Source: Mysterious rise in banned ozone-destroying chemical shocks scientists | Environment | The Guardian A sharp and mysterious rise in emissions of a key ozone-destroying chemical has been detected by scientists, despite its production being banned around the world. Unless the culprit is found and stopped, the recovery of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from damaging UV radiation, could be delayed by a decade. The source of the new emissions has been tracked to east Asia, but finding a more precise location requires further investigation. . . . I hope Scott Putrid doesn't hear about this or he'll deregulate it. Bob Wilson
Just yesterday, my a/c guy told me it has been banned for ten years, and if I had a leak, they would have to replace the compressor and lines.
Ugh, have to first guess it is automotive source, someone making bootleg coolant refill for leaky A/C units
CCl3F CFC-11 Quite effective at depleting stratospheric ozone by all accounts. Stratomunch. I can pretty much guess which country is doing this (leakily) but then I'd have to kill myself.
Way back in 'Montreal' days, Global distribution had just one hot spot: Trichlorofluoromethane - Wikipedia
Clearly northern hemisphere, from one report that I already lost. Eastern Asia by another, but no clue which specific country: "A U.S. observatory in Hawaii found CFC-11 mixed in with other gases that were characteristic of a source coming from somewhere in eastern Asia, but scientists could not narrow the area down any further." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/05/16/someone-somewhere-is-making-a-banned-chemical-that-destroys-the-ozone-layer-scientists-suspect/
When someone says they don't know, one reasonable interpretation is that they don't. Another is that they do, but now is not a good time to say so. A map like I posted @5 could be presented for now but I have not seen it. Instead, we have words about "East Asian country". I do not assume that US government entirely operates at level lowly defined by current President. Instead, that observed things are negotiable points and (I hope) being negotiated outside public eyes.
What we are really hoping is everyone goes to gen3 coolant molecules which are ozone friendly and climate change friendly.
As a refrigerant, CO2 is surprising climate friendly. Ozone friendly, and the amounts needed in a cooling system are minuscule compared to ordinary fuel burning emissions. There is no need to recover it at the end of the system's life, just vent it. Hauling it back for collection would release vastly more from the collection truck's ICE engine than the system used in the first place. The primary downside is the very high pressure needed to make use of it, so it is not compatible with hardware built for other refrigerants.
Yes that would be a good one. Let's face it, it is hard to invent a refrigerant molecule with the following attributes: (1) Benign to Ozone (2) Benign to Global Warming (3) Benign toxicity for human and wildlife You can pretty much guess the newer coolants are less good on Item(3). Things like DDT and CFC had a low human toxicity as their main point.
The issue isn't that they aren't good enough to keep the refrigerant from escaping. It is that any system has a finite life, and enforcing a fleet a private cars' compliance to safety and engine emission standards is already difficult for wealthy nations.
