Monday 17 September 2007

More progress urged on ozone hole


Faster progress is needed to safeguard the ozone layer, according to one of the scientists who discovered the "ozone hole" over Antarctica. The 1987 Montreal Protocol was designed to phase out chemicals such as CFCs which were found to be damaging the ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere. The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet-B radiation from the Sun, which can cause skin cancers and other medical conditions, as well as harming wildlife.
Industrialised nations phased out almost all CFC production in 1995, with developing countries having a deadline of 2010. Many of the substances, used in applications such as refrigeration, aerosols and fire-fighting, could be replaced relatively easily with related families of chemicals including hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
These cause much less damage to the ozone layer; but production in the developing world is now increasing so fast that there is renewed worries about their impact.

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