Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-443 - Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other fluorinated greenhouse gases › Section 173-443-030 - Definitions and acronyms

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
				unless the text clearly indicates otherwise.
"Aerosol propellant" means a liquid or compressed gas that is
				used in whole or in part, such as a cosolvent, to expel a liquid or other
				material from the same self-pressurized container or from a separate
				container.
"Air conditioning" means the process of treating air to meet
				the requirements of a conditioning space by controlling its temperature,
				humidity, cleanliness, or distribution. "Air conditioning" includes the use of
				chillers, except for purposes of applying a maximum GWP threshold for new air
				conditioning equipment under WAC
				173-443-040, and the use of heat
				pumps.
"Air conditioning equipment" or "air conditioning system" or
				"air conditioning appliance" means the piece(s) of stationary equipment used to
				provide air conditioning. It is a combination of interconnected
				refrigerant-containing parts constituting one closed circuit in which a
				refrigerant is circulated for the purpose of extracting heat. "Air conditioning
				equipment" or "air conditioning system" or "air conditioning appliance"
				includes, but is not limited to, room air conditioners and residential and
				other dehumidifiers; ducted central air conditioners and heat pumps; nonducted
				air conditioners (both mini and multisplit); packaged roof top units; water
				source and ground source heat pumps; and remote condensing units used for
				comfort cooling. "Air conditioning equipment" or "air conditioning system" does
				not include mobile air conditioning systems, including those used in motor
				vehicles, rail and trains, aircraft, watercraft, recreational vehicles,
				recreational trailers, and campers. Where an air conditioning system is used
				for more than one application or end-use, the applicability of the prohibitions
				set forth in WAC
				173-443-040 is determined by the
				application or end-use for which the majority of the operating capacity is
				used.
"Applicant" means:
(a)
			 Any person who offers to sell, leases, rents, installs, uses, or otherwise
			 causes to enter into Washington commerce any new refrigeration or air
			 conditioning equipment that contains or uses a prohibited substance listed in
			 WAC 173-443-040 (2) or
			 (3)    and who applies for a variance under WAC
			 173-443-095; or
(b) Any person who owns or operates a
			 facility that has a refrigeration or air conditioning system that is subject to
			 the refrigerant management program and who applies for an exemption under WAC
			 173-443-235.
"Automatic leak detection system" means a calibrated device
				using continuous monitoring for the purpose of detecting leakage of
				refrigerants that alerts the operator upon detection of a leak, and may be
				either:
(a) A direct system that
			 automatically interprets the presence in air of refrigerant leaked from a
			 refrigeration system;
(b) An
			 indirect system that automatically interprets measurements (e.g., temperature
			 or pressure) within a refrigeration system that indicates a refrigerant leak in
			 refrigerated cases and other locations in the system.
"Bunstock" or "bun stock" means a large solid box-like
				structure formed during the production of polyurethane, polyisocyanurate,
				phenolic, or polystyrene insulation.
"C" means Celsius.
"Capital cost" means an expense incurred in the production of
				goods or in rendering services including, but not limited to, the cost of
				engineering, design, environmental consulting, purchase and installation of
				components or systems and instrumentation, contractor and construction fees,
				licensing fees, and financing.
"Certified reclaimer" means a person who is a certified
				reclaimer in accordance with 40 C.F.R. §
									82.164.
"Certified refrigerant recovery or recycling equipment" has the
				same meaning as set forth in 40 C.F.R. §
									82.152.
"Certified technician" means a person who holds a current,
				valid, and applicable certificate in accordance with
				40 C.F.R. §
									82.40 or
				82.161.
"Change in ownership" means the transfer of a legal ownership
				interest in a facility with a refrigeration or air conditioning system that is
				subject to this chapter.
"Chiller" means a water or heat transfer fluid chilling
				equipment package custom built in place or a factory-made and prefabricated
				assembly of one or more compressors, condensers and evaporators, with
				interconnections and accessories including controls, designed for the purpose
				of cooling or heating water or a heat transfer fluid. A chiller is a machine
				specifically designed to make use of a vapor compression cycle or absorption
				refrigeration cycle to transfer heat from a cold water or heat transfer fluid
				circulating system to the air, a heat transfer fluid, or other heat exchange
				media. Chillers can be water-cooled, air-cooled, or evaporatively cooled.
				Chillers include, but are not limited to, rotary chillers, centrifugal
				chillers, and positive displacement chillers, including reciprocating, scroll,
				and screw chillers. A chiller used for air conditioning purposes is considered
				air conditioning equipment except for purposes of applying a GWP threshold
				under WAC
				173-443-040, Table 2. A chiller
				used for refrigeration in a retail food facility is considered an indirect type
				of "supermarket system." A chiller used for industrial process refrigeration is
				considered a type of "other refrigeration" application. Where a chiller is used
				for more than one application or end-use, the applicability of the prohibitions
				set forth in WAC
				173-443-040 is determined by the
				application or end-use for which the majority of the operating capacity is
				used.
"Code" means a collection of letters, numbers, graphics, or
				symbols that translates into a form that conveys the information provided by a
				dedicated or existing product label, or that can convey a user or reader to
				that information through electronic means (such as a QR code).
"Cold storage warehouse" means a cooled facility designed to
				store meat, produce, dairy products, and other products that are delivered to
				other locations for sale to the ultimate consumer.
"Comfort cooling" means the air conditioning equipment used to
				provide cooling in order to control heat and/or humidity in occupied facilities
				including, but not limited to, residential, office, and commercial buildings.
				Comfort cooling equipment includes, but is not limited to, chillers, commercial
				split systems, and packaged roof-top units.
"Commercial ice machine" means a nonresidential ice machine or
				ice maker used in a commercial establishment to produce ice artificially for
				consumer use including, but not limited to, a hotel, restaurant, or convenience
				store.
"Commercial refrigeration" means refrigeration equipment used
				in the retail food and cold storage sectors. Retail food equipment includes the
				refrigeration equipment found in supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants,
				and other food service establishments. Cold storage includes the refrigeration
				equipment used to store meat, produce, dairy products, and other perishable
				goods.
"Component" means a part of a refrigeration or air conditioning
				system including, but not limited to, condensing units, compressors,
				evaporators, and receivers; and all of its connections and subassem-blies,
				without which the refrigeration system will not properly function or will be
				subject to failures.
"Consumer" means the ultimate purchaser, recipient, or end-user
				of a product.
"Cumulative replacement" means the addition of or change in
				multiple components over time.
"Date of manufacture" means:
(a) For air conditioning and refrigeration
			 equipment, the date displayed on the manufacturer's equipment label indicating
			 the equipment's date of manufacture;
(b) For refrigeration and air conditioning
			 equipment built up and completed on-site (field erected), the date that the
			 refrigerant circuit was completed and initially filled with refrigerant;
			 or
(c) For foam products imported
			 into the state from outside the United States, the date the foam was originally
			 manufactured, or the date of import if the original manufacture date is not
			 known.
"Dedicated label" means a label adhered or attached to a
				product, or otherwise included with the product, that is designed to convey
				required information to the end-user of that product on the use of substances
				associated with that product.
"EPA" means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"Ecology" means the department of ecology.
"End-use" means processes or classes of specific applications
				within industry sectors including, but not limited to, those listed in WAC
				173-443-040.
"Equipment" means a collection of components assembled or
				manufactured to function together that contains at least one product, or that
				is in and of itself a product.
"F" means Fahrenheit.
"Facility" means any property, plant, building structure,
				stationary source, stationary equipment or grouping of stationary equipment or
				stationary sources located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties in
				actual physical contact or separated solely by a public roadway or other public
				right of way, and under common operational control, that includes one or more
				refrigeration systems subject to this chapter. Operators of military
				installations may classify such installations as more than a single facility
				based on distinct and independent functional groupings within contiguous
				military properties.
"Facility identification number" means a unique identification
				number provided by ecology for each facility with one or more refrigeration
				system(s) in operation pursuant to WAC
				173-443-115.
"Flexible polyurethane" means a nonrigid polyurethane foam
				including, but not limited to, that used in furniture, bedding, and chair
				cushions.
"Foam" means a product with a cellular structure formed via a
				foaming process in a variety of materials that undergo hardening via a chemical
				reaction or phase transition.
"Foam blowing agent" means a substance that functions as a
				source of gas to generate bubbles or cells in the mixture during the formation
				of foam.
"Foam system" means a multipart liquid product that expands
				when mixed to form a foam.
"Follow-up verification test" means a test conducted after an
				initial verification test and after the system has returned to normal operating
				characteristics and conditions in order to confirm that the repair was
				successful.
"Force majeure" means a sudden and unforeseeable event
				involving a clear danger, demanding action to prevent or mitigate the loss of,
				or damage to, life, health, property, or essential public services, arising
				from causes beyond the control of the applicant, which delays or prevents the
				performance of any obligation under this chapter, despite the applicant's best
				efforts to fulfill the obligation. This includes events where the local
				government, state, or federal government issues a declaration of emergency,
				which can include war, natural disasters, or pandemics. This does not include
				financial inability to comply if the financial hardship is caused by an event
				that is unrelated to the force majeure event or would otherwise exist in the
				absence of the force majeure event.
"Full charge" means the amount of refrigerant required in the
				refrigerant circuit for normal operating characteristics and conditions of a
				refrigeration system or refrigeration equipment, as determined by using one or
				a combination of the following four methods:
(a) Use of the equipment manufacturer's
			 specifications of the full charge;
(b) Use of appropriate calculations based on
			 component sizes, density of refrigerant, volume of piping, seasonal variances,
			 and other relevant considerations;
(c) Use of actual measurements of the amount
			 of refrigerant added to or evacuated from the refrigeration equipment,
			 including for seasonal variances; or
(d) The midpoint of an established range for
			 full charge based on the best available data regarding the normal operating
			 characteristics and conditions for the system.
"Global warming potential," "GWP," "global warming potential
				value," or "GWP value" means 100-year GWP value as it appears in WAC
				173-441-040, and if not contained
				in WAC 173-441-040, then the GWP value
				means the 100-year GWP value published by the Intergovernmental Panel on
				Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fifth Assessment Working Group 1 Report (AR5)
				(IPCC, 2013).
"Heat transfer fluid" means any gas or liquid used for the
				purpose of transmitting heat from one place to another.
"HFCs" or "hydrofluorocarbons" means a class of greenhouse
				gases that are saturated organic compounds containing hydrogen, fluorine, and
				carbon.
"Household refrigerators and freezers" means refrigerators,
				refrigerator-freezers, freezers, and miscellaneous household refrigeration
				equipment intended for residential use. "Household refrigerators and freezers"
				does not include "household refrigerators and freezers - Compact," or
				"household refrigerators and freezers -Built-in."
"Household refrigerators and freezers - Built-in" means any
				refrigerator, refrigerator-freezer or freezer intended for residential use with
				7.75 cubic feet or greater total volume and 24 inches or less depth not
				including doors, handles, and custom front panels; with sides which are not
				finished and not designed to be visible after installation; and that is
				designed, intended, and marketed exclusively to be: Installed totally encased
				by cabinetry or panels that are attached during installation; securely fastened
				to adjacent cabinetry, walls or floor; and equipped with an integral
				factory-finished face or accept a custom front panel.
"Household refrigerators and freezers - Compact" means any
				refrigerator, refrigerator-freezer or freezer intended for residential use with
				a total refrigerated volume of less than 7.75 cubic feet (220 liters).
"Ice rink" means a frozen body of water, hardened chemicals, or
				both including, but not limited to, professional ice-skating rinks and those
				used by the general public for recreational purposes.
"Industrial process refrigeration" means to cool or heat
				process streams at a specific location in manufacturing and other forms of
				industrial processes and applications such as chemical production,
				pharmaceutical, and petrochemical industries. This also includes equipment used
				in the generation of electricity and for large scale cooling of heat sources
				such as data centers and data servers. Industrial process refrigeration not
				using a chiller is considered a type of refrigeration equipment. Industrial
				process refrigeration using a chiller is considered a type of other
				refrigeration application. Where a chiller is used for more than one
				application or end-use, the applicability of the prohibitions set forth in WAC
				173-443-040 is determined by the
				application or end-use for which the majority of the operating capacity is
				used.
"Integral skin polyurethane" means a self-skinning polyurethane
				foam including, but not limited to, that used in car steering wheels and
				dashboards.
"Leak rate calculation" means the rate at which a refrigeration
				or air conditioning system is losing refrigerant, measured between refrigerant
				charges or inspections. The leak rate is expressed in terms of the average
				percentage of the system's full charge lost on a monthly basis over the
				previous 12 months. The leak rate must be calculated using the 12-month rolling
				average method as follows:
(a) Step 1.
			 Take the sum of the pounds of refrigerant added to the system over the previous
			 365-day period;
(b) Step 2. Divide
			 the result of step 1 by the pounds of refrigerant the system normally contains
			 at a full charge; and
(c) Step 3.
			 Multiply the result of step 2 by 100 to obtain a percentage.
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"Low temperature refrigeration system" means a commercial or
				industrial process refrigeration system that maintains food, beverages, or
				other items at temperatures at or below 32°F (0°C).
"MDI" means metered dose inhaler or medical dose
				inhaler.
"Manufacturer" includes any person, firm, association,
				partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, or joint venture
				that produces any product that contains or uses HFCs or is an importer or
				domestic distributor of such a product. For purposes of WAC
				173-443-065(3) and 173-443-075(3),
				a manufacturer is the installer of the equipment.
"Mission-critical military end-uses" means those uses of
				regulated substances, by an agency of the federal government responsible for
				national defense, that have a direct impact on mission capability, as
				determined by the U.S. Department of Defense including, but not limited to,
				uses necessary for development, testing, production, training, operation, and
				maintenance of armed forces deployable/expeditionary support equipment,
				munitions, and command and control systems.
"Mothballing" or "system mothballing" means the intentional
				shutting down of a refrigeration or air conditioning system for longer than 60
				days by the owner or operator of the facility, where the refrigerant has been
				evacuated from the system or affected component, at least to atmospheric
				pressure.
"New air conditioning equipment" means any air conditioning
				equipment or system manufactured for an end-use listed in WAC
				173-443-040, Table 3, that is
				first installed using new components, used components, or a combination of new
				and used components, and that is one of the following:
(a) New construction in a new or existing
			 facility;
(b) A system in an
			 existing facility with a single condenser and single evaporator that has a new
			 exterior condenser, condensing unit, or remote condensing unit; or
(c) A system in an existing facility with
			 more than one condenser or more than one evaporator that is modified such that
			 the system undergoes cumulative replacement of 75 percent or more of its indoor
			 evaporator units (by number) and 100 percent of its air source or water source
			 condensing units.
"New products or equipment" means products or equipment
				manufactured for an end-use listed in WAC
				173-443-040, Table 1, that is one
				or more of the following:
(a)
			 Manufactured after the effective date of the prohibition;
(b) First installed with new or used
			 components, or expanded by the addition of components to increase capacity,
			 after the effective date of the prohibition; or
(c) Replaced or underwent cumulative
			 replacement after the effective date of the prohibition such that the capital
			 cost of replacement exceeds 50 percent of the capital cost of replacing the
			 whole system, excluding display cases.
"New refrigeration equipment" means any refrigeration equipment
				or system manufactured for an end-use listed in WAC
				173-443-040, Table 2, that is
				first installed using new components, used components, or a combination of new
				and used components, and that is one of the following:
(a) New construction in a new or existing
			 facility;
(b) An addition or
			 modification that increases the nominal compressor capacity of a system in an
			 existing facility;
(c) New
			 construction in an existing facility not previously used for retail food
			 refrigeration, cold storage, ice rinks, or industrial process refrigeration;
			 or
(d) A system in an existing
			 facility used for retail food refrigeration, cold storage, ice rinks, or
			 industrial process refrigeration that is modified such that the system
			 undergoes cumulative replacement of 75 percent or more of its evaporators (by
			 number) and 100 percent of its compressor racks, condensers, and connected
			 evaporator loads.
"Nonessential consumer products" means the following products
				if they are propelled by, contain, or manufactured with a chlorofluorocarbon,
				hydrochlorofluorocarbon, or hydrofluorocarbon:
(a) Any plastic party streamer or noise horn
			 including, but not limited to:
(i) String
			 confetti;
(ii) Marine safety
			 horns;
(iii) Sporting event
			 horns;
(iv) Personal safety
			 horns;
(v) Wall-mounted alarms used
			 in factories or other work areas; and
(vi) Intruder alarms used in homes or
			 cars.