CARB may put the freeze on consumer refrigerant purchases

Jan. 1, 2020
Consumers may just go into other states to purchase refrigerant.

California Air Resources Board places possible ban of R-134a consumer sales among early action items.

California might try to ban the consumer sale of refrigerant in an attempt to lower greenhouse gas emissions, but legislative advocates say the state's clean air board may just be reaching for low-hanging, yet ineffective, fruit.

As part of an early action item in response to the California Legislature's Assembly Bill 32, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has targeted banning the consumer sale of R-134a refrigerant to help curb pollution.

However, the reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent is minimal at best, say aftermarket representatives, who add that if approved, the mandate would adversely affect both retailers and low-income residents who are more likely to work on their own vehicles. The real targets should be factories, refineries and other major polluters, says Norman Plotkin, legislative advocate for the California Nevada Automotive Wholesalers' Association (CAWA).

"There is greenhouse gas hysteria going on right now," he adds. "This is what we're up against: some hysteria. We're trying to impart some reason here and save a segment of the business."

"How many huge sources of global warming are out there?" asks Aaron Lowe, vice president of government affairs for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). "And the first item off the boat in AB-32 is banning the sale of cans of R-134a refrigerant. Obviously, we're not happy about it."

One intention of the plan to ban consumer sales of R-134a was the projected savings of 2.4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Plotkin asserts the actual savings is merely 2 percent of that.

An interest group called Stay Cool California states that the CARB staff's source of information is the air conditioning industry, which itself would realize a $170 million windfall from the banning of consumer refrigerants.

About 1.2 million pounds of R-134a is sold each year to DIYers in California, according to the advocacy group.

CARB will consider the matter in June, says spokesperson Karen Caesar.

"Once the actual rule on auto refrigerants is developed for consideration by the Board in the next 18 months, it is likely that a phase-in period would be put in place so that for a certain period, existing inventory would be available," she says. "We are still looking into the cost impacts to businesses and consumers. If the Board recommends taking this step, the actual process of writing the regulation addressing R-134a would still be open to the public."

Other intentions of CARB's early action item are to lessen the volume of "can heel," or residue left in a can of R-134a after its use, and curb the disposal of partially filled cans, as well as halting a continuous cycle of leak-refill-leak-refill activity.

Enforcement of this proposal may not be as easy as it sounds, says Plotkin.

Besides, consumers likely might just go into other states like Nevada to purchase cans of R-134a, and others will just buy 30-pound barrels and share it with their friends, he says.

Though many stores require certification for buying R-134a in bulk, the certification process is not very stringent, Plotkin adds.

And those who don't have their vehicle air conditioning systems refilled will drive with their windows down, creating more drag on the vehicle, multiplying tailpipe emissions, opponents say.

Roger Ablamis, owner of A&M Motor Supply in Los Gatos, Calif., says the proposed ban wouldn't have much effect on his business, but he hopes the plan meets resistance, nonetheless. "It probably wouldn't affect us much because we don't sell much to the retail public."

A little patience might be the answer

AB-32 calls for capping global warming gases at 1990 levels by 2020, with regulations being promulgated on or before Jan. 1, 2010.

Those in the aftermarket we spoke with say that by 2010, a newer refrigerant technology likely will be close to widespread usage.

With the recent joint development agreement between Honeywell and DuPont, it's even more possible a new type of environmentally safer refrigerant will be developed in time for a 2011 European mandate. DuPont has been touting its DP-1 refrigerant, a technology that the company says is compatible with existing R-134a systems with minor modifications.

And if the most recent switch in refrigerants is any guide, state legislators should be patient, says Plotkin.

"We can point to an orderly transition between R-12 and R-134a, and you can expect the same transition (between R-134a and a new refrigerant technology)," he says. "We don't need heavy-handed regulations that make Californians suffer."

As of press time, a workshop was scheduled for April 23, and Plotkin planned to testify on behalf of AAIA, CAWA and the Automotive Refrigeration Products Institute (ARPI). "At the end of the day, the myriad proposals they could undertake and the million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions they could find reductions on immediately, they've chosen the automotive air-conditioning do-it-yourself market, which is ridiculous. We're going to do everything we can to knock it off the early action list."

Adds Lowe, who says he's concerned about this proposal being picked up by other states and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "We think car owners should have the choice of where they get their cars repaired, even if they do it themselves."

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