# $10,000 fine



## restez1963 (Jun 28, 2011)

hi 
there wasthe  a discussion on refr leak and its said a $10,000 fine to blow out refr into atmosphere . that also meant you would get fined if you went on a call and they had a leak in system and you just refilled system with refri
and left. my ? is do you still get fined if the custumer does not want you to fix the leak because cant afford it? so now you knowingly know theres a leak how does this work can the tech be in trouble after all he cant make them fix it
Thanks


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## kok328 (Jun 29, 2011)

Good question but, I thing your reading too much into it.
As I understood it, the tech must take reasonable precautions and efforts to prevent freon leakage into the atmosphere.
A fine would be imposed if the tech intentionally released freon into the atmosphere.
I've never seen a fine levied before, for either act and I don't think recharging a system would fall under this criteria.  Again, who's going to report it?
I'd would like to see what others think and how the rules are interpreted.


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## hvactechfw (Jun 29, 2011)

> The leak repair requirements, promulgated under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, require that when an owner or operator of an appliance that normally contains a refrigerant charge of more than 50 pounds discovers that refrigerant is leaking at a rate that would exceed the applicable trigger rate during a 12-month period, the owner or operator must take corrective action.



Doubtful you are talking about a system that contains more than 50 lbs.  Residential is typically 15 lbs or less


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## paul52446m (Jun 30, 2011)

restez1963 said:


> hi
> there wasthe  a discussion on refr leak and its said a $10,000 fine to blow out refr into atmosphere . that also meant you would get fined if you went on a call and they had a leak in system and you just refilled system with refri
> and left. my ? is do you still get fined if the custumer does not want you to fix the leak because cant afford it? so now you knowingly know theres a leak how does this work can the tech be in trouble after all he cant make them fix it
> Thanks



The repair man is suppose to try to find the leak and repair it. But if it is a very small leak it is hard to find, so some of them are just going to have a pound put in every year. To start with us dealers were suppose to keep track
 of every pound we use and fill out reports. The gov. does not have enough 
 people to enforce these paper trails. The gov. came out with these fines and they were hoping that the public would watch us dealers and report us, and the gov. would pay the public for every one they report. To prove that we are dumping, they would have to have it all on film. So all these rules 
 really are hard to enforce.
   I would think the amount of refg. gas released from house air con. leaks
 would be a small amount compared to the amount released every day from auto crashes. 
 Then we have volcanoes that release some of the same chemicals that are found in the refg. gas, and we sure can't stop them.  Paul


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## restez1963 (Jul 1, 2011)

hey thanks guys for your input i really appreciate it


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