OZONE

DEPLETION
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OBJECTIVE
▫ To illustrate Ozone is depleting and explain
how the different pollutants is contributing to
its destruction
What is
Ozone?
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What is Ozone?
▫ Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of
oxygen.
▫ Ozone is created in the atmosphere when
the sun's rays split oxygen molecules into
single atoms.
▫ Even as it's being made, ozone is also
destroyed by sunlight and reactions
involving natural compounds that contain
chlorine, nitrogen, and hydrogen.

Types of Ozone
Good
Ozone occurs naturally in the
Earth's upper atmosphere - 6 to
30 miles above the Earth's
surface - where it forms a
protective layer that shields us
from the sun's harmful ultraviolet
rays.
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Bad
In the Earth's lower atmosphere,
near ground level, ozone is
formed when pollutants emitted
by cars, power plants, industrial
boilers, refineries, chemical
plants, and other sources react
chemically in the presence of
sunlight. Ozone at ground level is
a harmful air pollutant.
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Types of Ozone
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The Ozone Layer

▫ The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's
atmosphere which contains relatively high
concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer
absorbs 97-99% of the sun's high frequency
ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to
life on earth. Over 90% of ozone in earth's
atmosphere is present here.
▫ It is mainly located in the lower portion of the
stratosphere from approximately 15 km to 35
km above Earth's surface, though the thickness
varies seasonally and geographically.
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The Ozone Hole

▫ The ozone hole is not technically a “hole”
where no ozone is present, but is actually
a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in
the stratosphere over the Antarctic that
happens at the beginning of Southern
Hemisphere spring (August–October).
Satellite instruments provide us with daily
images of ozone over the Antarctic
region.
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▫
The Ozone Hole
▫ A dobson unit is the most basic measure used
in ozone research. One Dobson Unit (DU) is
defined to be 0.01 mm thickness at STP
(standard temperature and pressure). Ozone
layer thickness is expressed in terms of
Dobson units, which measure what its physical
thickness would be if compressed in the Earth's
atmosphere.

Laws
Montreal Protocol
Finalized in 1987, is a
global agreement to
protect the stratospheric
ozone layer by phasing out
the production and
consumption of ozone-
depleting substances
(ODS).
10
Ozone Layer Protection
Act of 2007
Contains the rules relating
to specific substances.
Most of the controls are on
importing bulk substances.
The regulations also
prohibit the import of some
items that contain CFCs
except where they are part
of another piece of
equipment
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Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)

The ODS are split into two groups
under the Clean Air Act: Class I
ODS, such
as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and
Class II ODS, such
as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC
s).
Complete List:
https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-
protection/ozone-depleting-substances
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OZONE
DEPLETION
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Ozone Depletion

First Reaction: Cl + O3 → O2 + ClO

Second Reaction: O + ClO → Cl + O2
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• http://www.idc-
online.com/technical_references/pdfs/civil_engineering/Mec
hanism_of_Ozone_hole.pdf
• https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/ozone-
depleting-substances
• https://www.state.gov/e/oes/eqt/chemicalpollution/83007.ht
m

Reference • https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole_SH.html
• https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/assessments/ozone/2010/twe
ntyquestions/Q2.pdf

s: • http://www.mfe.govt.nz/more/acts-and-regulations/ozone-
layer-protection-act-1996-and-ozone-layer-protection-
regulations
• http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/ozone-
science/ozone-depleting-substances
• https://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.ozone
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Thanks!