What CFC’s were originally used for CFCs were first discovered by Thomas Midgley in 1928, because it was an alternative to the toxic refrigerants like ammonia, it was later used in many aerosol sprays and foam blowing products. How ozone depletion works UV radiation causes a chlorine atom to be broken from the CFC molecule, the lingering chlorine atom attaches to an O3 molecule, then the chlorine removes an oxygen from the ozone molecule to form chlorine monoxide. A free oxygen atom from the stratosphere will try to break apart the chlorine monoxide by hitting the molecule, once the chlorine molecule is free it will continue the steps mentioned before to get rid of ozone in the stratosphere. Chlorine will linger in the stratosphere. Negative impacts on the environment Chlorofluorocarbons are responsible for ozone depletion when used, the chlorine atom belonging to the CFC molecule will remain in the atmosphere and stratosphere for a long period of time, due to their long life spans. The chlorine atom will continue to destroy ozone with the steps mentioned before, the is bad for us and the environment, because with the ozone layer being depleted we are less protected from the sun’s ultra violet radiation, which can cause skin cancer. CFC are also regarded as a greenhouse gas, which can cause global warming. When people started to realize CFCs were bad and what they notice In the mid to late 70’s scientist began to make link between aerosol sprays and their effects on ozone depletion. During this time a lot of pressure had been put on aerosol spray companies and manufacturers to shut down their operations after 1970 due to the media coverage of ozone depleting substance. People and scientist started to notice the relationship between cfcs and global warming, ozone depletion. Companies still used cfcs in refrigerants, fire extinguishers and foam blowing, it wasn’t until government rule that cfcs were completely banned. Canadian government regulations The Montreal protocol was created in 1987 and was made to protect the ozone and phase out CFCs and other ozone depleting substances, through multiple meetings it was at the 19th meeting that it was agreed to completely rid cfcs from products. The Montreal protocol was a success in that it was able to ban cfcs in Canada by the late 90s and the rest of the world by the late 2000s. Alternative technologies An alternative to CFCs are hydrocarbons like HCFCs and HFCs, HCFCs are mainly used as an alternative to CFCs due to its lesser effects on the atmosphere and stratosphere, but is still able to deplete. Hydro fluorocarbons have been introduced to replace HCFCs because it has zero ozone depletion potential.