Why does EPA regulate HCFCs?
The stratospheric ozone layer shields the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Overexposure to UV radiation can cause skin cancer and cataracts or damage crops and materials. However, emissions of man-made chemicals that contain chlorine and bromine – including chlorofluorocarbons, halons, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons – destroy the ozone layer, and have created an “ozone hole” over the South Pole. Reversing ozone depletion is crucial to human and environmental health worldwide. In 1988, the United States ratified the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. By ratifying the Protocol and its amendments, the United States committed to a collaborative, international effort to regulate and phaseout ozone-depleting substances. This effort is expected to result in the recovery of the ozone layer by 2075, as long as all countries meet their established targets. Phaseout Schedule Under the Montreal Protocol The Parties to the Montreal Protocol have crea
