Re: Halon-Blah Blah Blah

["therealdmcvegas" <DMCVegas@xxxx>]

--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Walter Coe" <Whalt@xxxx> wrote:
<SNIP>
>I don't believe
> that CFC's really do anything to the ozone layer anyway. Coincidently all
> this regulation crap came about at the same time that the patent on Freon
> expired.
<SNIP>
> Walt Tampa, FL

CFC's themselves are not what causes ozone damage per se. CFC= 
Chlorine, Fluorine, and Carbon. Or as it's formula is written, C3FC. Ultraviolet 
light reacts with the CFC chain, and will bust it apart. Ozone itself is three 
oxygen molecules together written as O3. That's rare because oxygen usualy 
only will bond with 1 other molecule due to it's number of electrons, which if 
you notice, is why oxygen tanks have O2 printed on them.

So when the CFC chain is broken, the Chlorine molecules with steal a single 
oxygen atom from the ozone chain. Cl+O3= ClO & O2. Unfortunetly, it doesn't 
stop there. A stray single oxygen molecule can steal the single oxygen 
molecule from the new chain. ClO+O=Cl & O2. This means that the chlorine is 
now free again to rip apart another ozone chain, thus the cycle of destruction 
begins again. Now couple this with the amount of CFC's, and other ozone 
depleting gasses that are released, and you can see how the desturction of 
ozone outwieghs the natural replenishment of them.

So yes, CFC's do have an impact on the ozone. BUT, they are not the only 
thing that causes ozone damage. When it gets into areas that are cold 
enough (like Antartica), compunds with sulfer, like Carbonyl Sulfide, will 
become britttle, and break apart. Thus they too can destroy ozone. Carbonyl 
Sulfide (COS) appears naturally from both volcanos, but is also created when 
diesel emissions are exposed to UV rays. The COS gets cold, breaks apart, 
and the extra oxygen molecule will bind to an ozone chain to destroy it. Unlike 
CFC's though, I don't beleive that it has the ability to renew itself to continue a 
destructive cycle.

So yes, R-12 does indeed harm the ozone layer. Was is production ceased 
due to monitary reasons? Probably. With all the other chemicals that are 
currently produced, and released that cause damage to the ozone layer, R-12 
does certainly appear to have been a convient scapegoat. R-134a is known 
as a HydroFlouroCarbon, or HFC. It's a stronger chemical chain, so it's less 
likely to be broken apart by UV rays. But it still can be broken apart, and can 
damage ozone. So in laymens terms, this means that R-143a is only going to 
do less damage than R-12. On the other hand, since it is more stable, it helps 
to contribute to global warming since it's a greenhouse gas. Combine this with 
the fact that an R-143a refrigeration systems in cars take more effort to run, 
and thus use more fuel and spit out more exhaust, and you'll pump out more 
harmful gasses into the enviornment anyhow.

So in the end, if you want to keep your refridgeration systems in good health, 
run them at least once a month. This helps to circulate the oil inside to 
lubricate the seals. In addition, it helps to wash down the radiators on them as 
well with a good pressure water stream every so often. Plus any other 
maintenace reccomended helps as well.

-Robert
vin 6585 "X"