Which chemical is responsible for the depletion of the ozone holes?
Open in App
Solution
Ozone depletion:
Compounds created by humans, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and halons, deplete ozone in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere).
The majority of the chlorine entering the stratosphere (84 percent) comes from man-made sources such as CFCs and HFCs, with the remaining 16 percent coming from natural sources such as the ocean and volcanoes.
CFCs, on the other hand, are so stable and unreactive that they survive reaching the highest levels of the atmosphere and becoming globally distributed in the stratosphere.
The most common ozone-depleting substance is chlorofluorocarbons. The chlorine atom does not react with ozone unless it reacts with another molecule.