CFC's
CFC's, or chlorofluorocarbons, are made up of carbon, chlorine and fluorine atoms. CFC's caught their big break in the early 1900's. Initially toxic chemicals such as ammonia would be used as a method of cooling refrigerators. After many fatalities had occurred, Thomas Midgley of Ford Motors synthesized CFC's which were a nontoxic super chemical. Since then, CFC's were used in aerosols, refrigerators, solvents, and much more. CFC's had slowly begun to take over as America's favorite super product. In the late 1950s there was roughly one million metric tons of CFC's being produced which brought in up to a billion dollars worth of revenue.
In 1974, Professor F. Sherwood Rowland and Dr. Mario Molina discovered that the super chemical was not so super after all. When interacting with the upper atmosphere, CFC's produce large amounts of inorganic chlorine, that would be able to destroy the ozone in the atmosphere. This would mean that so much as 100,000 molecules of ozone can be destroyed per chlorine atom. By 1985, the widespread use of CFC's had lead to an Antarctic ozone hole.
Ozone, which keeps out dreaded UV rays from harming the everyday functioning of life. was slowly dissolving, almost like having chinks in the armor. After finally realizing the severity of the issue, in "1987, 27 nations signed a global environmental treaty, the Montreal Protocol to Reduce Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer," which aimed to reduce CFC's by fifty percent by 2000. There began a push to phase-out the use of CFC's for good when realizing this was not enough.
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/hats/publictn/elkins/cfcs.html
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/cfcs-ozone.html
In 1974, Professor F. Sherwood Rowland and Dr. Mario Molina discovered that the super chemical was not so super after all. When interacting with the upper atmosphere, CFC's produce large amounts of inorganic chlorine, that would be able to destroy the ozone in the atmosphere. This would mean that so much as 100,000 molecules of ozone can be destroyed per chlorine atom. By 1985, the widespread use of CFC's had lead to an Antarctic ozone hole.
Ozone, which keeps out dreaded UV rays from harming the everyday functioning of life. was slowly dissolving, almost like having chinks in the armor. After finally realizing the severity of the issue, in "1987, 27 nations signed a global environmental treaty, the Montreal Protocol to Reduce Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer," which aimed to reduce CFC's by fifty percent by 2000. There began a push to phase-out the use of CFC's for good when realizing this was not enough.
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/hats/publictn/elkins/cfcs.html
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/cfcs-ozone.html