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The Importance of Fugitive Emission Tracking And A Centralized Refrigerant Gas Management Program

By Daniel Stouffer

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 21Feb2010 Word count: 615 Viewed: 420 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

The United States and a host of other foreign countries are focusing on fugitive emission tracking for certain industries. The goal is to identify the amount of substances that are emitted into the atmosphere when a refrigerant gas leak occurs. This will give government officials at the EPA a better understanding of the amount of greenhouse gases harming the environment each year and contributing to global warming due to the ineffective management of refrigerant gases.

Fugitive emission takes place when an unexpected leak of a hazardous substance occurs in a system and the discharge is not contained in a vent, stack, or duct. This could be the result of an equipment leak, a problem during maintenance operations, a breakdown in bulk handling or processing, or a problem in an industrial process. The leakage causes harmful gases to enter the environment. Certain refrigerant gases are not broken down in the atmosphere and end up entering the stratosphere and destroying the protective ozone layer over time.

In the United States alone, fugitive emission totals for a year are over 300,000 tons CO2e. Other countries have similar or worse outputs. In order to reduce the harmful effects to the ozone from the accidental discharge of these substances, strict laws have been implemented to reduce their usage and eventually eliminate them over time. There are additional goals to reduce the potential for global warming in the near future and to improve air quality in the long term by reducing the emissions refrigerant gases.

A select few refrigerant gases have multiple detrimental effects on the environment. Not only are they ozone depleting substances but they are also chemicals with a high global warming potential (GWP) which places them into the category of greenhouse gases which lead to global climate change. For many reasons, it is important to effectively monitor, track, and report refrigerant gas usage.

The EPA has finalized its rules pertaining to any fugitive emission occurrence, whether through evaporation or a leak. The regulations apply to several industries, including existing and newly constructed facilities with systems using refrigerant gas in their workplace heating and cooling systems. Other industries are industrial chemical manufacturing, electric services, pulp and paper mills, and petroleum refinancing.

Fugitive emission tracking of known harmful substances is required by facilities that use or produce them. The EPA has identified a number of dangerous compounds, among them chloroflurocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, methyl bromide, halons, methyl chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride.

A particular concern for fugitive emission problems is with refrigerant gas, because it contains chloroflurocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons, two primary contributors to the weakening of the ozone layer and the increase in greenhouse gas volumes. Furthermore, refrigerant gas is used across many industries in refrigeration and cooling units, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and fire protection systems.

When a fugitive emission occurs, businesses are required to track the refrigerant leak rates and report annul refrigerant usage it to the EPA. Fugitive emissions in particular are defined in carbon emissions reporting protocols as one of four emissions scopes that will be regulated. It is important that the severity of the leak and the repair process is documented. In addition, regulations require regular inspections of equipment or processes that involve volatile chemicals.

The new fugitive emission regulations provide a more standardized approach to thresholds identified by the U.S. Clean Air Act at the direction of the EPA. These include continuous monitoring, tracking of leaks, and reporting of leak repair, and containment.

To prepare for this requirement, many companies are using automated, rather than manual, processes, in particular refrigerant gas tracking software programs and web-based applications created by companies who specialize in the area. They ensure compliance and reduce the likelihood of substantial fines.

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