CFCs - What's Happening to the Ozone Layer?

CFCs are stable, so there was nothing obvious that would damage them soon after they'd be released. Mario Molina sat down to work out what would happen to a CFC molecule when it drifts up to the stratosphere. It would get hit by a wave of UVB radiation which would knock off the chlorine atom and meet an ozone molecule. If it were to be what it did, it would split the ozone apart and form oxygen and chlorine monoxide instead. But that's not the end of the story, because chlorine monoxide isn't stable, breaks down quickly. That frees up the chlorine atom again to take out another ozone molecule, and the cycle repeats.