US: HC441A may be sold in new stand-alone retail refrigeration

This is stated in a September 2012 US EPA letter on the determination of completeness for the SNAP submission addressed to A.S. Trust & Holdings, the company that has developed the hydrocarbon refrigerant blend. The letter also states that R441A may be sold “in stand-alone refrigerators and freezers in retail food refrigeration in the US as of June 27, 2012;” the approval also includes use in stand-alone refrigerated display cases.

Following the determination of the submission as “complete,” the US EPA will initiate the rule-making procedure, with R441A expected to be listed on the Federal Register within the next 24 months.

With this letter, stand-alone retail refrigeration is added to other end-use applications in which R441A can be used in the US, including:

• Household refrigerators and freezers: R441A has already been found as an acceptable substitute in household refrigerators and freezers according to the December 2011 milestone EPA rule that for the first time opened the US market to the use of hydrocarbons.

• Vending machines: More recently (summer 2012), the US EPA also found complete another submission by A.S. Trust & Holdings requesting SNAP approval for the use of hydrocarbon refrigerant R441A in new vending machines by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). R441A may now be sold in new vending machines as of May 23, 2012. Again, the rule listing R441A on the Federal Register is expected within the next 24 months.

Richard Maruya, President of A.S. Trust & Holdings, says, “This additional approval by the EPA gives manufacturers yet another way to use R441A in commercial and residential applications as an energy- and climate-saving hydrocarbon refrigerant.”

About A.S. Trust & Holdings

A.S. Trust & Holdings has developed a refrigerant that is a ground-breaking blend of pure hydrocarbons. It has been designated R441A by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) since January 2011. R441A is one of the first hydrocarbon refrigerants to be approved for sale in the United States by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) for use in household refrigerators and freezers.