CHINA — A home insulation chemical used extensively throughout China may be damaging the earth's ozone layer, reports the BBC.<br /><br />The chemical, CFC-11, was completely banned eight years ago because it resulted in a "massive rise in emissions of a gas" to the earth's protective layer.<br /><br />According to the BBC, around 70% of sales in China used the illegal gas to insulate their houses because it is "better quality and much cheaper" than other alternatives.<br /><br />CFC-11 is made from chemicals such as carbon, chlorine and fluorine.<br /><br />CFC-11, or trichlorofluoromethane, was mainly used as a refrigerant and is a colorless liquid which is quick to escape containers even if it is packed tightly.<br /><br />When CFCs are exposed to UV rays in the atmosphere, the molecule breaks down into individual atoms which includes chlorine.<br /><br />The oxygen atoms in the ozone then react with the chlorine atom and 'rips apart' the ozone molecule, which damages the ozone layer.<br /><br />Because of the sheer amount of CFC-11 being used, this could have the potential to "reverse the healing that is starting to take place in the ozone layer."
