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 amended Clean Air Act of 1990, which requires EPA to evaluate substitutes for ozone- depleting Substances (ODS) 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. In developing the March 18, 1994 final SNAP rule (59 FR 13044), EPA identified HFC-134a as a potential replacement for CFC-12. It is manufactured by several companies worldwide. In the March 18, 1994 final rule, EPA found HFC-134a to be an acceptable substitute for CFC- 12 in a variety of end-uses. OZ Technology, Inc. submitted Hydrocarbon Blend B, or HC-12a, as a CFC-12 substitute in a variety of end-uses on July 19, 1994. In the June 13, 1995 final SNAP rule (60 FR 31092), EPA found the use of Hydrocarbon Blend B 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. In addition, numerous other acceptable alternatives exist. On December 5, 1995, OZ Technology, Inc. petitioned EPA to remove Hydrocarbon Blend B from the unacceptable list and add it to the acceptable list, and to remove HFC-134a from the acceptable list and add it to the unacceptable list. The petition is in Air Docket A-91-42, file number VI-D-135. On August 30, 1996, EPA denied the first request in the petition on the basis that the information included in the petition did not include a scientifically valid, comprehensive risk assessment for the requested CFC-12 end-uses, and the second request on the basis that