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Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP)

Substitutes in Polystyrene: Extruded Sheet

You may need a PDF reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.Substitutes are reviewed on the basis of environmental and health risks, including factors such as ozone depletion potential, global warming potential, toxicity, flammability, and exposure potential. Lists of acceptableHelpacceptableThis designation means that a substitute may be used, without restriction, to replace the relevant ODS within the end-use specified. For example, HCFC-22 is an acceptable substitute for R-502 in industrial process refrigeration. Note that all SNAP determinations apply to the use of a specific product as a substitute for a specific ODS in a specific end-use. and UnacceptableHelpUnacceptableThis designation means that it is illegal to use a product as a substitute for an ODS in a specific end-use. For example, HCFC-141b is an unacceptable substitute for CFC-11 in building chillers. Note that all SNAP determinations apply to the use of a specific product as a substitute for a specific ODS in a specific end-use. substitutes are updated several times each year. The list of substitutes is shown below.

Note: SNAP-related information published in the Federal Register takes precedence over all information on this page.

               
Substitute Trade Name(s) ODPHelpODPA number that refers to the amount of ozone depletion caused by a substance. The ODP is the ratio of the impact on ozone of a chemical compared to the impact of a similar mass of CFC-11. Thus, the ODP of CFC-11 is defined to be 1.0. Other CFCs and HCFCs have ODPs that range from 0.01 to 1.0. The halons have ODPs ranging up to 10. Carbon tetrachloride has an ODP of 1.2, and methyl chloroform's ODP is 0.11. HFCs have zero ODP because they do not contain chlorine. A table of all ozone-depleting substances (http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/ods/index.html) shows their ODPs, GWPs, and CAS numbers. GWPHelpGWPThe index used to translate the level of emissions of various gases into a common measure in order to compare the relative radiative forcing of different gases without directly calculating the changes in atmospheric concentrations. GWPs are calculated as the ratio of the radiative forcing that would result from the emissions of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas to that from the emission of one kilogram of carbon dioxide over a period of time (usually 100 years). Gases involved in complex atmospheric chemical processes have not been assigned GWPs. See lifetime. Flammable SNAP Listing Date Listing Status[1] Further Information
Carbon Dioxide   0 1 no March 18, 1994;
June 8, 1999
Acceptable  
Methyl Formate EcomateTM 0 5 or less yes September 28, 2006 Acceptable  
Electroset Technology   0 N/A N/A August 26, 1994;
June 16, 2010
Acceptable  
Exxsol Blowing Agents Exxsol Blowing Agents 0 5 or less yes December 6, 1999;
June 16, 2010
Acceptable  
Formacel® TI Formacel® TI 0 1,330 - 1,500 no September 30, 2009;
July 20, 2015;
December 1, 2016
Unacceptable, except where allowed under narrowed use limits for military or space- and aeronautics-related applications, as of January 1, 2017. [4]

Unacceptable for military applications as of January 1, 2022 and for space- and aeronautics-related applications as of January 1, 2025. [4]
 
Formacel® Z-6 Formacel® Z-6 0 370 - 1,290 N/A[2] August 10, 2012;
July 20, 2015;
December 1, 2016
Unacceptable, except where allowed under narrowed use limits for military or space- and aeronautics-related applications, as of January 1, 2017. [4]

Unacceptable for military applications as of January 1, 2022 and for space- and aeronautics-related applications as of January 1, 2025. [4]
 
HCFC-124   0.022 609 no July 22, 2002 Unacceptable Alternatives exist with lower or zero ODP.
HCFC-141b   0.12 725 no September 30, 2004;
July 20, 2015
Unacceptable Alternatives exist with lower or zero ODP.
HFC-134a   0 1,430 no March 18, 1994;
June 8, 1999;
July 20, 2015;
December 1, 2016
Unacceptable, except where allowed under narrowed use limits for military or space- and aeronautics-related applications, as of January 1, 2017. [4]

Unacceptable for military applications as of January 1, 2022 and for space- and aeronautics-related applications as of January 1, 2025. [4]
 
HFC-152a   0 124 yes March 18, 1994;
June 8, 1999
Acceptable  
HFC-245fa   0 1,030 no December 6, 1999;
July 20, 2015;
December 1, 2016
Unacceptable, except where allowed under narrowed use limits for military or space- and aeronautics-related applications, as of January 1, 2017. [4]

Unacceptable for military applications as of January 1, 2022 and for space- and aeronautics-related applications as of January 1, 2025. [4]
 
HFC-365mfc   0 794 yes September 30, 2009;
June 16, 2010;
July 20, 2015;
December 1, 2016
Unacceptable, except where allowed under narrowed use limits for military or space- and aeronautics-related applications, as of January 1, 2017. [4]

Unacceptable for military applications as of January 1, 2022 and for space- and aeronautics-related applications as of January 1, 2025. [4]
 
Saturated Light Hydrocarbons (C3-C6)   0 3 - 10 yes March 18, 1994;
April 11, 2000;
June 16, 2010
Acceptable  
TranscendTM Technologies TranscendTM Technologies 0 5 or less yes[3] March 29, 2006 Acceptable as an additive to SNAP-approved blowing agents in blends making up to 5% by weight of the total foam formulation.  
Water   0 N/A no June 8, 1999 Acceptable  

1 Use of closed cell foam products and products that contain closed cell foam manufactured with an Unacceptable foam blowing agent prohibited on or before the later of: 1) December 1, 2017, or 2) the date when the foam blowing agent is Unacceptable.

2 Some components and some blends are flammable.

3 When blended with fire retardant and/or other SNAP-approved alternatives, the flammability of TranscendTM Technologies can be reduced to make a formulation that is either combustible or non-flammable (contact the manufacturer of TranscendTM Technologies for more information).

4 As per EPA’s April 27, 2018 guidance (83 FR 18431), based on the court’s partial vacatur, in the near term EPA will not apply these HFC listings in the 2015 Rule, pending a rulemaking.