Scientists suspect ozone-depleting banned chemical is being manufactured secretly

Global warming poses a major threat to the planet with harmful gases leading to drastic changes in the climate. Meanwhile governments and organisations across the globe are attempting to check emissions which are causing damage to the ozone layer and making things worse.

But despite consistent efforts, certain banned chemicals responsible for ozone depletion continue to plague the environment. These findings have caused speculation among scientists about someone secretly manufacturing these pollutants.

Even as CFC-11 was part of a group of ozone pollutants that were phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the emissions of the chemical have gone up by 25 percent since 2012. The discovery is likely to cause a global investigation about the mysterious source of this substance.

While a US based observatory in Hawai found that CFC-11 mixed with other gases that seem to be from a source in East Asia, the scientists couldn’t tell where exactly it is coming from. They are surprised since there are alternatives to CFC-11 available and hence it’s hard to understand why there is still a market for the chemical.

The loss of ozone is weakening protection from UV rays on the planet and CFC-11 is also a powerful greenhouse gas causing global warming. Scientists are shocked to see this given the amount of time and effort that has gone into healing the ozone layer.