Meeting the Refrigerant Challenge

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This can be a confusing responsibility because the employees are tasked in a previously unregulated area.

by Robert Johnson

Global environmental concern about ozone depletion caused governments throughout the world to take strong, immediate actions to prevent further damage. The sweeping new laws and regulations produced through this international cooperation are unprecedented.

In the United States, the Clean Air Act Amendments of and subsequent EPA regulations are forcing extensive, rapid changes to be made to meet compliance requirements. They affect virtually every business, organization, and, ultimately, consumer through higher prices on goods and services. Previously safe and abundant refrigerants used in a multitude of everyday applications have in a few short years become federally controlled substances with civil and criminal penalties for violations.

The Impact and Response of Industry
In industries and organizations involved with air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, including those using it in their buildings for cooling and other processes, the most significant impacts can be categorized as:

Finding substitute refrigerants. First, enormous investments of human effort and money have been required for research and development to identify, test, and bring to market large volumes substitute refrigerants. Manufacturers of equipment that uses refrigerants have had to design new equipment, redesign existing equipment, and retool factories.

There has been significant progress made in this area. Substitute refrigerants now appear to be sufficient to meet demand, and equipment manufacturers are producing new equipment based on the substitutes, as well as retrofit packages for existing equipment.
Addressing existing equipment issues. Second, significant capital outlays have to be expended by businesses and other organizations to address existing equipment issues. Building owners, managers, and facilities professionals have to make tough decisions and expenditures on contain, convert, or replace options.

Many organizations have addressed this issue head-on, taking the required actions to assure their facilities will not be affected by any future CFC refrigerant shortages. Other organizations have made minimal efforts or have done nothing at all and are at risk of future business interruptions from refrigerant shortages.
Facing the new compliance challenge. Third is the investment of capital and training required within affected organizations to develop and implement an EPA refrigerant regulations compliance program.

This issue presents a challenge as significant as, if not more so, the refrigerant replacement and mechanical system issues discussed here. This is so because it requires changes to individual human and organizational behaviors, work routines, and attitudes to ensure compliance with the new regulations. Existing procedures, work practices, and habits developed over many years working with unregulated refrigerants must be modified. New compliance monitoring processes, including internal checks and/or audits, must be implemented.

Roadblocks to Successful Compliance
The consequences for non-compliance are severe. Violations can result in criminal enforcement actions, including up to five years of imprisonment. In addition, civil enforcement actions are $27,500 per day for violations. In many organizations, the costs related to negative public relations incurred from media sensationalism over environmental violations often dwarf the fines and penalties incurred.

The EPA/CMA Root Cause Analysis Project final report, published in May 1999, identified root causes and contributing factors in environmental regulation non-compliance. The following factors were among the root causes or contributing causes discussed there:

Environmental aspects of facility process and operations not identified by management
Unclear procedures
Contradictory interpretation of state and/or federal regulation
Unavailability of written procedures
Facility unaware of the applicability of a regulation
Compliance monitoring-specifically, a lack of or insufficient checks or audits.

Primary contributing causes of O&M non-compliance were identified as:

Management support or guidance not provided
Unclear definitions of roles and responsibilities.

Refrigerant Compliance Issues
Confusion is common in organizations developing and implementing environmental compliance in a previously unregulated area. Organizations must revise specific work processes to incorporate permanent and ongoing compliance requirements. This can be especially difficult in large organizations with multiple departments and/or contract maintenance involved with refrigerants.

Because the regulations are relatively new, existing compliance information is not as abundant as with traditional environmental issues. Additional research often is needed to develop specific policies and procedures. Poorly designed or undefined organizational policies and procedures can result in non-compliance.

Another common area of confusion arises with assigning responsibility for development and management of the compliance program. Because refrigerants typically have been a facility operations issue, not an environmental issue, often there are responsibility crossover issues, egos, and structural process issues to overcome. Unclear definitions of roles and responsibilities from the management level to the employees handling refrigerants can result in non-compliance. Employees need to know who is accountable for various issues, what is expected of them, and whom to turn to for help.

In many cases, affected individuals working with refrigerants within organizations have little or no past experience dealing with federally regulated substances. The regulations and subsequent EPA requirements are tough, and the consequences for non-compliance are severe. Many do not understand the magnitude of the ramifications they and their organization face for violations. Unavailability of written procedures, guidance, and management support can result in non-compliance.

The Complacency Factor
Another challenge faced by many organizations is an attitude of complacency toward these regulations that may exist among certain individuals within the organization. We have found this circumstance in more than one organization. This is an extremely dangerous situation from a compliance standpoint, because people tend to focus their efforts on what they believe are priorities.

This attitude probably has its roots in one or more of the following: initial and ongoing controversy over ozone depletion itself, the newness of the regulations, unfamiliarity with regulated industry, resentment toward the regulations, a seeming lack of interest or commitment from senior-level management, a lack of education or information on specific requirements, and penalties associated with non compliance.

Whatever the reason, these employees must give these federal regulations the respect and priority they require or they will become a roadblock to successful compliance.

Steps to Successful Compliance
The EPA/CMA Root Cause Analysis Project report showed that corporate policies, goals, targets, and guidelines have a strong influence on environmental performance. Recommendations for successful environmental compliance included clearly defined commitment on the part of management, as well as tools developed by the facility and corporate staff.

High levels of awareness and commitment are necessary. So are accurate standard operating procedures that employees can understand and employee training. A comprehensive, well-integrated, clearly articulated program would play a play a large role in improving compliance.

Develop a refrigerant compliance plan. Producing an organization-specific refrigerant management and regulations compliance program is the first step to effective compliance. This should describe how EPA regulations and requirements would be integrated into the organization's existing work processes, using flow charts and work statements for illustration as required. It should define the organization's specific policies and procedures for refrigerant handling from purchase through final disposal, including establishing uniform recordkeeping and reporting methods.
Conduct compliance training. A "roll out" implementation training process should be conducted to ensure everyone affected receives a copy of the compliance program and any other information they need to assure success. This is a good time to express management's commitment to organizational compliance. After the training, many organizations have employees sign a statement of understanding that compliance with the program is a condition of their employment.
Make compliance permanent and ongoing. To ensure ongoing compliance, regularly scheduled compliance update training and self-audited or surveys should be conducted at least once a year. These can be performed using internal resources or contracted to professional consultants who specialize in refrigerant regulations compliance management.

This also reinforces the importance of compliance and further demonstrates the organization's "intent to comply." A process needs to be implemented to ensure an ongoing stream of any new compliance updates, changes, and information is collected and distributed to affected employees. You must modify the program as required, to keep it current and accurate.

Management Commitment
Senior management's visible commitment will have a significant impact on the success of the refrigerant compliance program. Congress recognized this when it designated "senior level management" as responsible in criminal enforcement resulting from violations in the 1990 CAA amendments.

This responsibility cannot be delegated away. Management's defensible position can be strengthened, however, by demonstrating intent to comply. Robert Johnson is President of ESS of Tempe, Ariz. The company provides compliance software, training, and consulting to organizations affected by refrigerant, waste, IAQ, and health and safety management issues. For information, e-mail ESS.