§ 82.154 Prohibitions.

(a) Venting prohibition. (1) No person maintaining, servicing, repairing, or disposing of an appliance or industrial process refrigeration may knowingly vent or otherwise release into the environment any refrigerant from such appliances. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart, the following substitutes in the following end-uses are exempt from this prohibition and from the requirements of this subpart:

(i) Carbon dioxide in any application;

(ii) Nitrogen in any application;

(iii) Water in any application;

(iv) Ammonia in commercial or industrial process refrigeration or in absorption units;

(v) Chlorine in industrial process refrigeration (processing of chlorine and chlorine compounds);

(vi) Hydrocarbons in industrial process refrigeration (processing of hydrocarbons);

(vii) Ethane (R–170) in very low temperature refrigeration equipment and equipment for non-mechanical heat transfer;

(viii) Propane (R-290) in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers; self-contained room air conditioners for residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heat pumps; vending machines; and effective January 3, 2017, self-contained commercial ice machines, very low temperature refrigeration equipment, and water coolers;

(ix) Isobutane (R–600a) in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers; and vending machines;

(x) R–441A in retail food refrigerators and freezers (stand-alone units only); household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers; self-contained room air conditioners for residential and light commercial air-conditioning; heat pumps; and vending machines.

(2) De minimis releases associated with good faith attempts to recycle or recover refrigerants are not subject to this prohibition. Except for exempt substitutes, refrigerant releases are de minimis only if they occur when: