The Washington Department of Ecology has issued a US$1.6 million penalty to The Home Depot for selling prohibited hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) products. HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases used mainly for refrigeration and air conditioning.
“Restricting HFC products and equipment is key to achieving the state’s statutory greenhouse gas emission limits and ultimately getting to net-zero by 2050,” said Joel Creswell, manager of the state Ecology Department’s Climate Pollution Reduction Program. The company has 30 days to appeal the penalty to Washington’s Pollution Control Hearings Board.