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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 9, NUMBER 5, MAY 1996

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
OZONE DEPLETION: CFCS & THEIR REPLACEMENTS

Item #d96may63

"Toxicology of Chlorofluorocarbon Replacements," W. Dekant (Dept. Toxicol., Univ. Würzburg, Versbacher Str. 9, 97078 Würzburg, Ger.) Environ. Health Perspectives, 104(Suppl. 1), 75-83, Mar. 1996.

Describes an intensive study of the animal toxicology of HCFC-141b, HFC-134a, HFC-125, HCFC-124, and HCFC-123. Determines that chronic toxicity is unlikely to be important for humans exposed during production and application of these replacements.

Item #d96may64

"Mineralization of Chlorofluorocarbons and Aromatization of Saturated Fluorocarbons by a Convenient Thermal Process," J. Burdeniuc, R.H. Crabtree (Dept. Chem., Yale Univ., New Haven CT 06520), Nature, 271(5247), 340-341, Jan. 19, 1996.

(See Research News, this Digest issue--May 1996.) Describes a chemical reaction that enables the complete destruction of CFCs. The reaction products are easily handled solids, including recyclable alkali metal halides. Under milder conditions, the same reaction yields perfluoroarenes, which are valuable chemical intermediates.

Item #d96may65

"Relative Effects and Halocarbon Global Warming Potentials of Replacement Compounds for Chlorofluorocarbons," R. Imasu (Natl. Inst. for Resources & Environ., Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan), A. Suga, T. Matsuno, J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 73(6), 1123-1136, Dec. 1995.

Instantaneous radiative forcing was calculated for 31 proposed CFC replacements and, together with an estimate of atmospheric lifetime, was used to determine global warming potentials. All are acceptable from the standpoint of warming potential. However, the vertical structure of the radiative effects shows that compounds whose absorption bands overlap with those of ozone cause significant cooling in the stratosphere, even if the compound does not exist there. This effect does not directly relate to warming potential, and must be evaluated to provide a full assessment of the environmental effects of any replacement.