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Air Conditioning Refrigerant and the Ozone Layer
Government Action to Protect the Ozone Layer
The U.S. Government called for a phase out by 1996 of CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons) which are used as refrigerants in
some commercial air conditioning and refrigeration systems
and for other applications. The chlorine atoms in the CFCs
slowly destroy the ozone layer. Under the Federal Clean Air Act,
HCFCs (hydrochloro-fluorocarbons, HCFC-22 is referred to as
"Freon" which is used in your central air conditioning or heat
pump system) will be phased out by 2030.
The Clean Air Act also prohibits the release of CFCs and
HCFCs into the atmosphere as of July 1, 1992. On this date
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require recovery
and recycling of CFCs and HCFCs during the servicing of air
conditioning and refrigeration equipment.
How Your Air Conditioning Service Will Change
In order to comply with the Clean Air Act and EPA regulations,
Parker's, when servicing your air conditioner or heat pump, will
remove the refrigerant and store it in an external container.
We will recycle the refrigerant or send the used material to
a reclamation center for reprocessing, and put new refrigerant
in your system. We do not recover the refrigerant on every
service call, only when major system components need to be
replaced or when a system leak has been detected.
The cost of doing business has increased because of these factors:
- We have paid to train and certify our service technicians.
Each knows how to properly handle the refrigerant and operate
recovery and recycling equipments.
- We have purchased expensive recovery and recycling equipments
to avoid releasing refrigerant into the atmosphere. Each service
truck has recovery equipments.
- The cost of the refrigerant has increased because the supply
is limited due to the phaseout of CFCs and HCFCs plus added
Federal taxes.
For more information on this subject, please contact
Air Conditioning Contractors of America
1513 16th Street NW
Washington D.C. 20036
(202) 483–9370
Parker's Heating and Air Conditioning is a member of ACCA.
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