DESTRUCTION OF THE OZONE LAYER: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

The destruction or thinning of the ozone layer is the decrease in the amount of ozone found in the earth's stratosphere (specifically in the ozone layer), due to the release of gases such as halocarbon refrigerants, solvents, propellants and foaming agents like CFC, freons and alones.

The ozone layer is a part of the stratosphere whose main component is ozone, a substance that has 3 oxygen molecules. Almost 90% of the ozone that exists in the entire atmosphere is concentrated in this area, which is why it is also known as the ozonosphere.

The ozone layer is located approximately between 10 and 50 kilometers above sea level and its importance lies in the fact that thanks to it, almost all of the ultraviolet rays are absorbed, which are highly damaging to human beings and life. in the planet.

Although ozone was associated as a chemical element in the early twentieth century, it is known that scientists of older times would have already discovered it by accident.

Since the middle of the 19th century and until approximately the middle of the last century, both scientists and the common people considered ozone as an air purifying element, so that the high places and outdoors were considered beneficial for health for its greater ozone content.

However, it was not until the end of the 20th century that the ozone layer of the stratosphere began to be studied with concern, since it was observed that its thickness was slowly decreasing, with the dangers that this could bring.

Causes of the destruction of the ozone layer

The association of ozone with ultraviolet radiation is unique and ambivalent. On the one hand, ultraviolet rays are those that allow the dissociation of oxygen molecules (O ₂) to form ozone (O ₃).

But in turn, it is the same ultraviolet rays that are responsible for the destruction of ozone, since low wavelength radiation makes that third oxygen molecule easily detach.

Like everything that happens in nature, which tend to be perfectly self-controlled processes, the destruction and re-creation of ozone in the stratosphere remains in a dynamic equilibrium, the main task of which is to prevent the most powerful UV rays from passing through the atmosphere and falling sharply. direct and dangerous on the earth's surface.

But this balance has been altered by the action of man, resulting in the destruction of the very important ozone layer. Some of these destructive actions are the following:

Use of aerosols and refrigerant compounds

Until a few years ago, all the sprays we used, such as deodorants, air fresheners, insecticides, and cleaning products, were high in chlorine.

The same thing happened with the refrigerants used in air conditioners and household electrical motors in general, as well as propellants and various solvents.

These products with high chlorine content, when used, released chlorine atoms (Cl) that rose to the stratosphere, directly affecting the destruction of ozone molecules that became simple oxygen molecules.

The natural process of converting oxygen into ozone was overcome by the action of chlorine. It was like a race in which nature began to be disadvantaged and the ozone layer increasingly diminished.

Fortunately, the large aerosol manufacturers have modified their formulas to minimize damage to the ozone layer. However, the damage from these pollutants can take up to 100 years to disappear.

The most harmful gases are halocarbon refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and foaming agents such as CFCs, freons, and alones.

Global warming

The indiscriminate felling and burning of forests, the erosion produced by the indiscriminate growth of cities, the exponential growth of industrial activity and the pollution of rivers and seas by the unconsciousness of man, have made the planet suffer a slow and relentless deterioration that is causing the rise in global temperature.

This is causing the great masses of ice at the poles to melt and consequently the rise in sea level.

Global warming also affects the thickness of the ozonosphere and this damage is bi-directional, since the bigger the hole in the ozone layer, the higher the earth's temperature will be.

Consequences of the destruction of the ozone layer

The weakening of the ozone layer has become so severe in some areas that it has literally blown a hole.

According to UNEP (United Nations Program for Environmental Protection) this deterioration has reached 60% in certain parts of the stratosphere, especially those that cover the most densely populated territories.

This situation brings the following consequences:

Higher incidence of UV rays

The sun's ultraviolet rays are filtered through the hole in the ozone layer with greater intensity.

This has been measured thanks to special instruments installed on some satellites, and it is the reason why sunscreens for the skin must be more and more powerful.

Proliferation of diseases

The increase in the incidence of sunlight has led to an increase in skin diseases such as dermatitis, allergies and melanomas (skin cancer), and ophthalmological diseases such as cataracts, presbyopia and eye infections.

It also produces a deterioration of the human immune system, which leads to autoimmune diseases and infections caused by bacteria and viruses.

Alterations in vegetation

The photosynthesis process is altered with the increased incidence of strong and damaging ultraviolet rays, which is leading to the modification of certain plant species and, mainly, the alteration of the harvesting system of agricultural products.

Alterations in animals

All these changes in temperature and in the incidence of the sun's rays also affect the animals, especially the fish that migrate in search of warmer waters and alter their places and times of spawning, breeding, etc. Everything makes ecosystems change.

Hole reduction

The Montreal Protocol, signed by 197 countries, prohibited in 1987 the manufacture of products with chlorofluorocarbon components (CFCs).

While repairing the damage could take many decades, the ozone layer shows signs of recovering.

In 2016, scientists reported that the hole had been reduced by more than 4 million square kilometers and it is expected that by 2050 it could be fully recovered if the controls to achieve this continue to be applied and monitored, such as the replacement of CFCs by hydrocarbon gases in the manufacture of aerosols.

References

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5. Depletion of the ozone layer, its causes and effects. Recovered from eljaya.com
6. The ozone layer is beginning to repair itself and we have participated. Recovered from vital.rpp.pe