CFCs, their replacements, and the ozone layer.

Abstract

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have become widely used in a variety of applications, ranging from aerosols to refrigeration, through their unique combination of the properties of nonflammability and general inertness. However, their chemical stability, which makes CFCs relatively safe and non-toxic, is also responsible for their potential to damage the environment. From 1974 opinion developed that CFCs might indirectly affect the stratospheric 'ozone layer' through their ability to transport halogens, particularly chlorine, to this level. By the mid 1980s a consensus emerged that atmospheric CFCs could contribute significantly to ozone depletion and an annual thinning (a 'hole') in the ozone layer over the Antarctic was reported. Some of the atmospheric chemistry which is believed to occur, and some of the measurements made on the ozone 'layer' are reviewed together with the environmental regulatory actions that have been taken. These are leading to a controlled rapid phase out of a number of industrial chemicals, including CFCs. The pharmaceutical industry uses significant quantities of CFCs as propellants in metered dose inhalers (MDIs). Two suitable alternative molecules, the hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs) HFA134a and HFA227, which have the required properties but are not ozone depleting, are introduced.