CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons)

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), once described as "miracle chemicals," cause the

breakdown of the ozone layer that protects the earth from the sun's ultraviolet (UV)
radiation. CFCs have no significant natural sources. They were first manufactured in the
1930s, and industries soon found a wide variety of applications for them due to their
chemical unreactivity and heat-absorbing properties. CFCs have been used as
refrigerants in air conditioners and refrigerators, in aerosol spray cans, in
manufacturing foams as industrial solvents , and as cleaning agents in the
manufacture of electronics. One U.S. chemical industry gave them the trade name of
"Freons," and the term has since become a household word.

Photo by: ANK

Chemically, CFCs are a subset of the more general class of compounds known as
halocarbons (carbon- and halogen-containing compounds). CFCs are halocarbons that
contain only the elements carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. The most common CFCs are
small molecules containing only one or two carbon atoms. For example, a common

refrigerant has the chemical formula of CCl 2 F 2 , which in an industry-devised

shorthand is noted as CFC-12.
Scientists initially believed that CFCs would be harmless in the earth's atmosphere
because of their chemical inertness . This inertness, and their lack of solubility in
water, give CFCs a long life span in the atmosphere (tens to hundreds of years,
depending on the CFC). In the late 1970s, scientists began to realize that CFCs do break
down in the upper atmospheric region known as the stratosphere, where the sun's UV
waves are more intense. The UV-induced breakdown releases free, highly reactive
chlorine and bromine atoms from the CFCs. Several subsequent chemical reactions are

kick-started by this process, including the breakdown of the stratospheric ozone layer.
Chemical structure of CFCs.
The ozone layer is important to humans and other life on earth because it absorbs
harmful UV radiation (acting as a sort of UV "shield") Long-term effects on humans'
excessive UV exposure include skin cancer, eye damage (cataracts), and suppression of
the immune system.
CFCs are now recognized as harmful chemicals because of their ozone-depleting
properties. As a consequence, an international agreement known as the Montral
Protocol was forged in 1987 and later strengthened by amendments to decrease and
eventually end the use of these chemicals. CFCs are also potent greenhouse gases and
are components of pending international agreements regarding greenhouse gases, the
most notable being the Kyoto Protocol (1997).