It has become all too clear that greenhouse gases are directly affecting the Earth’s climate, leading to extreme weather, heat waves, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels.
Therefore, the US federal government and the vast majority of state governments have been hard at work, trying to cut back on the use of greenhouse gases. However, some Americans are actually smuggling them into the country.
The Lesser-Known Types of Greenhouse Gases
When one thinks of greenhouse gas emissions, the first thought is often of giant factories or corporations that burn fossil fuels such as gasoline and coal for electricity, heat, production, and transportation.
However, those are not the only kinds of pollutants. There are also several chemical gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), that are extremely toxic to the environment.
What Are CFCs?
CFCs were famously used in air conditioners in homes and cars, as well as in commercial refrigeration, until the late 1980s when it became clear the gases were incredibly dangerous for the Earth’s atmosphere.
In fact, in 1987, scientists realized that CFCs had directly caused a giant hole in the planet’s ozone layer. By the end of the year, 24 countries around the world had completely banned the toxic gas.
What Are HFCs?
However, refrigerators and air conditioners still required a similar product, so they came up with HFCs instead.
But after a few decades, experts realized that HFCs are only slightly less harmful than their predecessors, and just like CFCs, these gases are now on their way to being outlawed in countries all over the world.
HFCs Are Hundreds to Thousands of Times More Powerful Than CO2
To put things into perspective, scientists now understand that HFC emissions can be hundreds or even thousands of times more powerful than CO2 when it comes to negative effects on the atmosphere.
Therefore, in order to truly save planet Earth from the impending climate crisis, the USA and several other countries have started limiting their use. But, some companies have ignored this directive and continued to make refrigerators and air conditioners that require the toxic chemicals to function.
Smuggling HFCs Is on the Rise
The unfortunate truth is that whenever something is illegal, a black market appears. From drugs to human organs and other much more sinister products, there is almost nothing a person can’t find for sale if they really want it.
Now, as HFCs are becoming harder to find legally within the United States, an illegal market has sprung up in which people smuggle the chemical gases in from other countries that have not implemented bans and then sell them at a much higher price point to companies which still use them for their products.
How Can Someone Smuggle Gas?
Most often, HFCs are smuggled in gas canisters that have been purposefully mislabeled to say they are a kind of legal gas.
Because these gases have a faint or even nonexistent odor, it is extremely challenging for law enforcement to detect that the gas in the canisters is HFCs rather than the harmless gas the labels say it is.
The US Department of Justice Has Been Cracking Down on HFC Smuggling
However, that hasn’t stopped the US Department of Justice from constantly being on the lookout for shipping containers filled with canisters of the dangerous chemicals.
In 2022, the specific task force created to detect and confiscate any illegal HFCs seized enough of the chemical gas to emit 889,000 metric tons of CO2 into the air. However, Avipsa Mahapatra, with the Environmental Investigation Agency, explained, “That just gives us the tip of the iceberg.”
There Are Restrictions on HFCs in Mexico
While there are still several countries that have yet to ban the production and sale of HFCs, the closest one to the United States is Mexico.
So, because HFCs are still legal in America’s southern neighbor, several people have started trying to smuggle canisters of the gas directly over the border.
Two Recent Arrests Prove Americans Are Smuggling HFCs From Mexico
Michael Hart was recently charged with illegally transporting HFC gases across the border from Mexico in the back of his pickup truck.
Though they didn’t catch him at the border, when Hart returned home, he actually tried to sell the illegal gas on Facebook Marketplace for a profit. The Department of Justice was shocked to see an individual literally bring the gas with their person across the border and then try to sell it publicly online. But it has made them realize this could become the new normal.
One Woman Was Paid Only $100 to Smuggle HFCs From Mexico
In another case reported by the DOJ, one woman was apparently paid $100 to transport four large cylinders of HFCs across the Mexico-US border last year.
Because the woman was paid so little for her efforts, it’s highly likely she didn’t even realize she was carrying illegal chemicals in the canisters that looked like any other gas canister one might see in the USA. The DOJ is still investigating to find out where the canisters were going.
The Solution Is a Systemic Change
Mahapatra from the EPA explained, “Ultimately, illegal trade in HFCs is fueled by the ongoing consumer demand,” and if companies continue to use them for air conditioners and refrigeration, the smuggling will continue as well.
He continued, “We cannot keep using these super pollutants in our refrigerators, in our air conditioners, in our cars… We think that the real solution is to find systemic changes.”
