European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Heaven and Hole Europe races to Stop Ozone rip by Mark Fritz associated press with sky is falling urgency european nations Are Rushing to ban Ozone eating chemicals after a study said a vast Hole May open Over their continent this Winter. In recent weeks startling new data have prompted governments to shave years off their timetables for Banning chemicals that weaken the Earth a natural sunscreen. Quot it s time to understand that sensible people Don t utter dire warnings unless they Are really very scared Quot said British scientist Joe Farman who in 1985 discovered the Only known Ozone Hole Over the Antarctic. On March 23, the 12-member european Community is expected to ban production and consumption of Ozone eating chemicals by 1995 and reduce their use by 85 percent by the end of next year. The eco a environment ministers endorsed the proposals during a meeting in Portugal on feb. 22. The Community said it will seek to get the rest of the world to follow suit. The action followed president Bush s feb. 11 order for a . Ban on chlorofluorocarbons or rfcs by 1995. The bans Are a full five years ahead of the International Montreal protocol signed by the United states in 1987, and two years earlier than the  s previous ban. But some european nations Are moving even More quickly. Germany and the Netherlands Are considering comprehensive bans by 1993. Rfcs Are commonly used in refrigerators air conditioning and aerosol sprays and in foam and solvent manufacturing processes. The Ozone layer is a form of oxygen in the Earth s upper atmosphere. It provides a shield from the suns ultraviolet rays which can increase risks of skin cancer cataracts and reduced immunity to disease the  s environment chief. Carlo Ripa i Meana said recently that the additional radiation caused by the unexpectedly High Ozone depletion will Lead to an estimated 1,6 million new cases of cataracts. A if this continues it will have major effects on the Earth s sea and food Chain and could have an Impact on human health Quot he said. The Issue gained urgency last month after Nasa said a new Hole in the Ozone layer could develop above Europe and North America this Winter. A european study begun in october involving 300 scientists from 17 nations also showed Ozone depletion much greater than earlier believed. Esko Kyro director of the Godan Kyla Observatory in Finland said depletion Over the Arctic last Winter a 20 percent worse than in previous years. Quot we Are worried. It s a real concern what is obvious is that rfcs on a worldwide scale must be phased out As fast As possible Quot he said. But environmental groups say the bans do not go far enough in regulating the use of compounds that will replace rfcs and which still pose dangers to the Ozone although at a reduced rate. Quot there has been a Patchy response characterized by a mixture of panic and muddle Quot said Chris Rose Britain program director for the environmental group Greenpeace. Quot i think the problem is that the Public has been convinced that Nasa studies North pole Ozone measurements by er-2 and dc-8 aircraft have revealed High Levels of Ozone destroying chemicals in the Arctic vortex an area of cold air covering the Northern most latitudes. Scientists say this makes it Likely that a Hole in the Earth a protective Ozone layer will soon form Over the Northern hemisphere similar to the one Over the Southern hemisphere. European strategies Arctic vortex area of cold air and High winds Anchorage Alaska t3 h Ere is what european nations Are doing to eliminate Ozone depleting chemicals such As chlorofluorocarbons. Asia North pole 4 m i. 4. F Pacific Ocean flight Quot Light path of dc-8 \ dc-8 \ a Stavanger Norway i Quot a v i n it p v North Nasa Ames research Center California America a. A it is 9ft a a a a re Bangor Maine a l. V-avr7 flight path of er-2 Atlantic Ocean v a Rev Quot a Quot a a. A la source Nasa the problem is  several nations also Are tightening the use of such replacement chemicals. Denmark banned some processes using chlorofluorocarbons and  on feb. 1. The bans will progressively broaden to include other products and processes through 1994, Norway banned the import production and use of rfcs and Ozone depleting halon on july 1.1991, but Grants exemptions for special uses. Quot we Are considering whether we can tighten it even More Quot said Mari Saether of the environment ministry. Germany which produces 10 percent of the world s rfcs already has a 1995 ban. But environment minister Klaus Topfer said that after discussions with Industry he would push for a ban by 1993. Any objections by industries to Banning rfcs have been overwhelmed by the environmental Fervour that has gripped the continent in the last month. Finland phasing out rfcs by 1995 but trying to move ban up a year. France France adheres to current european Community deadline of 1997 and supports eco a plan to move deadline to 1995. Germany will ban rfcs and other chemicals by 1995, but environmental officials say they will push to move ban up to 1993. The Netherlands will ban production and use of rfcs and other chemicals by Jan. 1, 1995. Denmark began Banning some processes using Ozone destroying chemicals on Jan. 1 and will gradually reduce exemptions through 1994. Considering whether to quicken the timetable. Britain committed to phasing out rfcs by the end of 1995 and Ozone depleting halons by the end of 1994. Spain adheres to  s 1997 deadline and says it will support  move to change deadline to 1995. Norway began outlawing production a and use of rfcs last year and will a Karl tale gradually reduce various exemptions through 1995. Studying whether to Speed the ban. A Quot Switzerland plans to eliminate Csc use by 1995. Italy supports eco a 1997 deadline and says it will support  plan to move up deadline to 1995. Sweden ordered a 50 percent reduction in rfcs in 1988 and is to phase them out completely by 1995, Eastern Europe still largely a no Issue in the struggling new democracies beset with economic problems. What can Consumers do by Paul Raeburn a science editor alarm Over a new report that shows the Ozone layer is deteriorating faster than scientists thought has focused attention on what Consumers can do to ease the depletion. While aerosol cans get much of the attention the real villain is the Auto air conditioner environmentalists say. About 150 million air conditioned cars and trucks travel America s roads. Each carries about 214? pounds of Ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons or rfcs. That s about five times As much As the typical Home refrigerator which contains six to eight ounces Quot nearly 20 percent of All the rfcs in the United states is coming from car air conditioners Quot said David Doniger director of the Ozone project at the natural resources defense Council in Washington . Rfcs contain molecules of chlorine monoxide and Bromine monoxide which react in sunlight and deplete the protective layer. The discovery that the Ozone layer is thinning at an accelerating rate prompted president Bush last tuesday to announce a quicker Pace for phasing out Ozone depleting chemicals in the United states. The destruction allows More of the Sun s harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach Earth raising the incidence of skin cancer and cataracts. It also can weaken the body s defences against infection and it can damage crops and Marine life. Edie Tshering of the Council on economic priorities said the most important thing Consumers can do to help Stop the release of rfcs is to have their air conditioners and refrigerators serviced regularly by technicians who capture and Recycle rfcs. Quot when you get rid of an old air conditioner or refrigerator look into opportunities to have it recycled rather than just throw it away Quot Tshering said. Quot there Are companies that will do  the new York based Council published Quot shopping for a better world Quot which Calls itself a Quot guide to socially responsible supermarket  but smart action by Consumers will not come close to solving the problem. The Ozone threat won t pass until Csc based coolers and refrigerators Are replaced and that will be expensive. Cathy Andriadis a spokeswoman for Dupont said $135 billion Worth of equipment in the United states is dependent on rfcs. Dupont is one of 15 manufacturers of rfcs worldwide. In the meantime the Council s shopping guide has a few words to say about those misunderstood aerosol cans. In 1978, the . Government banned the use of Ozone depleting chemicals in most aerosol Spray cans. Deodorants hair sprays and Many Spray household cleaners Are now powered by air pumps or by such chemicals As propane or butane which Don t contain chlorine and therefore Don t damage Page 14 the stars and stripes the Ozone layer. But not All aerosol cans were covered by the ban. Quot we did a Survey by cruising the shelves of supermarkets drug stores and shoe care stores those sorts of places Quot said Doniger. Quot we found 150 products with 1,1,1-trichloroethane,&Quot or Methyl chloroform the products containing Methyl chloroform include Bug sprays fabric protectors waterproofing sprays and spot removers. Methyl chloroform is among a newer generation of chemicals that is safer for the Ozone but not entirely Safe. Many belong to the class of substances called Hydro chlorofluorocarbons or a rfcs. They Are now used in refrigerators and other Cooling equipment. Quot it s like hitting the Ozone layer with Small arms lire instead of artillery shells Quot said  still not Good for  the propane and butane used in some household products Are the Only propellants that Are entirely Safe for the Ozone layer. But they have another drawback they contribute to the greenhouse effect. Monday March 16. 1992 Cool Cool sounds harnessing the motion of molecules set dancing to sound scientists Are creating a natural Quot refrigerators the sound wave forces Gas molecules in a tube into a dense compressed mass at one end heating them up. A plate in the tube absorbs heat from the molecules As they shuttle along it. This heat can be conducted away from the refrigerator leaving cooled Gas in its place. Oscillating pressure created by an acoustic standing wave ust As in an Organ pipe Gas is compressed and heats up. When the hot Gas molecules touch the plate they Transfer heat to the plate tube is closed at this end looking to technology for a solution by Malcolm w. Browne the new York times As fears mount that global depletion of the atmospheric Ozone layer May Lead to catastrophic medical and economic consequences scientists and engineers Are hastening development of new refrigeration technologies that do not depend on Ozone destroying chemicals and May even be More efficient than conventional Cooling machines. One of these technologies Abandons the complicated moving parts of conventional refrigerators and uses sound Energy blasted into a kind of Organ pipe to achieve Cooling. Developers of sound driven refrigerators at los Alamos National Laboratory n.m., and the naval postgraduate school at Monterey calif., say such therm acoustic devices could chill nitrogen to its liquefaction temperature of minus 320 degrees or Cool the air in a room or car by Only a few degrees. One of these new refrigeration devices was tested aboard last month s space shuttle Mission. Another of the new refrigeration technologies also under study at los Alamos subjects liquids rather than the gases used in existing refrigerators to cycles of compression and expansion to move heat away from the objects being cooled the principal disadvantage of substituting such novel systems for conventional Gas compressors in refrigerators and air conditioners is Cost scientists and engineers agree. The american Economy is currently dependent on devices using conventional refrigeration equipment which will be extremely expensive to replace. . Dupont de Nemours amp co., the largest american manufacturer of the chlorofluorocarbon Csc compounds that Are responsible for Ozone depletion estimates that 5,000 american businesses valued at $28 billion and employing 700,000 workers produce goods or services dependent at least in part on rfcs. If these businesses were abruptly forced to scrap equipment designed to use rfcs manufacturers say the expense of investing in entirely new systems could cause staggering economic hardship. Leaders in the refrigeration Industry assert moreover that chemical substitutes for rfcs used in conventional refrigerators and air conditioners will make these machines less efficient bulkier and Shorter lived the poorer efficiency of Csc substitutes will make it harder for refrigerator makers to comply with new Federal efficiency standards they say. Environmental groups argue that the Earth a protective Ozone shield risks catastrophic depletion and that even president Bush a recent decision to ban Csc production in the United states by . 31. 1995, Falls far Short of the needs of the situation. Underscoring their concern a report in the current Issue of the journal science confirmed that a 50 percent thinning of the Ozone layer Over Antarctica in 1990 had far reaching biological effects. Or. Raymond c. Smith and or. Barbara b. Prezelia of the University of California at Santa Barbara and their colleagues at the University s san Diego and san Francisco campuses and other institutions found a direct link Between the amount of ultraviolet radiation leaking through the Ozone shield and the decline of phytoplankton a the microscopic organisms that constitute the base of Antarctica s food Chain. Every aspect of phytoplankton life was depressed and the reproduction rate fell As much As 12 percent during the maximum thinning of the Ozone layer. One of the main objections by environmental groups to some of the chemicals scheduled to replace rfcs a a rfcs and rfcs is that they May themselves pose problems and dangers. The chemical family called a rfcs like rfcs contains chlorine in a form that can destroy stratospheric Ozone. But a Csc compounds Are less stable than Csc s and tend to break Down in the lower atmosphere before they can diffuse to High enough altitudes to destroy Ozone. Members of a second chemical family the rfcs contain Only Hydrogen fluorine and Carbon atoms with no chlorine and Are therefore presumed to be harmless to the Ozone layer. The stars and stripes Page 15