From ScienceDaily
Chemicals introduced to shield the ozone layer are now tied to an unexpected environmental consequence. A new study shows that these substances have helped spread large amounts of a long-lasting and potentially harmful forever chemical across the planet.
Researchers in atmospheric science, led by a team at Lancaster University, have calculated for the first time how much of this pollution has accumulated worldwide. Their analysis estimates that chemicals used to replace CFCs, along with certain anesthetic gases, led to roughly a third of a million tonnes (335,500 tonnes) of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) being deposited from the atmosphere onto Earth’s surface between 2000 and 2022.