Four new ozone-depleting gases found accumulating in the atmosphere

Scientists have discovered four man-made gases with the potential to damage the ozone layer have been escaping into the atmosphere, and at the moment, where these are coming from remains a mystery.

"The identification of these four new gases is very worrying as they will contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer," Dr. Johannes Laube from the University of East Anglia, who is the lead author of the research paper published Sunday in the journal Nature, told BBC News.

"We don't know where the new gases are being emitted from and this should be investigated. Possible sources include feedstock chemicals for insecticide production and solvents for cleaning electronic components," he added. "What's more, the three CFCs are being destroyed very slowly in the atmosphere — so even if emissions were to stop immediately, they will still be around for many decades to come."

Up until now, scientists knew of seven types of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and six types of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) that damage the ozone layer. This research adds another three CFCs and one HCFC — CFC-112, CFC112a, CFC-113a and HCFC-133a — which were found in ice cores taken from Greenland, but only after the 1960s. According to what Laube told BBC News, that indicates that they're man-made.

Although concentrations of these gases are still low when compared to what CFC concentrations were like in the '80s, not knowing where they're coming from is a big problem, and one of the gases — CFC-113a — is accumulating rapidly. According to the researchers, concentrations of this chlorofluorocarbon increased by 45 per cent between 2010 and 2012.

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The effort to save the ozone layer can be hailed as one of the most successful international science initiatives ever undertaken. Although Canada, Norway and the United States had already banned CFCs in aerosol cans as of 1978, within two years of discovering the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985, the international community came together to sign the Montreal Protocol. It's taken awhile to see any results from this reduction and then ban on the production of CFCs, but we've recently seen some promising indications that the ozone layer may be on the road to recovery.

However, this discovery shows that the fight isn't over yet. We know the chemicals that do the most harm, and the restrictions against them need to be upheld or we'll end up right back in the same situation. The recent computer projections about what the world would be like if we hadn't taken action to halt CFC production are pretty scary. with most of Canada and the northern United States dealing with a dangerous increases in ultraviolet radiation by the beginning of 2014. We can't slip up now, just when things are starting to get better.

(Image courtesy: NASA)

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