CAN OZONE LAYER BE RECOVERED ? HOW?
Answers
If we could patch the hole over Antarctica, the natural ozone-oxygen cycle might fall back into balance. But unfortunately, we can't make more ozone to patch the hole. It takes a lot of energy to make ozone molecules -- in the atmosphere, the intense energy of the sun drives most of the work. But down at ground level, it's not a practical proposition. Plus, ozone is such a dangerous pollutant at ground level, it might not be wise to produce it even if it were easier to do.
To repair the ozone layer, then, we must stop releasing ozone-depleting compounds into the atmosphere. In 1987, more than 180 countries agreed to address the problem in the Montreal Protocol. In signing the protocol, those countries agreed to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals like CFCs, halons and carbon tetrachloride. In the United States, any products containing these compounds carry warning labels, and they can only be used if there is no suitable, non-ozone-depleting product available.