Wednesday, August 18, 2010 GM to Begin Use of new Refrigerant
 General Motors announced that beginning with the 2013 model year, it will begin using HFO-1234yf as a refrigerant in the air conditioning systems of its Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars. The new refrigerant has a global warming potential (GWP) of 4 as compared to the current refrigerant, 134a, which has a GWP of 1,410.
This decision is directed at helping the manufacturer meet new greenhouse gas emissions rules issued by EPA last spring. However, EPA has yet to finalize a proposed rule that would approve the use of 1234yf in new vehicles under the Significant New Applications Program (SNAP). SNAP requires EPA to evaluate whether substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals, in this case R-12, are safe both for humans and environment. EPA issued a proposal to approve 1234yf under SNAP for new vehicles in October of last year, but has yet to issue a final decision. At this point, EPA has made no indication whether they intend to approve 1234yf for the purposes of retrofitting vehicles currently on the road.
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