Another ozone depleting chemicals

NOx (pronounce NOX) is a combination of nitrogen oxides arising from both natural (soil emission and lightning) and man-made sources. The major man-made culprits are vehicle and aircraft exhausts and large industrial power (e.g. electricity-generating) plants; NOx also contributes to waste effluent in some industrial processes such as the manufacture of adipic acid, and the processes are being developed to reduce these pollutant levels. In closing years of twentieth century, a better awareness of our environment led to regulation of exhaust emissions; regulated emissions are CO, hydrocarbons and NOx, as well as particulate matter. The effects of NOx in the troposphere (0-12km altitude above the Earth’s surface) are to increase OH• and O₃ in the upper atmosphere acts as a barrier against UV radiation, increased lower altitudes are detrimental to human lung tissue.

(Taken from INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Catherine E. Housecroft and Alan G Sharpe, Pearson)

These are the two factors that contributing to Ozone depleting (CFC and NOx). Sooner, the ice at the Antarctic will melt at faster rate than ever, and the water levels around the world increase. Today, part of Europe has begun to develop some strange weather phenomenon, like floods and drought. We have seen the bad weather do to our country, Malaysia, where flood in Kota Tinggi was the worst incident that happened. Fortunately, we have technology that helped us overcome ozone layerproblems.