EPA Advises Car Owners How to Keep Their Cool When Getting Their A/C Serviced

12 August 1997
EPA Advises Car Owners How to Keep Their Cool When Getting Their A/C Serviced

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) today is making available for car owners a publication entitled
"How to Keep Your Cool and Protect the Ozone Layer" to advise consumers about
what questions to ask their automotive service technician the next time they
take their vehicle in for a/c repairs.
    Most vehicles made before 1994 use CFC-12 refrigerant, also known as R-12
or Freon-12(TM).  If your car uses CFC-12, the next time you need to repair
your a/c system, you can either (1) repair and recharge the system with
CFC-12, and pay increasingly higher prices for CFC-12 since supplies are
limited, or (2) repair and convert your car to use a non-CFC-based
refrigerant.  The publication assists customers in asking the right questions
to determine which choice is better for them.  Consumers can keep the
publication in their vehicle's glove compartment until the next a/c service is
performed.
    EPA recommends that consumers who take their cars in for a/c service
should ask their technician how much each option -- repair and recharge with
CFC-12, or repair and convert to another refrigerant -- will cost.
    Consumers should make sure that they have leaks fixed.  Converting to use
another refrigerant will not fix a leaking system.
    The publication also helps consumers understand the connection between
automotive refrigerant and the environment. CFC-12 refrigerant depletes the
stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the earth from the sun's harmful
ultraviolet (UV) rays.  When released into the air from a leaking a/c system,
CFC-12 damages the ozone layer.
    Over 160 nations including the United States have signed an international
agreement called the Montreal Protocol to stop making CFC-12 and other
ozone-depleting chemicals.  Production of CFC-12 stopped in all developed
nations at the end of 1995.
    For a copy of the document or for further information on automotive
refrigerant, call EPA's toll-free Ozone Hotline at 800-296-1996 between
10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Information is also available at
EPA's automotive air-conditioning Web site, located at
 http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/609/.

SOURCE  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency