What Technicians and 

Contractors Need to Know 

About Phasing Out 

HCFC Refrigerants to Protect

the Ozone Layer

EPA Ozone Web Site 

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/

EPA Stratospheric Ozone Information Hotline 

1.800.296.1996

ENERGY STAR Web Site

http://www.energystar.gov/

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Mail Code 6205J

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20460-0001

Disclaimer

EPA promotes energy efficiency and the safe use of 

ozone-friendly substances, and does not endorse any 

particular company or its products. 

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, are 

chemicals that are mainly used as refrigerants 

in the air-conditioning and refrigeration industries.

Unfortunately, releases of HCFCs damage the 

ozone layer, which shields the Earth from harmful

ultraviolet radiation. The United States is one 

of more than 190 countries to phase out the 

manufacture of ozone-depleting substances and 

find alternatives. 

Phaseout of HCFC-22 and 

HCFC-142b

HCFC-22 (or R-22) is often used in air-conditioning

and refrigeration equipment. HCFC-142b is also

used as a refrigerant, often as a component of a

blend. It is sometimes used for foam blowing or 

as a propellant in aerosol cans. These two HCFCs

are being phased out according to the following

schedule:

January 1, 2010

Ban on production and import of HCFC-22 and

HCFC-142b except for on-going servicing needs 

of existing equipment

January 1, 2015

Ban on sale and use of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b

except for certain uses, including on-going servicing

needs of existing refrigeration and air-conditioning

equipment

January 1, 2020

Ban on remaining production and import of 

HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b

After 2020, the servicing of systems that use R-22 

or R-142b will rely on recovered or stockpiled 

quantities. It is difficult to predict when these 

supplies will run out. Supplies may be available

until almost all equipment containing R-22 or 

R-142b is retired. However, in the future, supplies

will be more limited and costs of HCFCs will 

likely rise.
Your Role

As an air-conditioning or refrigeration technician,

you play an important role in the phaseout of HCFC

refrigerants by installing, servicing, and repairing

equipment that may contain HCFCs. 

This brochure will help you: 

✜ Better understand your responsibilities under the 

regulations, 

✜ Adapt to changing industry practices, and

✜ Provide consumers with appropriate information 

about the HCFC phaseout.

Servicing Air-Conditioning

Systems

✜ You must have EPA Section 608 certification 

to service refrigeration and air-conditioning 

equipment containing HCFCs. 

✜ As a best practice, locate and repair leaks instead 

of “topping-off” leaking systems. 

✜ It is illegal to intentionally release any refrigerant 

when servicing, repairing, or maintaining 

equipment. In most cases, you must use refrigerant 

recovery equipment during service, maintenance, 

or repair.

✜ You must certify in writing to your EPA Regional 

Office that you have and will properly use 

EPA-certified refrigerant recovery and recycling 

equipment.

✜ In some cases, you may recharge equipment with 

recovered HCFC refrigerants. If the refrigerant is 

being charged back into the same appliance or to 

another appliance owned by the same person, the 

used refrigerant does not need to be recycled or 

reclaimed. 

✜ Recovered refrigerant cannot be sold to a new 

owner; instead, it must be sent to an EPA-certified 

reclaimer prior to sale. 

A recovered refrigerant is one that was removed

from refrigeration or air-conditioning equipment 

and stored in an external container without 

necessarily being tested or processed in any way.

A recycled refrigerant has been extracted and

cleaned for reuse without meeting the stringent

requirements for reclamation. 

A reclaimed refrigerant has been reprocessed 

using specialized machinery and tested to meet

industry purity standards. 

Disposing of Refrigeration and 

Air-Conditioning Equipment

✜ Prior to equipment disposal, you must properly 

recover HCFCs from existing refrigeration 

and air-conditioning equipment to help ensure 

the availability of future supplies, protect the 

ozone layer, and comply with the law. 

✜ You may send recovered HCFC refrigerants to be 

reclaimed or destroyed.

Alternative Refrigerants

✜ EPA maintains a list of acceptable and 

unacceptable substitutes for specific refrigeration 

and air-conditioning end-uses.

✜ Alternative refrigerants generally cannot be used 

as a “drop-in” replacement in an existing system 

without modifying the system components.

✜ If substitutes are used in converted (retrofitted) 

equipment that was originally manufactured for 

use with CFCs, you should be trained on proper 

retrofit installation and servicing techniques.

✜ When purchasing alternative refrigerants, consider 

the cost, availability, and required equipment. Also 

check that the refrigerant is acceptable for your 

expected use and consistent with the equipment 

manufacturer’s recommendations and warranties.

✜ EPA does not require certification for technicians 

that service appliances with non-ozone depleting 

refrigerants (for example, R-410A). If you are not 

sure if a refrigerant is non-ozone depleting, contact 

EPA or visit www.epa.gov/ozone/.

✜ It is illegal to intentionally release any refrigerants, 

including the alternatives like HFCs (for example, 

R-410A).

✜ There are several acceptable alternatives to 

R-22 that do not deplete the ozone layer. 

These include R-134a, R-404A, R-407C, and 

R-410A. Note that R-410A can be used in new, 

not retrofitted, residential air conditioners. For 

more information on substitutes visit 

www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/refrigerants/.

What Should I Tell My Customers

About the Phaseout? 

✜ The production and import (not use) of the HCFC 

refrigerants is being phased out both in the United 

States and worldwide. This phaseout will repair the

ozone layer and reduce incidences of skin cancer 

and cataracts.

✜ They are not required to stop using HCFC 

refrigerants nor to replace existing equipment. 

However, the available supply of R-22 and R-142b 

will decrease in the future.

✜ EPA has not banned the sale or use of refrigerant 

and air-conditioning equipment containing R-22.

✜ The phaseout period provides time to switch to 

ozone-friendly refrigerants when they normally 

would replace their refrigerant and 

air-conditioning equipment.

✜ They should visit the EPA web site at 

www.epa.gov/ozone/ for more information.