EPA approves three alternative refrigerants to replace HFCs

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added three hydrocarbons as acceptable alternatives in small commercial refrigerators and freezers through EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.

Under the Clean Air Act, the SNAP program evaluates substitute chemicals and technologies for ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The three hydrocarbon refrigerants approved as acceptable substitutes, with use conditions, are propane, isobutane, and a chemical known as R-441A. These newly-approved refrigerants can be used to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-12 and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22 in commercial stand-alone units.