Post date: Mar 10, 2014 11:59:14 AM
Four new man-made gases that are contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer have been detected, despite bans on production of similar gases under a 1987 treaty.
Scientists from the University of East Anglia have identified three new chlorofluorocarbon gases, CFC-112, CFC112a, CFC-113a; and one hydrochlorofluorocarbon gas, HCFC-133a, in the atmosphere from air samples collected in Tasmania between 1978 and 2012 and extracted from deep firn snow in Greenland in 2008. The gases have been used in the production of insecticide, refrigerants and cleaning solvents for electrical components.The data shows the four gases started to emerge in the atmosphere in the 1960s, before theMontreal Protocol that limits the production of similar gases was signed in 1987. It is estimated that more than 74,000 tonnes of the four gases have been released into the atmosphere, BBC reported.
SOURCES: Reuters, BBC, Nature Geoscience
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/09/us-ozone-idUSBREA280NI20140309
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26485048
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26485048
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