The unusual contraband is sold on Craigslist and Facebook for hundreds of dollars: canisters of a banned refrigerant, for use in outdated refrigerators and air-conditioners, that is also a potent planet-warming gas.
On Monday, a California man became the first in the nation to be arrested and charged with smuggling the powerful gases into the United States, a felony offense, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Michael Hart, 58, of San Diego, is accused of buying coolants in Mexico and smuggling them over the border in his vehicle, concealing the canisters under a tarp and tools. Mr. Hart then posted the refrigerants for sale on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace and other sites, and sold them for a profit, federal agents say.
Mr. Hart pleaded not guilty. He faces charges of conspiracy, importation contrary to law and sale of merchandise imported contrary to law. Attempts to reach lawyers for Mr. Hart were unsuccessful.
“This is the first time the Department of Justice is prosecuting someone for illegally importing greenhouse gases, and it will not be the last,” Tara McGrath, a U.S. Attorney, said in a statement. “We are using every means possible to protect our planet from the harm caused by toxic pollutants, including bringing criminal charges.”
The refrigerant gases in question, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, came into use in the 1990s to replace a different kind of coolant that was depleting the ozone layer, the part of the earth’s atmosphere that protects life from harmful portions of solar radiation. But scientists found that HFCs can warm the planet hundreds or even thousands of times as much as carbon dioxide, driving climate change.
Nations agreed in 2016 to start phasing out HFCs, and, since 2020, the United States has banned imports of the refrigerant without authorization. It is also phasing out domestic HFC production.
But environmental regulators and investigators have for years warned of an illicit global trade in HFCs, used to keep older refrigeration and air-conditioning systems running. They are also used in building foam insulation, fire extinguishing systems and aerosols.
In 2019 and 2020, the authorities in the European Union, which began to phase out HFCs nearly a decade ago, recovered more than 250 tons of illicit HFCs in nearly 600 seizures across 24 countries.
In the United States, ads abound offering canisters of HFC refrigerants, as well as the older type of coolant, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs.
“Partial 10 lb canister of R22 refrigerant,” read one recent ad placed on Craigslist in Severna Park, Maryland, referring to a coolant also known as HCFC-22, once a commonly-used refrigerant in residential and commercial air-conditioning that is now heavily restricted. “$200 cash only.”
Mr. Hart’s indictment alleged that he also imported HCFC-22. Most of the world agreed to phase out the use of HCFCs in a landmark 1987 agreement.
Conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The other two counts Mr. Hart faces carry a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
David M. Uhlmann, head of enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency, said in a statement that the illegal smuggling of these gases “undermines international efforts to combat climate change.”
“Anyone who seeks to profit from illegal actions that worsen climate change must be held accountable,” he said.