"Industrial chemicals containing chlorine and bromine used in refrigerators and aerosols have been blamed for thinning the layer because they attack the ozone molecules, causing them to break apart. "
If this is the case , why aren't the holes in the ozone layer over the industrial centers of the world and not the most cold and desolate place on the planet?
That's always been a good question.
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds were the first to be blamed, supposedly broken down by UV rays into chlorine that destroys ozone... never mind that chlorofluorocarbons are extremely heavy molecules which makes one wonder how they ever got into the upper atmosphere to begin with.
CFC's were handy to blame because they were heavily used in industrialized nations as refrigerants and solvents. A much larger source of free chlorine is that from potable water systems common to most municipal public water systems and treated water in swimming pools. The chlorine rapidly dissipates into the atmosphere, but no one ever blames that source.
Good point. Here are some more:
The ozone "hole" refers to a region where the concentration of ozone is ~7 ppm, instead of the more normal 12 ppm.
Ozone is caused by ionizing radiation braking up oxygen molecules, some of which reform to ozone.
The half life of ozone in the gas phase (and subject to tremp, but the air temp in the ovone layer is ~60 - 70 degree F)Is around 20 hours. That means that from dusk the night before to dawn the following morning, the ozone concentration anywhere on the planet has decreased ~25%. You never notice this because as soon as the sun's rays hit the atmosphere, it is regenerated, immediately. The ozone layer is constantly being destroyed and reformed. If you could turn the sun off, in 72 hours you wouldn't have any ozone layer at all. If you then turned the sun back on, in 24 hours you could not find any reduction in the conc. of normal ozone layer.
Ozone is a fragile molecule with a relatively high heat of formation (34.4 Kcal/mol) and is very reactive. The claim that it reacts with R-12 (CFCs) to it's detriment is BS. If nothing else is around, ozone reacts with itself, and it also reacts with water to form hydrogen peroxide.
The hole in the ozone layer over the poles (notice this was measured in Summer 2004) exists because of "the Critical Angle of Incidence" (CAI) in the system air/vacuum of space, because the sun's rays bounce off above a certain angle of incidence because the Earth is shperical. Ditto for the Arctic region, and these charlatans know it. Remember ion the 1992 Pres. election the flap about "the ozone hole over Kennebunkport"? When was this measured? A: December 22. What is Dec. 22? It is the time when the northern hemispere points furthest away from the sun, meaning the CAI is at its southern most point at that time.
One final rant: the normal concentration of ozone in the layer is ~12 ppm, the concentration of oxygen in the layer is 209,000 ppm. Which do you think plays a greater role in absorbing shortwave UV? (absorption max for O2 is 185 nm, for O3 is 257.6 nm)?
< /rant>