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Persons in the disposal and recycling sectors do need to certify to the US EPA that such person has acquired recovery equipment that is capable of either: 1. Removing 90% of the refrigerant when the compressor of the small appliance is - operating and 80% of the refrigerant when the compressor of the small appliance is not operating. 2. Evacuating the small appliance to four inches of vacuum when tested using a properly calibrated pressure gauge. The recovery equipment may include system -dependent equipment or self-contained equipment. Refrigerant Extraction To begin the refrigerant extraction process, the piercing valve is attached to either the high pressure side or low pressure side of the compressor. The high pressure side of the compressor is the line connected between the compressor and the condenser. The low pressure side of the compressor is the line between the compressor and evaporator (see Figure 3). In some operations, piercing valves are placed on both the high and low pressure sides of the compressor. Note: If air conditioning and refrigeration equipment has been non -operational for a period of time, the pressure within the system equalizes and consequently there is no distinction of pressure at either side of the compressor. The refrigerant recovery unit is then attached to the piercing valve, and with the valve opened and the recovery unit on, refrigerant is extracted. Several refrigeration systems may be evacuated at one. time (manifolded) depending on the type of equipment used. The time of refrigerant extraction is dependent on the equipment or process used. It is recommended that the equipment manufacture be contacted for equipment and process specifications. Persons in the disposal sector who are recovering refrigerant from air conditioning and refrigeration units must either: 1) Recover 90% of the refrigerant in the appliance when the compressor in the appliance is operating, or 80% of the refrigerant in the appliance when the compressor in the appliance is not operating; or 2) Evacuate the small appliance to four inches of mercury vacuum. The refrigerant is then either transferred to an internal storage tank within the recovery unit or is transferred directly to an external tank. Once the capacity of the internal storage tank has been achieved, the refrigerant needs to be transferred to external storage tanks. External storage tanks are usually supplied by a refrigerant reclaimer. '3