EPA Honors Giant Eagle, Harris Teeter for Low Refrigerant Leak Rates

MICHAEL GARRY

ORLANDO, Fla. — Giant Eagle and Harris Teeter were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership yesterday for having the best emission leak rates among the supermarket companies participating in GreenChill. The chains received awards at the Food Marketing Institute's Energy & Technical Services Conference here. Giant Eagle and Harris Teeter achieved average leak rates of about 10%, said Keilly Witman, EPA's communcation specialist, Office of Atmospheric Programs, who presented the awards. Receiving the awards were Michal Shepard, director of energy, Harris Teeter, and Cliff Timko, energy manager, Giant Eagle. Witman said the average leak rate for GreenChill participants is 13.7% while the industry average is 23.5%. GreenChill now has 22 supermarket partners comprising 5,824 stores and 31 partners in all. GreenChill has just published best practice guidelines for leak tightness and retrofits that are available online at the EPA website.

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