The Washington Department of Ecology (WDE) has fined Home Depot $1.6 million for selling banned hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) products.
WDE said that despite nearly two years of attempts to bring the company into compliance, the retailer continued to sell these restricted items.
HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases mainly used in refrigeration and air conditioning. When these gases leak, they can harm the environment more than carbon dioxide.
In 2019 and 2021, the Washington Legislature passed laws to gradually phase out the use of HFCs. One of these laws, effective July 2021, banned the sale of R-134a canisters at retail stores. R-134a is a type of HFC refrigerant commonly used in car air conditioning systems.
Most vehicle manufacturers have switched to more environmentally friendly refrigerants, so the use of R-134a is already decreasing.
The law does not require drivers to change the refrigerant in their vehicles. Still, it restricts retail sales to ensure repairs are done in professional shops that can safely recycle the old refrigerant.
“Restricting HFC products is crucial to meeting the state’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net zero by 2050,” said Joel Creswell, who manages Ecology’s Climate Pollution Reduction Program. “When HFCs leak, they significantly contribute to climate change.”
Since November 2021, the WDE has been informing businesses about how to comply with these regulations. While most businesses updated their practices, Home Depot continued to sell R-134a canisters on its website.
Between 2021 and 2023, the WDE repeatedly tried to help Home Depot comply with the law. In 2022, they held meetings with the company’s website and compliance teams, and Home Depot assured them that the products would be removed.
However, during a routine check-in in July 2023, the WDE found that R-134a canisters were still available on Home Depot’s website.
The company later revealed that it had sold 1,058 units of the banned product in Washington between April 2022 and September 2023.
Washington law allows for penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. However, because Home Depot promptly disclosed the sales, the fine was reduced to $1,500 per violation, totaling $1.6 million.
The company has 30 days to appeal the penalty to Washington’s Pollution Control Hearings Board.
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