Asthma Inhalers

Ah, but when we are young we think ‘it won’t happen to me’.

You’ve been talking to my niece, haven’t you. :wink:

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Thanks, I hope the OP sees it. Cheers.

You’ve never been more right than when you were 16. All downhill from there. :blush:

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The first freons contained chlorine. They’re relatively inert (propane is a good refrigerant, too, but also a good source of engine fires when it leaks), slightly less-dense than the atmosphere at the surface of the Earth, thus they float up into the ionosphere, where ionizing solar radiation (which the ionosphere prevents from reaching the Earth’s surface), breaks it apart, freeing the chlorine to make a Cl- ion, which catalyzes the breakdown of ozone, the chemical species that blocks ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation causes skin cancer.

An international treaty rolled back the use of chlorinated refrigerants and propellants. Chemists invented chlorine-free refrigerants. It went in phases, first a decade to use up current stocks, then a 10-year period in which it could only be re-used. No longer did AC guys vent freon: they captured it for re-use. After that you couldn’t even re-use it. @oldschool, @jtsanders