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Earth China Science

Significantly Large New Emissions From Banned CFCs Traced To China, Say Scientists (bbc.com) 310

Solandri writes: In 2014, scientists began detecting plumes of CFC-11 in the atmosphere. The compound had been banned in the 1987 Montreal Protocol after it was discovered that it was contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer that protects life on Earth from ultraviolet radiation. Unfortunately, the releases were detected using global monitoring equipment, so the origin could not be determined. Using data from measuring stations in Korea and Japan, and computer modeling of atmospheric patterns, researchers have now pinned down the source of the emissions to eastern China. They also determined that the emissions were too large to be releases from foam which had been produced before the ban (CFCs were a common aerosol and foaming agent). And that the amounts most likely indicate new illegal production. The paper is published in the latest issue of Nature. dryriver shares an excerpt from the BBC: CFC-11 was primarily used for home insulation but global production was due to be phased out in 2010 [to allow the Ozone layer to heal]. CFC-11 was the second most abundant CFCs and was initially seen to be declining as expected. However in 2018 a team of researchers monitoring the atmosphere found that the rate of decline had slowed by about 50% after 2012. That team reasoned that they were seeing new production of the gas, coming from East Asia. The authors of that paper argued that if the sources of new production weren't shut down, it could delay the healing of the ozone layer by a decade.

Further detective work in China by the Environmental Investigation Agency in 2018 seemed to indicate that the country was indeed the source. They found that the illegal chemical was used in the majority of the polyurethane insulation produced by firms they contacted. One seller of CFC-11 estimated that 70% of China's domestic sales used the illegal gas. The reason was quite simple -- CFC-11 is better quality and much cheaper than the alternatives. This new paper seems to confirm beyond any reasonable doubt that some 40-60% of the increase in emissions is coming from provinces in north eastern China. The authors also say that these CFCs are also very potent greenhouse gases. One ton of CFC-11 is equivalent to around 5,000 tons of CO2. "If we look at these extra emissions that we've identified from eastern China, it equates to about 35 million tons of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere every year, that's equivalent to about 10% of UK emissions, or similar to the whole of London."

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Significantly Large New Emissions From Banned CFCs Traced To China, Say Scientists

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  • Chinese Immorality (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 23, 2019 @06:32AM (#58640620)

    According to a report [bbc.com] by the BBC, "They calculated that there was a 110% rise in [CFC-11] emissions from these parts of China for the years 2014-2017 compared to the period between 2008-2012."

    In other words, Chinese morality rapes Western notions of human decency.

    Get more info [blogspot.com] about this issue.

  • by sad_ ( 7868 ) on Thursday May 23, 2019 @06:50AM (#58640664) Homepage

    " it could delay the healing of the ozone layer by a decade."

    yet the hole in the ozone layer is almost closed;

    https://www.newsweek.com/nasa-... [newsweek.com]

    though, that doesn't mean the chinese should just pump massive amounts of cfc in the atmosphere.

    • by dshk ( 838175 ) on Thursday May 23, 2019 @07:08AM (#58640720)
      The hole is sometimes closed now (it varies between years and within a year too), but it is still far thinner than it was, as I experience every summer.
    • The hole is not the only problem, the thickness is a problem, too.

      that doesn't mean the chinese should just pump massive amounts of cfc in the atmosphere.
      Perhaps they are exercising for the terraforming of Mars?

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday May 23, 2019 @07:06AM (#58640708)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Shocker (Score:5, Insightful)

    by zifn4b ( 1040588 ) on Thursday May 23, 2019 @08:53AM (#58641086)
    For the past 20 years, we have had numerous conversations with China regarding various issues. They say they'll do one thing and then do the complete opposite and no one holds them accountable. Lead paint, CFC's and the list goes on and on. When China starts standing by their word and playing by an agreed upon set of rules instead of saying one thing and then backstabbing everybody, maybe we can work together. Until then, it's an adversarial stance all the way down the line.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • by zifn4b ( 1040588 )
        Like child post says cite examples of the USA breaking a trade agreement. Better yet, cite an example of the USA verbally agreeing to something then when it comes time to sign backs out like sleazy, spineless snake. Trump can't even compete with Xi Jinping's ego. I don't think Kanye West can either. China can keep playing its games but it'll ruin their economy and possibly lead to war. Go ahead, make the UN's day.
  • by TheHawke ( 237817 ) <(moc.rr.xts) (ta) (nipahcr)> on Thursday May 23, 2019 @09:41AM (#58641338)

    R-11 or Freon-11 is used in low pressure, low temperature applications in refrigeration and large building chillers. The low pressures required to work the gas makes for a less demanding system compared to the high-pressure mixes used today, including R-290 (propane).

  • Maybe we wouldn't have lost Challanger if we had not been using inferior Green Technology foam.

    • by sconeu ( 64226 )

      You mean Columbia... Challenger was an SRB O-Ring failure.

      And the shedding occurred even with the original CFC-based foam.

      • It sounds like a myth anyway that a piece of foam can damage the heat shield.
        How many kg hat that pice of foam? 20? 40?

        • by Pyramid ( 57001 )

          Learn physics please. Kinetic energy is 1/2 mass times velocity squared, or K.E. = 1/2 m v2. A lightweight chunk of foam going hundreds of MPH has more than enough kinetic energy to damage fragile thermal foam tiles.

          You may now return to your flat Earth existence.

        • by sconeu ( 64226 )

          Damn. NASA should have listened to you instead of, you know, actually testing it by firing the foam at an RCC panel and seeing what happened.

  • ...it's almost like they're bad actors.

    Too bad that the West for the last 40 years has been too busy courting them to hold them to civilized standards of behavior.

  • Centrifuge Nuclear fuel enrichment is notoriously hard to achieve. I wonder if China is enriching fuel the same way Paducah used to using CFC114?

    It would be large enough to detect, especially if they have been gradually increasing their production capacity.

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