FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2026
CONTACT:
Aaron Bharucha, Public Relations Associate
(509) 429-1699 and epn-press@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
EPA Rollback of HFC Protections Will Increase Health Risks for American Families — and Will Not Lower Consumer Costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) — a coalition of more than 750 former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) experts — is warning that the Trump administration’s decision to delay parts of the nation’s transition away from high-polluting hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants could increase pollution and health risks for American families — while doing little to reduce grocery costs or save consumers money.
The administration argues the rollback will help reduce costs for families by delaying requirements for grocery stores and refrigeration systems to transition toward cleaner alternatives. But even major industry groups and manufacturers have publicly supported the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act and warned that regulatory uncertainty and delays could actually increase costs and disrupt investments already made by American companies.
“Families are already stretched thin by high grocery bills and everyday expenses, and weakening safeguards on these super-polluting refrigerant chemicals isn’t going to change that. Even manufacturers are saying this delay likely won’t lower prices for consumers because supplies of these chemicals are already being phased down in favor of cleaner, innovative replacements,” said Joseph Goffman, former Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “All this action does is slow the shift to cleaner technologies while risking continued releases of climate super pollutants and leaving families to face the much greater costs and health threats of dangerous climate change. EPA owes it to Americans to put people’s health first — not give hidebound corporations more time to keep using outdated chemicals. Americans deserve affordable groceries that don’t come at the expense of the strong safeguards they count on to keep our families safer, not sicker.”
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ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK
The Environmental Protection Network is a nonpartisan organization comprising more than 750 former EPA scientists, toxicologists, chemists, biologists, engineers, and policy analysts — many of whom spent decades as career experts inside the agency. They assessed cancer and developmental risks, studied links between pollution and fertility and chronic disease, investigated contaminated communities, and brought enforcement actions to hold corporate polluters accountable. EPN was founded in 2017 to serve as an independent voice promoting science-based policies that protect Americans’ health.