EPA 608 609 Core 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Clean Air Act, which substances are technicians prohibited from knowingly venting during the maintenance or disposal of appliances?
- Only CFC and HCFC refrigerants
- Class I, Class II, and most non-exempt substitute refrigerants such as HFCs (Correct answer)
- Only ammonia-based refrigerants
- Only refrigerants over 50 pounds in a single system
Correct answer: Class I, Class II, and most non-exempt substitute refrigerants such as HFCs
The venting prohibition covers CFCs, HCFCs, and their substitutes including HFCs, with only a few specifically exempted substances.
Question 2: What does the term 'ozone depletion potential' (ODP) measure?
- The pressure a refrigerant exerts inside a sealed cylinder
- A refrigerant's ability to destroy stratospheric ozone relative to CFC-11 (Correct answer)
- The flammability rating of a refrigerant blend
- The amount of refrigerant lost annually from a leaking system
Correct answer: A refrigerant's ability to destroy stratospheric ozone relative to CFC-11
ODP compares a substance's ozone-destroying capacity to CFC-11, which has an ODP of 1.0.
Question 3: Which type of chemical bond in CFC and HCFC molecules is primarily responsible for stratospheric ozone destruction?
- Carbon-hydrogen bonds
- Chlorine atoms released by UV radiation (Correct answer)
- Carbon-carbon double bonds
- Oxygen-fluorine bonds
Correct answer: Chlorine atoms released by UV radiation
UV light frees chlorine atoms, which catalytically destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere.
Question 4: A technician recovers refrigerant into a recovery cylinder. To what maximum percentage of its rated capacity may the cylinder be filled by weight?
- 60%
- 80% (Correct answer)
- 90%
- 100%
Correct answer: 80%
Recovery cylinders must not be filled beyond 80% of capacity to leave room for liquid expansion.
Question 5: Which color marking identifies a Department of Transportation-approved refrigerant recovery cylinder?
- Solid green body
- Gray body with a yellow top (shoulder) (Correct answer)
- Solid orange body
- Blue body with a white top
Correct answer: Gray body with a yellow top (shoulder)
Recovery cylinders are marked with a gray body and yellow shoulder to distinguish them from virgin refrigerant cylinders.
Question 6: Before a recovery cylinder is reused, what must a technician verify regarding its hydrostatic test date?
- It was tested within the last 10 years (Correct answer)
- It was tested within the last 5 years
- It was tested within the last 2 years
- Hydrostatic testing is not required for recovery cylinders
Correct answer: It was tested within the last 10 years
DOT-approved cylinders must be hydrostatically retested every five years, and many references cite a re-qualification cycle that must be current within the required interval.
Question 7: What is the main purpose of recovering refrigerant rather than venting it before servicing a system?
- To increase the system's operating pressure
- To comply with the law and prevent release of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases (Correct answer)
- To reduce the weight of the appliance for shipping
- To convert the refrigerant into a non-regulated substance
Correct answer: To comply with the law and prevent release of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases
Recovery is required by law to keep harmful refrigerants out of the atmosphere.
EPA 608 609 Core 2
Under the Clean Air Act, which substances are technicians prohibited from knowingly venting during the maintenance or disposal of appliances?