Why is aerosol bad

The World War II, apart from being a major catastrophe for the human race, was also a black mark on the history of the environment. The American agriculture department engendered the aerosol sprays during this period, the purpose being to mitigate the risks of spread of malaria.

Aerosol spray cans found immense usage for many years to follow, and this trend continued till the mid 1970s, when the realization of the drastic impacts of the CFCs in aerosols upon the environment began to show its face. CFCs, or chloro-fluoro-carbons, are found in aerosol sprays and these gases wrack havoc in the skies by interacting with the ozone layer. The CFCs get fragmented into molecular forms high in the skies, and these molecular attacks on the ozone layer result into its depletion, or thinning. The degradation in the health of the ozone layer translates into an equivalent health risk to the humans as the virtual ‘holes’ in the layer allow an inhospitable amount of ultra violet rays from the sun to the earth. Exposure to these UV rays is disastrous for the life forms on earth as they lead to cataract and other eye infections, skin cancers and coral bleaching. Aerosol sprays caused irreparable damage to the ozone layer for a good part of the later half of the twentieth century. Not only did the aerosol sprays become nefarious because of the seething attacks on the ozone layer, but also because of the fact that the cans became a cause of land pollution. It was not until as late as the year 1987 that something conspicuous was done to keep the things under a check. This was in the form of the signing of the Montreal Protocol which stressed upon the need of completely bypassing the manufacturing of products that contained the notorious CFCs.

Also, the realization of the need to adhere to recycling of the aerosol empty cans spread. Thankfully, the present day manufacturers have chalked out ways to overcome the CFC problem associated with aerosol sprays. It is imperative that the research regarding the status of the ozone layer defines the precise guidelines that these manufacturers must follow to ensure the sustained health of the ozone layer.