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Emissions of HFC-134a in Auto Dismantling and Recycling
This page updated August 10, 2010
Chair’s Air Pollution Seminar
Wednesday,
September 15,
2010
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm, PDT
Sierra Hearing Room, Second Floor
1001 I Street, Sacramento
This event is
being Webcast, click here to view
Webcast viewers: Please send your questions during broadcast to:
sierrarm@calepa.ca.gov
Presentation is available at this link
Emissions
of HFC-134a in Auto Dismantling and Recycling
Emily Wimberger, Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics,
University of California, Davis
The United
States Environmental Protection Agency has a regulation that requires
the recovery of vehicle refrigerant, including HFC-134a, a potent
greenhouse gas, from End of Life Vehicles (ELVs). This
analysis estimates the amount of HFC-134a remaining in the
air-conditioning units of California’s population of ELVs, or vehicles
that have been issued a junk title or salvage certificate, to determine
the magnitude of potential benefit from enforcing the federal
regulation.
To determine the amount of HFC-134a in ELVs, refrigerant samples were
taken from 2,002 vehicles on dismantler lots through out California
from January 2008 through August 2009. An average of 27% of
refrigerant capacity was remaining in the air-conditioning systems of
the sampled vehicles. To extrapolate the sample findings, California’s
ELV population was estimated using California Department of Motor
Vehicle registration records and vehicle smog check
histories. From 2005 through 2007, there were 1,020,938 ELVs
containing HFC-134a, an average of 340,313 a year. Within
this framework, the analysis shows that in 2007 there were 59,146 kg of
HFC-134a on licensed vehicle dismantler lots in California, an amount
that will grow to 68, 566 kg of HFC-134a by year 2012.
Emily Wimberger, Ph.D., Candidate, is finishing her doctorate in
the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University
of California, Davis. Ms. Wimberger is currently working on
her dissertation that focuses on the California Smog Check program and
its effects of vehicles in different stages of their drivable lives as
well as the market structure of smog check stations. Ms.
Wimberger’s research interests are in natural resource economics,
including air quality and water salinity, and economics of industrial
organization within the State of California. Ms. Wimberger
received her MS from the University of California Davis in 2002 and a
BS in Energy, Environmental, and Mineral Economics from The
Pennsylvania State University in 2001.
For information on this seminar
please contact:
Tao Zhan,
Ph.D. at
(916) 445-9495 or send email
to : tzhan@arb.ca.gov
For information on this
Series please contact:
Peter Mathews at (916)
323-8711 or send email to:
pmathews@arb.ca.gov
For a complete listing of
the ARB Chairman's Series and the related
documentation for
each one of the series
please
check this page
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