Scientists have made a “very worrying” discovery of four new ozone-destroying gases.
The research from scientists at the University of East Anglia was published Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
By comparing current air samples with air samples from “polar firn” snow in Greenland, perennial snowpack which offers archival information, the researchers discovered three chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and one new hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC).
The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, banned CFCs and set phase-out deadlines for HCFCs. “This has resulted in successfully reducing the production of many of these compounds on a global scale,” stated lead author Dr. Johannes Laube from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences. “However, legislation loopholes still allow some usage for exempted purposes.”
“The identification of these four new gases is very worrying as they will contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer,” Laube stated.
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