How do chloroflorocarbons effect the environment?

Question

How do chloroflorocarbons effect the environment?

Answer 1

Chlorofluorocarbons affect the environment by destroying ozone.  The ozone layer is getting thinner and we already need more sun protection than in the past.

The ozone (O3) layer in the stratosphere protects life on earth from exposure to dangerous levels of ultraviolet light. It does so by filtering out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. When CFCs and other ozone-degrading chemicals are emitted, they mix with the atmosphere and eventually rise to the stratosphere. There, the chlorine and the bromine they contain catalyze the destruction of ozone. This destruction is occurring at a more rapid rate than ozone can be created through natural processes.

The degradation of the ozone layer leads to higher levels of ultraviolet radiation reaching Earth's surface. This in turn can lead to a greater incidence of skin cancer, cataracts, and impaired immune systems, and is expected also to reduce crop yields, diminish the productivity of the oceans, and possibly to contribute to the decline of amphibious populations that is occurring around the world.

Answer 2

Ozone is vital to human and animal survival because it is responsible for the absorption of the sun's ultraviolet light. Without this protection, blindness and skin cancers could result from penetrating ultraviolet light. In 1987 an international treaty, the Montreal Protocol , called for reducing CFC use by 50% by 2000. A 1992 amendment to the treaty called for the end of CFC production in industrial countries by 1996, and by 1993 CFC emissions had dropped dramatically.

Answer 3

In the atmosphere, cfc's are broken down by UV light. The fluoride will remain attached to the carbon, but the chloride will be removed as chlorine atoms, which are very reactive. These attack ozone, diminishing the ozone layer and exposing Earth to more UV radiation.