The Ozone Layer and CFCs

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apparently vary depending upon the source consulted (Gleason para.2) - and shields the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation (�Ozone Layer� sec.1-4). The creation, the production, of this band of ozone is complex for those not well-acquainted with chemistry. Be that as it may, it can be said that ozone is mostly produced by ultraviolet light hitting oxygen molecules containing two oxygen atoms. The consequence of this collision is that the aforementioned oxygen atoms are �uncoupled� and split into individual atoms (commonly known as �atomic oxygen�). This atomic oxygen then combines with �unbroken� two-oxygen-atom-molecules to create �ozone� � or O3. The newly-formed ozone molecule is unstable and any contact it has with ultraviolet light will result in it splitting into a molecule of O2 and into an atom of atomic oxygen, thereby completing what is known as the �ozone-oxygen cycle� and creating the ozone layer that exists in the stratosphere (�Dictionary by LaborLawTalk: Ozone ...

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Simply put, chlorine atoms destroy the ozone far faster than it can be naturally replaced. As an addendum, while fires and some kinds of aquatic life can produce one stable form of chlorine which ultimately ascends into the atmosphere, CFCs (and other common chemicals) make up 84 percent of all the chlorine in earth�s atmosphere (United States Environmental Agency sec.II).
Suffice it to say, the preceding discussion leads us into an exploration of the �ozone hole� that has been an understandable focus of attention for environmentalists since the 1970s. Specifically, the ozone layer is not a �hole� per se, as much as it is a large area located in the stratosphere hovering ...

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