Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are—or have been—used as refrigerants or propellant gases in spray devices. They have some good properties for these applications, but they also are the cause of two detrimental effects. One, they are strong greenhouse gases. This means that they inhibit the flow of radiation from the Earth's surface through the air into outer space.
Second, they destroy ozone in the upper layers of the atmosphere (the stratosphere). This happens mostly over the poles of our planet if conditions are right (temperature, sunlight). For the last few decades, depletion of ozone has been observed to occur over the poles during antarctic or arctic spring time. The ozone in the stratosphere is extremely important. It shields the Earth from much of the high-energetic and ultraviolet radiation in the Sun's light which is harmful to life. | | |
