## FOAM	SECTOR	STAKEHOLDER	WORKSHOP April	26, 2013 10:00	AM
– 12:00	PM	EST 1310	L	Street	NW,	Washington	DC,	Room	152 

# Concept	Note:	Foams	Sector	Stakeholder	Workshop EPA	is	hosting	a	workshop	for	interested	stakeholders	to	exchange	information	on	the foams sector,	one	of	the	sectors	considered	under	the	Significant	New	Alternatives	Policy (SNAP)	program	and	included	for	analytical	purposes	in	EPA’s	Vintaging	Model.	The purpose	of	this	meeting	is	to	foster	dialogue	between	stakeholders	and	EPA and	discuss inf ormation	on	the	current	and	future	state	of	the	foams	sector .	Toward	that	end,	EPA	will share	information	on	the	status	of	national	and	global	activities	relevant	to	stakeholders	in the foams sector,	and	will	provide	an	overview	of	our	current	understandin g	of	market conditions	and	forces	affecting	the	sector. We	will	also	provide	time	for	exchange	and discussion,	and	open	communication	lines	for	further	data	exchange,	to	allow	us	to	review and	update	our	understanding	of	the foams sector. Because	our	aim	i s	for	a	broad	update across	affected	sectors, this	is	the	second	meeting	in	a	series	and subsequent	meetings will be	held	for other	sectors. SNAP	is	EPA's	program	to	evaluate	and	list	substitutes	for	the	ozone
- depleting	substances (ODS) being	phased	out	un der	the Clean	Air	Act	(CAA). Section	612(c) of	the	CAA authorizes	EPA	to	identify	and	publish	lists	of	acceptable	and	unacceptable	substitutes	for ODS.	A	large	number	of	alternatives	exist	that	reduce overall	risk	to	human	health	and	the environment.	SNAP’s	goal	is	to	encourage	a	smooth	transition	from	ODS	by	identifying substitutes	that	offer	lower	overall	risks	to	human	health	and	the	environment. SNAP	has reviewed	substitutes	for industrial	sectors	i ncluding	but	not	limited	to:	Aerosols,	Foam Blowing	Agents,	Cleaning	Solvents,	Fire	Suppression,	Refrigeration	&	Air	Conditioning	and Adhesives,	Coatings	&	Inks.	The	Vintaging	Model	is	the	tool	that	EPA	uses	to	assess consumption	and	emissions	of	ODS	and	alternatives. Foams	are	plastics	(such	as	polyurethane	or	polystyrene)	that	are	manufactured	using blowing	agents	to	create	bubbles	or	cells	in	the	material's	structure.	The	foam	plastics manufacturing	industries,	the	markets	they	serve	and	the	blowing	agents	used	are extremely	varied. For	example,	some	products	using	f oams include building	materials, appliance	insulation,	cushioning, furniture, packaging	materials, containers, flotation devices,	filler, sound	proofing and	shoes. Historically,	a	variety	of CFCs	and	HCFCs	have	been	used	as	foam	blowing	agents because	of their	favorable	chemical	properties. In	1973	chemists	Sherwood	Rowland	and	Mario Molina	began	studying	effects	of	CFCs	on	the	earth’s	atmosphere.	They	discovered	that CFCs	were	stable	enough	to	migrate	to	the	stratosphere	and	that	the	chlorine	atoms contained	in	these	molecules	could	break	do wn	large	amounts	of	ozone	in	the	stratosphere.In	1978,	the	United	States took	the	first	steps	towards	reducing	use	and	emissions	of CFC s

by	banning	their	use	as propellants in	aerosol	products
. Under the Montreal	Protocol	on	Substances	that	Deplete	the	Ozone	Layer and Clean	Air	Act ODS	are subject	to a	phaseout	of	production	and	consumption	and	u nder	the	CAA foam blowing	agents	are	subject	to	additional	regulations,	including	a ban on	sale	and distribution	of	foams	made	with	CFCs	or	HCFCs with	few	exceptio ns. A range	of	alternatives have	been	found	to	be	acceptable	under	the	SNAP	program includ ing hydrofluorocarbons	(HFCs)	(e.g.,	HFC
- 134a,	HFC
- 245fa,	HFC
- 365mfc) , hydrocarbons, carbon	dioxide,	water,	and methyl	formate. Other acceptable low
- GWP fluorinated compounds	in	use	includ e HFO
- 1234ze and	Solstice	1233zd(E).	Also,	additional alternatives	are	under	development	such	as	Formacel
- 1100
. 

# Agenda

1. Welcome	&	Introductions 2. Background
a. Montreal	Protocol	&	Clean	Air	Act b. Significant	New	Alternatives	Policy	(SNAP ) Program
c. Vintaging	Model 3. Discussion
a. In	many	sectors	the	SNAP	program	is	receiving	an	increased	number	of submissions. Are new substitutes anticipated?	Are	additional	transitions with existing	alternatives anticipated ? b. What	benefits	have	you	seen	from transitions?	Decreased	cost?	Support sustainability	goals?	Better	for	the	environment,	performance?
c. Where	a	transition	has	been	made,	particularly	to	climate
- friendly alternatives,	what	benefits	have	you	experienced	from	making the	change ? d. What	are	the barriers	precluding transition to	safer alternatives?
e. What	additional	information	can	be	provided	by	individual	companies	or	by trade	associations	to	inform	the	Vintaging	Model?