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CFC's - ChloroFluoroCarbons - are a class of volatile organic compounds that have been used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, foam blowing agents, and as solvents in the electronic industry
ChloroFluroCarbon

a fluorocarbon with chlorine;

Commercially, the most important CFCs were derivatives of methane and ethane. These included trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11), dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12), 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (CFC-113) and 1,2-dichloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane (CFC-114).

CFCs were first introduced in the 1930s as safe replacements for refrigerants such as sulfur dioxide, ammonia, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride. These uses eventually resulted in large emissions of CFCs into the atmosphere.

Because of their low chemical reactivity, CFCs typically have long atmospheric residence times, and as a consequence are distributed globally. However, when CFCs reach the stratosphere they break down to release chlorine atoms. The chlorine atoms then react with stratospheric ozone, breaking it down into oxygen.

As ozone absorbs much of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, decreased stratosphere ozone levels could lead to increased ground-level ultraviolet radiation. This could adversely affect crop growth, and also lead to increases in cataracts and nonmelanoma skin cancer

CFCs are therefore now banned because they are the cause of the holes that grew in the Ozone layers over the planets polar regions.

The banning of CFCs has lead to research to identify other chemicals that can be used in the same applications but without the same environmental concerns.

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13y ago

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