Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine September 2018

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EPA 608 Testing Changes to Reflect New Regulations ESCO Institute, the HVACR industry’s largest provider of EPA Section 608 certification testing, is rolling out new testing and training materials as mandated by the EPA. Much of the training and testing for 608 certification in Arkansas uses ESCO products. The new testing will reflect changes in EPA regulations. For example: A.HFC and HFO refrigerants are now included in the sales restriction. B.These refrigerants may only be sold to technicians certified under Section 608 and Section 609 of the Federal Clean Air Act. C.Wholesalers and others who re-sell refrigerants must maintain invoices that indicate: purchaser name, sale date, and the quantity of CFC, HCFC, HFC and HFO refrigerants purchased. D.These records must be maintained for no less than three years. E.Employers must require proof of certification for technicians and must maintain a copy of their certification at their place of business for three years after a certified individual leaves the employer. F. Technicians must keep records of; the location, date of recovery, and type of refrigerant recovered for each disposed appliance, the quantity of It should be noted that existing cards will remain valid.

refrigerant by type recovered from disposed appliances in each calendar month. G.Technicians must keep records of the quantity of refrigerant, and type, transferred for reclamation or destruction, the person to whom it was transferred, and the date of the transfer. H.All requirements for the maintenance, service, repair and disposal of CFC and HCFC are extended to HFC and HFO refrigerants. I. The wording on new certification cards includes: “[Name of person] has successfully passed a [Type I, Type II, Type III, and/or Universal, as appropriate] exam on how to responsibly handle refrigerants as required by EPA’s National Recycling and Emission Reduction Program.” J. EPA requires Section 608 Certification holders be included in a public online directory. (ESCO’s directory can be found at public directory K.Leak inspections are required for appliances that have exceeded the acceptable leak rate as established by the EPA. L. Leak rates for appliances include: 1. Comfort Cooling with a charge of 50 or more pounds must have a leak inspection once per calendar year until the owner/operator can demonstrate through the leak rate calculations that the leak rate has