Ozone bid ‘unleashed new wave of harmful chemicals’

A GLOBAL agreement to regulate the use of chemicals depleting the ozone layer may have inadvertently allowed higher levels of other potentially harmful compounds into the environment, scientists have said.

Researchers have found these substances, known as shortchain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (scPFCAs), became more predominant after the 1987 Montreal Protocol.

The agreement was designed to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons, and the results of this international co-operation were observed in 2016 when scientists noticed the first signs of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer.

But the replacement compounds, thought to be a better alternative, have been found to be “extremely persistent” in the environment.

Cora Young, an assistant professor at York University’s Faculty of Science in Canada and one of the study authors, said: “Our results suggest that global regulation and replacement of other environmentally harmful chemicals contributed to the increase of these compounds in the Arctic, illustrating that regulations can have important unanticipated consequences.”

ScPFCAs are used in automotive, electrical and electronic applications as well in industrial processing and construction industries.

According to the researchers, these compounds have been found to accumulate in human blood through consumption of fruit, vegetables and drinking water.

ScPFCAs are part of a group of synthetic chemicals called perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are also known as “forever chemicals” because they are hard to destroy.

Potential impacts associated with PFAS compounds include cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, high cholesterol and hormone suppression.

Europe announced plans to phase out PFAS chemicals by 2030. The researchers measured three scPFCA compounds using ice cores from two locations. Prof Young said these cores were “time capsules”, tracking the deposition of pollutants.