a substitute into commerce.
EPA published documents listing acceptable alternatives on August
26, 1994 (59 FR 44240), January 13, 1995 (60 FR 3318), July 28, 1995
(60 FR 38729), February 8, 1996 (61 FR 4736), September 5, 1996 (61 FR
47012), March 10, 1997 (62 FR 10700), June 3, 1997 (62 FR 30275), and
February 24, 1998 (63 FR 9151), and published Final Rulemakings
restricting the use of certain substitutes on June 13, 1995 (60 FR
31092), May 22, 1996 (61 FR 25585), and October 16, 1996 (61 FR 54029).
II. Listing of Acceptable Substitutes
This section presents EPA's most recent acceptable listing decision
for substitutes for class I and class II substances in the aerosol
sector. For copies of the full list of SNAP decisions in all industrial
sectors, contact the EPA Stratospheric Protection Hotline at (800) 296-
1996.
Part A below presents a detailed discussion of the substitute
listing determination; by major use sector; the table summarizing
today's listing decision is in Appendix A. The comments contained in
Appendix A provide additional information on a substitute, but for
listings of acceptable substitutes, they are not legally binding under
section 612 of the Clean Air Act. Thus, adherence to recommendations in
the comments is not mandatory for use of a substitute. In addition, the
comments should not be considered comprehensive with respect to other
legal obligations pertaining to the use of the substitute. However, EPA
encourages users of acceptable substitutes to apply all comments to
their use of these substitutes. In many instances, the comments simply
allude to sound operating practices that have already been identified
in existing industry and/or building-code standards. Thus, many of the
comments, if adopted, would not require significant changes in existing
operating practices for the affected industry.
A. Aerosols
1. Acceptable Substitute
Under section 612 of the Clean Air Act, EPA is authorized to review
substitutes for class I (CFCs) and class II (HCFCs) chemicals. The
following decision expands the acceptable listing for propellants in
the aerosol sector.
(a) Aerosol Propellants
(1) HFC-227ea
HFC-227ea is an acceptable substitute for CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-114,
HCFC-22, and HCFC-142b as a propellant in the aerosol sector. HFC-227ea
has a zero ozone depletion potential and an atmospheric lifetime of
36.5 years, yet this compound contributes to global warming with a 100-
year global warming potential (GWP) of 2,900 relative to carbon
dioxide. Despite this concern, the Agency has listed this substitute as
acceptable in today's notice since it meets a specialized medical
application in metered dose inhalers (MDIs), used by asthmatics and
others with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, where only one
other substitute meets the medical requirements.
III. Additional Information
Contact the Stratospheric Protection Hotline at 1-800-296-1996,
Monday-Friday, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern
Standard Time).
For more information on the Agency's process for administering the
SNAP program or criteria for evaluation of substitutes, refer to the
SNAP final rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 18,
1994 (59 FR 13044). Notices and rulemakings under the SNAP program, as
well as all EPA publications on protection of stratospheric ozone, are
available from EPA's Ozone World Wide Web site at ``http://www.epa.gov/
ozone/title6/snap'' and from the stratospheric Protection Hotline whose
number is listed above.
Dated: May 8, 1998.
Richard D. Wilson,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
Note: The following Appendix will not appear in the Code of
Federal Regulations.
[[Page 28253]]
Appendix A: Summary of Acceptable Decisions
[Aerosol Propellants]
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ODS being replaced Substitute Decision Comments
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CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-114, HCFC- HFC-227ea.............. Acceptable............ Despite the relatively high
22, HCFC-142b as aerosol global warming potential of
propellant. this compound, the Agency has
listed this substitute as
acceptable since it meets a
specialized application in
MDIs where other substitutes
do not provide acceptable
performance.
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[FR Doc. 98-13125 Filed 5-21-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
