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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 86 / Thursday, May 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
those EPA has applied as use conditions in past actions for flammable refrigerants 76 FR 78832, December 20, 2011; 80 FR 19454, April 10, 2015, are required by the UL Standard for A2 and A3 refrigerants but not A2L refrigerants.
The final use condition requires that such markings apply to these A2L
refrigerants as well to establish a common, familiar and standard means of identifying the use of a flammable refrigerant.
These red markings will help technicians immediately identify the use of a flammable refrigerant, thereby potentially reducing the risk of using sparking equipment or otherwise having an ignition source nearby. The AC and refrigeration industry currently uses red-colored hoses and piping as means for identifying the use of a flammable refrigerant based on previous SNAP
listings. Likewise, distinguishing coloring has been used elsewhere to indicate an unusual and potentially dangerous situation, for example in the use of orange-insulated wires in hybrid electric vehicles. Currently in SNAP
listings, color-coded hoses or pipes must be used for ethane, HFC32, isobutane, propane, or R441A in certain types of equipment. All such SNAP listings indicate that the tubing, hoses, etc. must be colored red PMS
185 or RAL 3020 to match the red band displayed on the container of flammable refrigerants under the AHRI Guideline N, 2016 Guideline for Assignment of Refrigerant Container Colors. EPA is requiring red markings in this SNAP
final action to ensure that there is adequate notice for technicians and others that a flammable refrigerant is being used within a particular piece of equipment or appliance. These requirements are also intended to provide adequate notification of the presence of flammable refrigerants for personnel disposing of appliances containing flammable refrigerants.
Consistent with a previous SNAP rule, one mechanism to distinguish hoses and pipes is to add a colored plastic sleeve or cap to the service tube. 80 FR 19465, April 10, 2015. The colored plastic sleeve or cap would have to be forcibly removed in order to access the service tube. Likewise, red tape adhered to or around the tube would meet the intent of this use condition. These types of red markings would signal to the technician that the refrigeration circuit that she/he was about to access contained a flammable refrigerant, even if all warning labels were somehow removed or were illegible or not understood e.g., for non-English speakers, and would provide similar notification to
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consumers, retail store owners, building owners and operators, first responders, and those disposing the appliance. This sleeve or other marking would be of the same red color PMS 185 or RAL 3020
and could also be boldly marked with a graphic to indicate the refrigerant was flammable. This could be a costeffective alternative to painting or dyeing the hose or pipe.
In this SNAP listing, EPA is requiring the use of color-coded service ports, hoses or piping as a way for technicians and others to recognize that a flammable refrigerant is used in the equipment.
This will be in addition to the use of warning labels discussed above. EPA
believes having two such warning methods is reasonable and consistent with other general industry practices.
This approach is the same as that adopted in our previous rules on flammable refrigerants e.g., 76 FR
78832, December 20, 2011; 80 FR 19454, April 10, 2015.
6. What additional information is EPA
including in these listings?
EPA is including recommendations, found in the Further information column of the regulatory text at the end of this document, to inform personnel of other practices to protect them from the risks of using flammable refrigerants.
Similar to our previous listing of flammable refrigerants for this end-use 80 FR 19454, April 10, 2015, EPA is including information on the OSHA
requirements at 29 CFR part 1910, proper ventilation, personal protective equipment, fire extinguishers, use of spark-proof tools and equipment designed for flammable refrigerants, and training.
Since this additional information is not part of the regulatory decision, these statements are not binding for the use of the substitutes under the SNAP
program. However, the information so listed may be binding under other regulatory programs e.g., worker protection regulations promulgated by OSHA. The Further information identified in the listing does not necessarily include all other legal obligations pertaining to the use of the substitutes. While the items listed would not be legally binding under the SNAP program, EPA encourages users of substitutes to apply all statements in the Further information column in their use of these substitutes. In many instances, the information simply refers to sound operating practices that have already been identified in existing industry and/or building codes or standards. Thus, many of the statements, if adopted, would not result
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in the user making significant changes in existing operating practices.
EPA notes that Annex HH of UL
60335240, Competence of service personnel, provides guidelines for service personnel to ensure they receive training specifically to address potential risks of servicing equipment using flammable refrigerants. Annex HH
provides recommendations that such training cover several aspects relevant to flammable refrigerants including recognition of ignition sources, information about refrigerant detectors, and other safety concepts. The training information recommended in Annex HH
would address the proper working procedures for equipment commissioning, maintenance, repair, decommissioning and disposal. The Agency notes that this section of the UL
Standard is described as informational, rather than normative, i.e., it is intended to provide information but not to be an absolute requirement under the UL standard. Because Annex HH is informative, rather than normative, it is not a requirement of the UL Standard and following it is not required under the use conditions finalized in this action. Nonetheless, EPA is providing as Further information some information on training, including a recommendation that personnel follow Annex HH.
7. How is EPA responding to comments on residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps?
EPA received several comments from organizations with various interests in residential and light commercial AC.
Most commenters supported the proposed listing decision in general.
Major topics raised by commenters included the proposed use conditions, industry standards, and training for technicians. Other comments unrelated to these listings and beyond the scope of this final action are addressed in section III below.
Commenters included AHRI, Air Conditioning Contractors of America ACCA, the Alliance, and HARDI, four industry organizations; Chemours and Honeywell, two chemical producers;
Carrier, Daikin, Johnson Controls, Lennox International Inc., the Sporlan division of Parker Hannifin Corporation Sporlan, Rheem Manufacturing Company, and Trane Technologies Trane, seven equipment manufacturers; and two environmental organizations, NRDC and EIA.
We have grouped comments together and responded to the issues raised by the comments in the sections that follow.

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