Sunburn - Mysterious 4 new man-made gases pose threat to ozone layer 2014

Lying in the atmosphere, between 15 and 30km

above the surface of the Earth, the ozone layer plays a critical role in blocking harmful UV rays, which cause cancers in humans and reproductive problems in animals.

Three of the gases are CFCs

and one is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), which can also damage ozone.

"Our research has shown four gases that were not around in the atmosphere at all until the 1960s which suggests they are man-made,"

• • The four new gases have been identified as CFC-112, CFC112a, CFC-113a, HCFC-133a

  • CFC-113a has been listed as an "agrochemical intermediate for the manufacture of pyrethroids", a type of insecticide once widely used in agriculture

  • CFC-113a and HCFC-133a are intermediaries in the production of widely used refrigerants

  • CFC-112 and 112a may have been used in the production of solvents used to clean electrical components

source: bbc.com