Quigley Joins Bicameral Call on EPA to Reduce ‘Super Pollutant' Allowances

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) joined House and Senate colleagues to send a letter to Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling on EPA to take more aggressive action to cut down on production HCFC-22, an industrial "super pollutant" that does 1,800 times more damage to the climate that carbon dioxide.

"Reducing the consumption of the ‘super pollutant' HCFC-22 is one of the easiest ways we can make an immediate impact to slow global climate change. A more aggressive HCFC phase down by the EPA can help reduce ozone depletion and promote the growth of new, more sustainable alternative refrigerants with minimal environmental impact," said Rep. Quigley.

In December, EPA unveiled a new proposal to reduce production of HCFC-22, a refrigerant chemical that's also a potent greenhouse gas. HCFCs -- hydrochlorofluorocarbons -- are currently being phased-down under the Montreal Protocol, a Reagan-era treaty to end the use of chemicals that harm the ozone layer. HCFCs are used in refrigerators, air-conditioning systems, and foam blowers.

The letter was signed by 17 Senators and 24 Members of the House of Representatives. The consensus among the letter's signatories is that EPA's initial proposal will still allow far too much new HCFC-22 to be produced, on top of a substantial existing stockpile of the environmentally harmful chemical.

The text and signatories of the letter can be found here.