EPA Partnership Focuses on Commercial Refrigeration

The financial and environmental costs of these leaks are significant, and the use and sale of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) is subject to an international phaseout schedule set by the Montreal Protocol and legislated in the U.S. by the Clean Air Act. As of 2010, HCFCs will no longer be produced in or imported to the U.S., except for equipment manufactured prior to that date; by 2020, all U.S. production and imports will stop. EPA has partnered with the supermarket industry, as well as chemical and equipment manufacturers, to create GreenChill, a program aimed at promoting new technologies that eliminate the use of HCFC-22 and lower the energy use of refrigeration systems.

The financial costs of HCFC-22 leakage and technology research make supermarkets eager to partner with GreenChill and begin sharing information about new technologies. According to Keilly Witman, a communications specialist at EPA, “There’s a competitive advantage in belonging to GreenChill because you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for yourself,” in determining how to reduce refrigerant use and energy costs.