What are the chemicals that cause the breakdown of ozone?
The key chemicals responsible for the hole in the Ozone Layer are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), although the following chemicals are also involved: • halons • carbon tetrachloride • methyl bromide • methyl chloroform CFC’s are present in old air conditioners, refrigerators, foam packages, and aerosols. These products no longer include CFC’s, as their production was phased out in January of 1996. If you have an old fridge or air conditioner that you or your parents are throwing out, make sure that you find out where you can have the CFC’s removed without releasing them into the atmosphere. The problem is caused by the chlorine that is present in the CFC molecule. The chlorine actually attaches to single oxygen atoms that SHOULD be going to form ozone molecules……READ ON!
