This is a classic article from New Scientist’s archive, republished as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations
ACCORDING to a paper in tomorrow’s Science (vol 158, p 1165), the atmospheric concentrations of propellants used in aerosols (mainly chlorofluoromethanes CF2Cl2 and CFCl3) are rising so rapidly as to present a real threat to the ozone layer, which protects us from ultraviolet radiation.
Chlorofluoromethanes are relatively inert (their lifetime is more than 10 years) and are not destroyed in the troposphere. Instead, they rise into the stratosphere where they are photodissociated by ultraviolet light. The process releases chlorine…
