When may refrigerant released by a chiller's purge unit be left out of the annual leak rate calculation?

Leak repair requirements · EPA 608 Type III. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Allowable annual leak rates for low-pressure appliances.

The question

When the purge unit is a high-efficiency model approved by the manufacturer
When less than 1 pound is purged each month
When it is destroyed at a verified efficiency of 98 percent or moreCorrect answer
When the chiller holds less than 500 pounds

Why “When it is destroyed at a verified efficiency of 98 percent or more” is correct

40 CFR 82.157(k) lets owners exclude purged refrigerant from the leak rate only when it is destroyed at a verifiable destruction efficiency of 98 percent or greater. The owner must keep monitoring records and notify EPA the first time the exclusion is used.

Source: 40 CFR 82.157(k); 40 CFR 82.157(l)

Why the other answers are wrong

When the purge unit is a high-efficiency model approved by the manufacturer — A high-efficiency purge reduces losses, but only destroyed refrigerant can be excluded.
When less than 1 pound is purged each month — There is no small-quantity exclusion for purged refrigerant.
When the chiller holds less than 500 pounds — Charge size does not decide whether purged refrigerant counts.

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