United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Pesticides and
Toxic Substances TS-793
Washington D C 20460
August 1980
OPA 124/0
vvEPA
Toxics Information
Series
CFC's, Ozone, and Health
Chlorofluorocarbons, commonly called CFC's are chemicals used as
refrigerants in air conditioners, home refrigerators, and freezers;
as industrial solvents; and in the manufacturing of plastid foam
products. Until 1978, CFC's were also used as propellents in
aerosol spray products-- deodorants, hair sprays, pesticides,
furniture polish, paints, etc. — but most of those uses were
banned in the United States and some other nations after it was
learned the CFC's could endanger human health and?.-the environment.
This information bulletin discusses the dangers of CFC's and
the government's actions to safeguard public health and the en-
vironment from those dangers.
What are CFC's?
CFC's are organic chemicals, part of the family of chemical
compounds known as halogenated hydrocarbons. They are non-
flammable, chemically inert gases with qualities that make them
nearly ideal for use as refrigerants and other industrial pro-
cesses. Approximately 750 million pounds of CFC's were pro-
duced in the U.S. in 1979. Worldwide production of the two
major types of CFC's was 2 billion pounds in 1978.
Why are CFC's
a Problem?
CFC's are a global problem because .they are suspected of breaking
down the ozone layer, the protective shield in the stratosphere
(upper atmosphere) 15-20 miles above the earth. The ozone
layer reduces the amount of the sun's damaging ultraviolet ra-
diation that reaches the earth. Here's how CFC's attack the
ozone layer:
After CFC's are released into the air on earth -- by spray-
ing from a can, leaks from air conditioners or refrigerators or
industrial emissions -- they slowly migrate into the strato-
sphere. When they reach the ozone layer, ultraviolet rays
split the CFC molecules apart to form chlorine and various
chemical compounds. The chlorine serves as a catalyst which
increases the rate at which reactions destroying ozone mole-
cules occur. Each chlorine molecule may be involved in
thousands of such reactions..
Results: The amount of ozone protecting the earth from
damaging ultraviolet radiation is being diminished. If global
emissions of CFC's continue at the present rate, scientists
predict the additional ultraviolet rays reaching the earth
will cause thousands of additional cases of potentially fatal
skin cancer and hundreds of thousands of additional cases of
non-fatal skin cancer. Scientists also believe that added
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ultraviolet radiation may lower production of wheat, corn,
soybeans, rice, and other crops and plants, as well as yields
of anchovy, mackerel, shrimp, crab, and other marine species.
Scientists also fear the releases of CFC's into the air may
eventually affect our climate. They could contribute to po-
tentially dangerous warming of the earth's atmosphere. That,
in turn, could cause partial melting of the polar icecaps,
flooding of coastal cities, changes in precipitation patterns,
and reduced crop yields in the world's most productive agricultural
areas.
In sum, the useful chemicals called CFC's are also potentially
hazardous chemicals.
A Warning
"In the United States, significant ozone depletion would even-
tually mean a likely probability of thousands of new cases a year
of melanoma skin cancer, which is frequently fatal, and a certainty
of very many thousands of additional cases every year of nonfatal
(nonmelanoma) skin cancer in a addition to even larger increases
in both kinds of skin cancer associated with changing habits of
exposure to the sun."
-- From a 1979 report from a National Academy of Sciences commit-
tee studying the impact of CFC's on the ozone layer.
What's the Government
Doing about CFC's?
The Federal government has already taken these actions to reduce
emissions of CFC's:
*Effective October 15, 1978, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) banned the manufacturing of CFC's for use as
aerosol propel 1 ants.
•Effective December 15, 1978, EPA banned the processing of CFC's
into aerosol products as propellants, and banned the distribution
of such products in interstate commerce.
•Effective December 15, 1978, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) banned the manufacturing or packaging of food, drug, or cos-
metic products containing CFC's as propellents.
©Effective April 15, 1979, FDA banned the marketing of food,
drug, or cosmetic products containing CFC's as propellants.
Region 1
Connecticut. Maine.
Massachusetts. New
Hampshire. Rhode Island.
Vermont
EPA
Mr. Robert Dangel
Toxic Substances Coordinator
John F. Kennedy Federal
Building
Boston, MA 02203
(617)223-0585
FDA
Mr. A.J. Beebe
Regional Director
585 Commercial Street
Boston, MA 02109
(617)223-1278
Region 2
New Jersey. New York. Virgin
Islands. Puerto Rico
EPA
Mr Ralph Larsen
PCS Coordinator
26 Federal Plaza
New York. NY 10007
(212)264-1925
FDA
Mr. Caesar A Roy
Regional Director
830 3rd Avenue
Brooklyn. NY 11232
(212)965-5416
Region 3
Delaware. Maryland.
Pennsylvania. Virginia.
West Virginia. District of
Columbia
EPA
Mr Charles Sapp
Toxic Substances Coordinator
Curtis Building (3AH20)
6th & Walnut Street
Philadelphia. PA 19106
(215)597-4058
FDA
Mr R J. Davis
Regional Director
2nd and Chestnut Street
Room 900
Philadelphia. PA 19106
(215)597-4390
Region 4
Alabama. Florida. Georgia.
Kentucky. Mississippi, North
Carolina. South Carolina.
Tennessee
EPA
Mr. Ralph Jennings
Toxic Substances Coordinator
345 Courtland Street, NE
Atlanta. GA 30308
(404)881-3864
FDA
Mr. M.D. Kinslow
Regional Director
880 W. Peachtree Street
Atlanta. GA 30309
(404)881-4266
Region 5
Indiana. Illinois. Michigan,
Minnesota. Ohio. Wisconsin
EPA
Mr. Karl Bremer
Toxic Substances Coordinator
230 South Dearborn Street.
Room 1165
Chicago, IL 60604
(312)353-2291
FDA
Mr. L.R. Claiborne
Regional Director
175 W. Jackson Boulevard
Room A-1945
Chicago. IL 60604
(312)353-1047
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EPA's actions were taken under the Toxic Substances Control
Act, which requires EPA to regulate, and ban if necessary,
chemicals that present an unreasonable risk of injury to
health or the environment. FDA's actions were taken under the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which requires FDA to
make sure that food, drug, and cosmetic products are safe.
The coordinated actions by EPA and FDA virtually eliminated
the use of CFC's as propel 1 ants in aerosol spray products
in the U.S. (Some propellent uses are still allowed -<-• for
medical purposes, for example -- but they represent only
a minute fraction (2-5%) of the amount of CFC's previously
used in spray products.)
Other nations have also acted on the global problem of
CFC's: Sweden, Norway, and Canada have banned the use of CFC's
as propel 1 ants in spray products. The European Economic Com-
munity has called for a 30 percent reduction,from 1976 levels
in the use of CFC in aerosols by each of its nine member nations.
This is to take place by December 1981. The EEC also has curtailed
new investments in CFC production facilities.
Even if all releases of CFC's were to cease immediately,
worldwide, enough material is already in the atmosphere,
and "banked" in various products, to continue the ozone's
depletion for at least another decade, after which the ozone
level would gradually recover.
Despite the elimination of CFC's from most aerosol products
in the U.S. and a few other nations, worldwide use of CFC's for
other purposes has risen, so that much of the savings from de-
creased aerosol use has been eliminated. Estimates of future growth .
suggest that non-aerosol CFC use will continue to expand, particu-
larly in certain product areas such as insulating foams. That
poses a significant threat to health and the environment.
The National Academy of Sciences has estimated that continued'^
global emissions of the two major types of CFC's even if held to
the 1977 level, will most likely result in a 16 percent reduction
in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. That, in turn, would cause
a 44 percent increase in the amount of harmful ultraviolet radiation
reaching the earth at mid-latitudes -- and potentially hundreds
of thousands of new cases of skin cancer.
To help reduce the continuing assault on the ozone layer,
EPA is initiating regulatory development on a program to limit
total U.S. production of CFC's -- for all uses -- to present levels.
Region 6
Arkansas. Louisiana, New
Mexico. Oklahoma. Texas
EPA
Mr. John West
PCB Coordinator
Firsl International Building
1201 Elm Street
Dallas. TX 75270
(214) 767-2734
FDA
Mr. P B. White
Regional Director
3032 Bryan Street
Dallas. TX 75204
(214)749-2735
Region 7
Iowa, Kansas. Missouri.
Nebraska
EPA
Mr. Wolfgang Brandner
Toxic Substances Coordinator
324 East 11 Street
Kansas City. MO 64106
(816)374-6538
FDA
Mr. Clifford G. Shane
109 Cherry Street
Kansas City. MO 64106
(816)374 5646
Region 8
Colorado. Montana. North
Dakota. South Dakota. Utah.
Wyoming
EPA
Mr. Dean Gillam
Toxic Substances Coordinator
1860 Lincoln Street
Denver. CO 80295
(303)837-3926
FDA
Mr. F L Lofsvold
Regional Director
721 19th Street
US Customhouse Room 500
Denver, CO 80202
(303)837-4915
Region 9
Arizona. California. Hawaii,
Nevada. American Samoa.
Guam. Trust Territories of the
Pacific. Wake Island
EPA
Mr Gerald Gavin
PCB Coordinator
215 Fremont Street
San Francisco. CA 94105
1415) 556 4606
FDA
Mr IB Berch
Regional Director
UN Plaza
Federal Office Building
Room 526
San Francisco. CA 94102
(415)556-2062
Region 10
Alaska. Idaho. Oregon.
Washington
EPA
Or Jim Everts
Toxic Substances Coordinator
1200 6th Avenue
Seattle. WA 98101
(206)442-5560
FDA
Mr J. W. Swanson
Regional Director
909 1st Avenue
Room 5003
Seattle. WA 98174
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What's Next?
Want More
Information?
Additional restrictions of the production and use of CFC's by all
CFC-producing nations may well be necessary to safeguard health
and the environment worldwide. Scientists in the U.S. and abroad
continue to study the problem. As new information becomes avail-
able and as substitutes for the remaining uses of CFC's are developed,
EPA will consider other actions to reduce the use of CFC's and will
urge other nations to take similar action.
Additional information on EPA's regulation of CFC's is available from
EPA headquarters in Washington^ D.C. or from the EPA regional offices
listed inside. The toll-free number is (800) 424-9065; in Washington,
D.C. call 554-1404.
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