Circular 20/2023/TT-BTNMT QCVN 76:2023/BTNMT collect, transport, handle controlled substances

CIRCULAR

On promulgating the National Technical Regulation on collection, transportation, storage, recycling, reuse and handling of controlled substances

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Pursuant to the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated November 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 01, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 78/2018/ND-CP dated May 16, 2018, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 01, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 06/2022/ND-CP dated January 07, 2022, on mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and protection of ozone layer;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 68/2022/ND-CP dated September 22, 2022, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

At the request of the Director of the Department of Climate Change, Director of the Department of Science and Technology and Director of the Department of Legislation;

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment promulgates Circular on promulgating the National Technical Regulations on collection, transportation, storage, recycling, reuse and handling of controlled substances.

Article 1. Promulgated together with this Circular is the National Technical Regulation on collection, transportation, storage, recycling, reuse and handling of controlled substances, code: QCVN 76:2023/BTNMT.

Article 2. Effect

This Circular takes effect from May 30, 2024.

Article 3. Ministries, ministerial agencies, People’s Committees, Departments of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and centrally-run cities, and relevant organizations and individuals shall implement this Circular./.

THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

QCVN 76:2023/BTNMT

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION ON COLLECTION, TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE, RECYCLING, REUSE AND HANDLING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

HANOI - 2023

FOREWORD

QCVN 76:2023/BTNMT is formulated by the Department of Climate Change, submitted by the Department of Science and Technology and Department of Legislation for approval; appraised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and promulgated together with Circular No. 20/2023/TT-BTNMT dated November 30, 2023, of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

NATIONAL TECHNICAL REGULATION ON COLLECTION, TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE, RECYCLING, REUSE AND HANDLING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. Scope of regulation

This regulation provides technical regulations on collection, transportation, storage, recycling, reuse and handling of controlled substances in Appendix III.2 and Appendix III.3 issued together with Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTNMT dated January 7, 2022 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment detailing the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection in response to climate change (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 01 /2022/TT-BTNMT).

1.2. Subjects of application

This regulation applies to agencies, organizations, and establishments involved in the collection, transportation, storage, recycling, reuse, and handling of controlled substances.

2. TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

2.1. Regulations on collection of controlled substances

2.1.1. The collection of controlled substances must comply with safety measures and law provisions on fire prevention and fighting.

2.1.2. Specialized equipment for collection of controlled substances must be inspected and calibrated prior to its use in accordance with the law provisions on measurement, including:

2.1.2.1. Recovery machine, which is a piece of equipment capable of recovering controlled substances with a vacuum pressure of less than 10 kPa without the assistance of components contained within an air-conditioning or refrigeration system.

2.1.2.2. Recovery container, which is a pressure vessel exclusively used to contain controlled substances. A recovery container must meet the following requirements:

2.1.2.2.1. It is assigned a color code according to the 2015 Guideline K of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (hereinafter referred to as “AHRI”): Containers for Recovered Non-flammable Fluorocarbon Refrigerants;

2.1.2.2.2. Its pressure must not exceed the permissible pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions;

2.1.2.2.3. Its pressure valves and seals are periodically checked according to regulations.

2.1.2.3. Scale, which is used to determine the weight of controlled substances contained.

2.1.2.4. Vacuum pump, which is used to remove non-condensable gases completely from the recovery container in such a way that the vacuum pressure is less than 10 kPa.

2.1.2.5. Leak test equipment, which is used to determine the leakage of controlled substances must be calibrated according to the manufacturer's instructions and ISO 20486:2018 Standard on non-destructive testing, leak testing and calibration of reference leaks for gases or an equivalent standard.

2.1.2.6. Pressure gauge, which is used to determine the system's working pressure.

2.1.2.7. Other safety tools and equipment: thermometer used to determine temperature of controlled substances; electric meter used to record electricity-related parameters.

2.1.3. Requirements for collection of controlled substances:

2.1.3.1. Preparing necessary specialized equipment specified in 2.1.2 of this Regulation before collecting controlled substances.

2.1.3.2. Using a vacuum pump to remove non-condensable gases completely from the recovery container in case it is a brand new one.

2.1.3.3. Collecting controlled substances separately by type and put them into each recovery container using a recovery machine.

2.1.3.4. Controlled substances loaded into a recovery container shall not be more than 80% of the weight (in kg) or 70% of the volume of the recovery container according to the manufacturer's instructions. Using a scale to determine the weight of the recovery container. The weight of collected substances depends on the type and working pressure of controlled substances.

2.1.3.5. Using leak test equipment during the collection of controlled substances.

2.1.3.6. Labelling the recovery container with the following minimum information: refrigerant number, hazard, and warning (if applicable).

2.1.3.7. Placing recovery containers containing collected controlled substances vertically.

2.1.3.8. Keeping a logbook that records at least the following information: full names of technicians, time and place of collection; refrigerant number; weight or volume of controlled substances; number of equipment and products containing controlled substances.

2.2. Regulations on transportation of controlled substances

2.2.1. The transportation of controlled substances must comply with safety measures and law provisions on on fire prevention and fighting.

2.2.2. Controlled substances must be transported on vehicles qualified to participate in traffic in accordance with the law provisions.

2.2.3. Requirements for transportation of controlled substances:

2.2.3.1. In case of using a motorcycle or moped, the controlled substance recovery container must be placed vertically and securely mounted on the cargo rack (behind the driver's seat) of the motorcycle or moped. Size of the recovery container mounted on the motorcycle or moped must comply with the law provisions on road traffic.

2.2.3.2. In case of using an open truck or barge, the controlled substance recovery container must be placed vertically and covered with a tarpaulin to protect such container from sun and rain.

2.2.3.3. In case of using other vehicles, regulations on transportation of chemicals shall be complied with and there must be at least a sensor to detect leakage of controlled substances.

2.2.3.4. Keeping a logbook that records controlled substance transportation activities, containing at least the following information: refrigerant number; weight or volume of controlled substances; time of transportation and place of receipt of controlled substances.

2.2.4. The transportation of controlled substances from collection points for their handling shall comply with the law provisions on management of hazardous waste.

2.3. Regulations on storage of controlled substances

2.3.1. Controlled substances must be stored in recovery containers as prescribed in 2.1.2.2 of this Regulation. Recovery containers must be placed vertically and must not be rolled or exposed to strong force during storage.

2.3.2. A2 and A3 controlled substances having their safety classified according to National Standard TCVN 6739:2015 (ISO 817:2014) on Refrigerants - Designation and safety classification must be stored and preserved as liquefied petroleum gas or flammable gas in accordance with the law provisions on safe storage and preservation of gas.

2.3.3. Requirements for controlled substance storage areas:

2.3.3.1. Having adequate fire fighting equipment in accordance with the law provisions on fire prevention and fighting.

2.3.3.2. Ensuring regular ventilation; preventing direct sunlight, heat sources, and other fire hazards; not injecting flames or high-temperature vapors into controlled substances recovery containers.

2.3.3.3. The floor shall not be sunken to prevent controlled substances from accumulating and causing a hazard to people or causing a fire or explosion if leaked to the outside.

2.3.3.4. Each type of controlled substance must be placed in a separate box or area.

2.3.3.5. In case of storing controlled substances in an enclosed space, there must be at least a sensor to detect leakage of controlled substances.

2.3.4. Keeping a logbook that records controlled substance storage activities, containing at least the following information: refrigerant number; weight or volume of controlled substances; time of receipt of controlled substances.

2.4. Regulations on recycling of controlled substances

2.4.1. Requirements for recycling of controlled substances:

2.4.1.1. Collecting samples of controlled substances from recovery containers as specified in the Appendix A to this Regulation.

2.4.1.2. Identifying controlled substances as specified in the Appendix B to this Regulation.

2.4.1.3. Recycling controlled substances using specialized equipment with appropriate functions to remove non-condensable gases, oil, moisture content, acid content, particulates/solids, volatile impurities and recover controlled substances in their pure forms.

2.4.1.4. Assessing quality of controlled substances after recycling in accordance with Section 2.4.2 of this Regulation.

2.4.2. Assessing quality of controlled substance after recycling:

2.4.2.1. Parameters and methods for determining parameters to assess quality of controlled substances after recycling are provided in Table 1 of this Regulation and detailed in the Appendix C to this Regulation.

Table 1. Methods for determining parameters to assess quality of controlled substances after recycling

2.4.2.2. Requirements for quality of controlled substances after recycling:

2.4.2.2.1. After being recycled, the controlled substances in their pure forms of which the parameters do not exceed the limits specified in Table 2 of this Regulation shall be considered fit for use according to their original characteristics.

Table 2. Parameters for assessment of quality of pure controlled substances

2.4.2.2.2. After being recycled, the controlled substances being zeotropes of which the parameters do not exceed the limits specified in Table 3 of this Regulation shall be considered fit for use according to their original characteristics.

Table 3. Parameters for assessment of quality of controlled substances that are zeotropes

2.4.2.2.3. After being recycled, the controlled substances being azeotropes of which the parameters do not exceed the limits specified in Table 4 of this Regulation shall be considered fit for use according to their original characteristics.

Table 4. Parameters for assessment of quality of controlled substances that are azeotropes

2.4.3. Requirements for recycled controlled substances:

2.4.3.1. Recycled controlled substances must meet the quality requirements specified in section 2.4.2.2 of this Regulation.

2.4.3.2. Recycled controlled substances must be stored in recovery containers as prescribed in section 2.1.2.2 of this Regulation, except for the assignment of recovery container colors according to AHRI Guideline N 2017: Assignment of Refrigerant Container Colors; labeled, indicating “[Số hiệu môi chất lạnh] tái chế” (“[refrigerant number] recycled”), hazard and warnings (if applicable). Information on the label must be distinct and insusceptible to blurring and fading.

2.4.3.3. Recycled controlled substances of which the parameters fail to satisfy the quality requirements set out in section 2.4.2.2 of this Regulation shall be handled as prescribed in section 2.6 of this Regulation.

2.4.4. Keeping a logbook that records controlled substance recycling activities, containing at least the following information: refrigerant number; weight or volume of controlled substances, time of recycling, weight or volume of controlled substances before and after recycling.

2.5. Regulations on reuse of controlled substances

2.5.1. The reuse of controlled substances is applicable to organizations and establishments possessing equipment containing controlled substances specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 17 of Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTNMT.

2.5.2. The organizations and establishments mentioned in section 2.5.1 of this Regulation shall use on-site rapid measuring instruments to decide to reuse controlled substances in equipment owned by such organizations and establishments.

2.5.3. In case it is necessary to clean controlled substances on site, organizations and establishments shall employ purely mechanical and physical-technical measures and filters to remove oil, water, non-condensable gases, volatile impurities and particulates/solids from controlled substances.

2.5.4. Keeping a logbook that records controlled substance reuse, containing at least the following information: refrigerant number; weight or volume of controlled substances, time of reuse, weight or volume of reused controlled substances.

2.6. Regulations on handling of controlled substances

2.6.1. The handling of controlled substances must comply with the law provisions on hazardous waste management.

2.6.2. Requirements for technology for handling of controlled substances:

2.6.2.1. Complying requirements for technology for handling of hazardous waste in accordance with the law provisions on environmental protection.

2.6.2.2. Encouraging the application of eco- and climate-friendly technology.

3. MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

3.1. Regulations on conformity regarding collection, transportation and storage of controlled substances

3.1. Regulations on conformity regarding the collection, transportation, and storage of controlled substances

3.1.1. Certification of conformity regarding the collection, transportation and storage of controlled substances shall comply with method 6 (Assessment and supervision of the management system) as prescribed in Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2012 of the Minister of Science and Technology on declaration of standard conformity and technical-regulation conformity and methods for assessment of conformity with standards and technical regulations (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN) and Circular No. 02/2017/TT- BKHCN dated March 31, 2017 of the Minister of Science and Technology, amending and supplementing a number of Articles of Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 02/2017/TT-BKHCN).

3.1.2. Based on the results of conformity assessment regarding the collection, transportation and storage of controlled substances, organizations and establishments shall declare conformity according to this Regulation and other relevant law provisions.

3.2. Regulations on conformity of recycled controlled substances

3.2.1. Certification of conformity of recycled controlled substances shall comply with method 5 or method 7 in accordance with Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN and Circular No. 02/2017/TT-BKHCN:

3.2.1.1. Method 5 (Testing typical samples and assessing the manufacturing process; supervising through testing samples taken at the manufacturing site or on the market combined with assessment of the manufacturing process) shall apply in the cases where the manufacturing process of the recycling and production establishment is stable and continuous.

3.2.1.2. Method 7 (Testing representative samples and assessing conformity of a batch/lot) shall apply in the cases where the manufacturing process of the recycling and production establishment is intermittent, or the recycling and production and the control of the manufacturing process are carried out separately for each batch/lot or in the cases where the production is in progress and is not completely stable in the initial stage of production.

3.2.2. Organizations and establishments shall declare conformity of recycled controlled substances according to this Regulation and other relevant regulations of law.

3.2.3. The declaration of conformity shall rely on the certification results given by a certification body having registered its conformity services in accordance with the law provisions on standard and regulation conformity and method for assessing conformity with standards and technical regulations.

4. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall disseminate and provide guidelines on application of this Regulation to relevant entities; examine, inspect and impose penalties for violations that arise from the compliance with this Regulation in accordance with the law provisions.

APPENDIX A

REGULATIONS ON TESTING SAMPLES

1. Preparing sample tubes

Place an empty and clean tube with the open valve in the oven at 110 degrees Celsius for one hour. Remove the tube from the oven while it is still hot, then connect it to a vacuum pump and reduce the pressure to less than 56 kPa. Close the valve, let it cool and weigh the tube.

2. Sampling

Sampling controlled substances from recovery containers must ensure safety regulations and obtain representative samples for analysis.

2.1. Taking samples in the vapor phase

A sample in the vapor phase must be obtained to determine the non-condensable gas composition. The initial temperature must be measured and recorded at the time of sampling. For controlled substances with boiling points almost or higher than ambient temperature (e.g., R-113, R-123, R-141b, R-245fa and R-1233zd(E)), it is not required to determine the non-condensable gas composition.

 2.2. Taking samples in the liquid phase

2.2.1. A sample in the liquid phase must be available for all tests listed in this Regulation, except for the testing to determine the non-condensable gas composition.

2.2.2. The amount of samples put into the container shall reach at least 60%, but no more than 80%, of the tube’s volume at ambient temperature. This process is carried out by weighing the empty tube and the tube containing sample with the controlled substances. When sufficient controlled substances have been filled into the sample tube, close the valve(s) and disconnect the sample tube from the instrument system.

2.2.3. Make sure all connections and wires are dry and vacuumed to avoid contaminating the testing sample.

APPENDIX B

REGULATIONS ON IDENTIFICATION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

1. The identification of controlled substance shall be conducted by gas chromatography to determine substance specificity. The chromatogram of testing samples must be compared with identified substances.

2. The identification of controlled substances that are pure substances, azeotropes (400 - compounds with refrigerant number starting with number 4) or zeotropes (500 - - compounds with refrigerant numbers starting with number 5) shall be conducted by packed column gas chromatography or capillary column gas chromatography as specified in Table 5:

Table 5. Identification Methods for Controlled Substances

2.1. For pure controlled substances including: R-22, R-32, R-113, R-134a, R-141b, R-142b and R-245fa, the purity is determined by capillary column gas chromatography with capillary tube and flame ionization detector (FID). Use a capillary column because in this case some impurities cannot be determined by packed column gas chromatography. The R-31 chromatographic peak signal is obscured by R-22 when analyzed by packed column chromatography, so R-31 is determined separately by capillary column gas chromatography. The largest area of gas components is electronically integrated and quantified by using the area-normalized response coefficient method.

This method is only calibrated for impurities commonly found in R-22, R-32, R-113, R-134a, R-141b, R-142b and R-245fa. Impurities present in the main ingredient in significant concentrations may cause errors.

The procedure for calibrating and determining the purity of controlled substances by capillary column gas chromatograph is guided in Appendix C under AHRI standard 700:2014 on Specifications for Refrigerants. For examples of gas chromatograms, see Appendix D under AHRI Standard 700:2014 on Specifications for Refrigerants. Report sample component concentrations to the nearest 0.001 % by weight (or to the nearest 1 ppm). In the case where the result is smaller than the individual detection limit, report the smaller detection limit value given.

2.2. For pure controlled substances, except for substances listed in section 2.1 of this Appendix, their specificity is determined by packed column gas chromatography with the liquid phase coated on a solid carrier. Individual components are detected by using a flame ionization detector (FID) or thermal conductivity detector (TCD). Detector area is determined by using a data system capable of calculating integral area and component concentrations quantified based on peak area.

This method is calibrated only for impurities commonly found in new and recycled controlled substances. Impurities present in the main ingredient in significant concentrations may cause errors.

The procedure for calibrating and determining the purity of controlled substances by packed column gas chromatograph is guided in Appendix C under AHRI standard 700:2014 on Specifications for Refrigerants. For examples of gas chromatograms, see Appendix D under AHRI standard 700:2014 on Specifications for Refrigerants. Packed column gas chromatographs have detection limits, reliability of 95% and precision established for each individual instrument. Report the concentration of components in the testing sample to the nearest 0.001% by weight.

2.3. Controlled substances that are zeotropes (400) and azeotropes (500) are analyzed by packed column gas chromatography with the liquid phase coated on a solid carrier. The individual components are detected by using a thermal conductivity detector (TCD). The largest area of gas color from the probe is measured by using a data system capable of calculating area, and component concentrations quantified by using the area integration method.

At the test ambient temperature, mixtures R-13/R-23 of controlled substance R-503, and R-116/R-23 of controlled substance R-508 are both in the gas phase because the critical temperature of these mixtures is low. This method is not applicable to components other than the main component in azeotropes and zeotropes (500).

The procedure for calibrating and determining the purity of controlled substances by packed column gas chromatograph is guided in Appendix C under AHRI Standard 700:2014 on Specifications for Refrigerants. For examples of gas chromatograms, see Appendix D under AHRI Standard 700:2014 on Specifications for Refrigerant. Report the concentration of controlled substances in the testing sample to the nearest 0.001 % by weight.