The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now requires refrigerant meet Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards. The federal agency, according to information from the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), recently issued a Direct Final Rule requiring that refrigerant recovery equipment used for vehicle air conditioner repair meet SAE standard J2810, replacing the current standard J1732. The change in standard was determined to be necessary as a result of testing by the SAE Improved Mobile Air Conditioning Cooperative Research Project, which discovered that as much as 30 percent of refrigerant remained in a motor vehicle air conditioning system when recovered with a J1732 compliant machine. J2810 encompasses all of J1732 and adds performance standards requiring that the equipment recover 95 percent of the refrigerant from a vehicle within 30 minutes without prior engine operation or external heating at 21-24 degree Celsius ambient temperature. The direct final rule does not require shops to replace their current recovery equipment, but does mandate that all new refrigerant recovery only equipment manufactured or imported into the U.S. meet the new SAE standard by Oct. 31, 2008. The rule will become effective on Sept. 16, 2008 unless EPA receives adverse comment by July 18, 2008. For a copy of the Direct Final Rule, e-mail Cael Pulitzer, AAIA, at [email protected]. | 
