Protection of Stratospheric Ozone

This action notifies the public that the Agency received a petition pursuant to section 612(d) of the Clean Air Act, under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program, and that EPA is denying the petition. SNAP implements section 612 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which requires EPA to evaluate substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and to regulate the use of substitutes where other alternatives exist that reduce overall risk to human health and the environment. Through these evaluations, EPA generates lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes for each of the major industrial use sectors that use ODSs, including the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector. OZ Technology, Inc. submitted HC-12a, previously referenced as Hydrocarbon Blend B, as a CFC-12 substitute in a variety of end-uses on July 19, 1994. In a June 13, 1995 final SNAP rulemaking (60 FR 31092), EPA found the use of HC- 12a unacceptable as a substitute for CFC-12 in all end-uses other than industrial process refrigeration. This determination was based on a lack of adequate data demonstrating that HC-12a could be used safely in these end-uses; the most recent petition from OZ does not provide any additional information to address this issue. In addition, numerous other acceptable alternatives to ODSs exist in these end-uses.