What Is The Hole In The Ozone - Part 2

Learn some more about the hole in the ozone, as a part of environmental chemistry. The hole in the ozone layer has become thinner, mainly due to CFC’s. CFCs are inert stable molecules and were once the wonder chemical. They were completely harmless to animals, and were used in many household products. The problem with CFCs is that they are so inert that they do not get washed out in rain or broken down in the troposphere, so they diffuse up into the stratosphere. Here they are broken down by UV light, and bond with the free oxygen. This then prevents the free oxygen from reforming ozone. Hence CFCs have caused the break down of Ozone. So the ozone-oxygen cycle was being destroyed and the ozone layer was thinning all over the world. Because of the special weather conditions around the South Pole, almost all the ozone became depleted there, forming the hole, once the sun returned in spring. In 1987, all nations of the world banned the production and use of CFCs. The ozone layer is naturally reforming, and so return to its original levels in 50 to 100 years. The hole in the ozone layer allows harmful UV radiation to reach ground level, which can cause skin cancer. It does not however let in heat and cause global warming.