CAPE Environmental Science Unit 2

Module 3 – Pollution and the Environment

Ozone
Depletion
Facilitator: J. Taylor
 Ozone Quiz
(True/False/Uncertain)

Q1. Ozone is a gas.

Q2. All ozone is bad for people’s
health.
Q3. The ozone layer is the part of
the atmosphere closest to the
earth.
Q4. Ultraviolet rays cause skin
cancer and other health problems.
Q5. Chlorine can damage ozone.
 Ozone Quiz
(True/False/Uncertain)
Q6. In order to make ozone, UV
rays are necessary.
Q7. The ozone hole is a huge hole
in the earth.
Q8. The deterioration of the ozone
layer was discovered over 100
years ago.
Q9. “Environmentally friendly”
products destroy the ozone layer.
Q10. Environmentalists think we
need more research to save the
ozone layer.
The ozone shield Facilitator: J. Taylor

Ozone layer is an area in the stratosphere where

ozone is highly concentrated.

What is ozone?
Ozone is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms.

The ozone layer absorbs most of the ultraviolet

(UV) light from the sun.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor
“Good” Ozone – naturally in the stratospheric layer of the
atmosphere ~10-30 miles up

“Bad” Ozone – ground level, created by chemical reactions

between nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and sunlight
(vehicle exhaust, gas vapor, solvent)

The current state of the ozone layer:

https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-
depth/climate-change-mitigation-reducing-
emissions/current-state-of-the-ozone-
layer#:~:text=The%20ozone%20layer%20sits%20in,hum
an%20health%20and%20the%20environment.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor

Depletion of the ozone layer allows more

ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reach the
surface of the Earth.

Ultraviolet light is harmful to organisms

because it can damage the genetic
material in living cells.

By shielding the Earth’s surface from most

of the sun’s ultraviolet light, the ozone in
the stratosphere acts like a sunscreen for
the Earth’s inhabitants.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor
“The Ozone Hole”

Definition: A thinning in the ozone layer that occurs over

the poles during the spring.

How does it happen?-

Each year for the past few decades during the Southern
Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving
chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar
region to be destroyed rapidly and severely.

Problem: “Holes” in the ozone layer bring in more UV

light.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor

Ozone Hole History

• In 1985, results of studies by scientists

working in Antarctica revealed that the
ozone layer above the South Pole had
thinned by 50 to 98 percent.
• This was the first news of the ozone
“hole” (a thinning of stratospheric ozone
that occurs over the poles during the
spring).
 Facilitator: J. Taylor

In 2012, the “hole” in the ozone layer over Antarctica was

smaller than it has ever been in the last 10 years.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor
The Miracle Chemicals --
Clorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

• CFCs were used as coolants

in refrigerators and air
conditioners.

• They were used as a

propellant in spray cans of
everyday products such as
deodorants, insecticides, and
paint.
• Recognizing the danger,
the world came together
under agreements like the
Montreal Protocol to phase
out the production and use
of CFCs.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor

Chemicals That Cause Ozone Depletion

During the 1970s, it was discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
might be damaging the ozone layer.

At the Earth’s surface, CFCs are chemically stable. So, they do not
combine with other chemicals or break down into other substances.

But CFC molecules break apart high in the stratosphere, where UV

radiation, a powerful energy source, is absorbed.

Once CFC molecules break apart, parts of the CFC molecules destroy
protective ozone.
Over a period of 10 to 20 years, CFC molecules released at the Earth’s
surface make their way into the stratosphere.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor

CFC Molecule Break Up

UV radiation strikes a CFC
molecule which causes a
chlorine atom to break away.

This chlorine atom continues to

enter the cycle and repeatedly
destroys ozone molecules.

Each CFC molecule contains

from one to four chlorine
atoms, and scientists
have estimated that a single
chlorine atom in the CFC
structure can destroy 10,000
ozone molecules.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor
Effects of Ozone Thinning on Humans
UV light is dangerous to living things because it
damages DNA.
Exposure to UV light makes the body more
susceptible to skin cancer, and may
cause certain other damaging effects to
the human body.

According to the EPA, skin cancer is the most

common form of cancer in the United States.
One in five Americans will develop skin cancer
in their lifetime. One American dies from skin
cancer every hour.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor
Effects of Ozone Thinning on Animals and Plants
High levels of UV light can:
•Kill phytoplankton that live near the surface of the ocean.
The loss of phytoplankton could disrupt ocean food chains and reduce fish harvests.
•Increased UV light could be damaging for amphibians -- eggs lack shells and are in the shallow
water of ponds and streams. Health of amphibian populations are an
indicator of environmental change due to their sensitivity.
•Damage plants by interfering with photosynthesis, resulting in lower crop yields.

Marine organisms living in shallow water experience

damaging levels of UV radiation.
A healthy green sea urchin embryo on left. A UV-irradiated
green sea urchin embryo on right displays an abnormal,
extruded gut.
 Damaging Effects of UV Light
Humans • increased incidence of skin cancer
• premature aging of the skin
• increased incidence of cataracts
• weakened immune response

Amphibians • death of eggs

• genetic mutations among survivors
• reduction of populations

Marine Life • death of phytoplankton in surface water

• disruption of food chain
• reduction in the amount of
photosynthesis

Land Plants • interference with photosynthesis

• reduced crop yields
 Facilitator: J. Taylor
Protecting the Ozone Layer
In 1987, a group of nations met in Canada and agreed to take action against
ozone depletion.
Under an agreement called the Montreal Protocol, the UN nations agreed to
sharply limit their production of CFCs.

A second conference on the problem was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992.

Aerosol cans no longer use CFCs as propellants, and air conditioners are
becoming CFC free.

Today, all UN recognized nations have ratified the treaty and continue to phase
out the production of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer while searching for
ozone-friendly alternatives.
 Facilitator: J. Taylor

Chlorofluorocarbon production has declined greatly since developed

countries agreed to ban CFCs in 1987.

The battle to protect the ozone layer is not over.

CFC molecules remain active in the stratosphere for 60 to 120 years.

CFCs released 30 years ago are still destroying ozone today, so it will be
many years before the ozone layer
completely recovers.
 References
Basic Ozone Layer Science | US EPA. (2021, October
7). US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer
protection/basic-ozone-layer-science
Education
National Geographic. (2018, February 12). Climate
101: Ozone Depletion | National Geographic
[Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6pxS
 References
Ozone Secretariat. (n.d.). https://ozone.unep.org/ozone

Ozone layer. (n.d.).

What is the current state of the ozone layer?
(2023, December 12).
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-
depth/climate-change-mitigation-reducing-
emissions/current-state-of-the-ozone-
layer#:~:text=The%20ozone%20layer%20sits
%20in,human%20health%20and%20the%20e
nvironment.
Ozone
Depletion
Facilitator: J. Taylor