Ozone Depletion
This is an excerpt from the paper...
In 1985, British scientists discovered a hole, the size of the United States, in the ozone layer; the hole had been occurring over Antarctica each spring since 1979 (World watch Paper 87). Although the theory said that a group of widely used chemicals called chloroflourocarbons (CFC's) would someday evade the upper atmosphere ozone, none of the models predicted it would be over the South Pole or that it would be so severe. Also during this period, the expected rate of the greenhouse warming accelerated because its relationship to CFC's became clearer to scientists (Miller and Mintzer). In the fall of 1986, the U.S. and European users and producers of CFC's and DuPont Chemicals, the largest single CFC manufacturer, endorsed limits on CFC production (Miller and Mintzer). Government decisions concerning Ozone depletion will influence the greenhouse problem, the warming of the earth as heat-trapping gases build in the atmosphere. CFC's contribute to the greenhouse effect as well as to the changes predicted in the distribution of ozone (Miller and Mintzer). The discovery of the hole over Antarctica prompted 35 countries to sign an international agreement - the Montreal Protocol - which is aimed at trying to halve most CFC emissions by 1998. Ozone is formed in the stratosphere when ultra-violet radiation breaks diatomic molecules of oxygen. Once split, two oxygen atoms combine with two molecules of diatomic oxygen to form ozone. To keep the ozo
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f CFC-12 is vaporized into a gas that forms lightweight closed cell bubbles (Horwood). The most widely known of this form of CFC is Styrofoam. Following the energy crises of the 1970's, industrial, commercial, and residential customers looked for new ways to decrease their heating and electric bills. This brought out a strong demand for rigid foam insulation. Appliance manufacturers also used it to boost the energy efficiency of refrigerators using foam walls (Cogan).
Aerosols
Aerosols are the most widely used CFC's because of their availability to the public. Aerosol sprays are on display in most grocery stores, and they can be found in almost all homes. An industry definition of an aerosol is "an integral ready-use package incorporating a valve and a product which is dispensed by pre-stored pressure in a controlled manner when the valve is operated" (Horwood). The pre-stored pressure is called a propellant, and the function of a CFC in an aerosol is to act as the propellant. When the product (e.g. hairspray) is expelled, the CFC's that are acting as the propellant are released into the atmosphere as well. It is because aerosols emit CFC's directly into the atmosphere that they are considered the worst chlorofluorocar
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Approximate Word count = 2115
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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