Study Finds Increased Use of 2 Ozone-Eroding Chemicals

Industrial use of two chemicals that erode the Earth’s protective ozone layer has increased dramatically in Southern California during the last three years, according to an analysis released Wednesday.

The two chemicals--CFC-113 and methyl chloroform--are cleaning solvents widely used in aerospace, electronics and automobile manufacturing.

While industry’s contribution to ozone depletion declined 6% statewide between 1987 and 1989, atmospheric releases of the two chemicals increased throughout most of Southern California, the study said.

The report, compiled by Citizens for a Better Environment from industry figures supplied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, marked the first time that trends in the release of the ozone-depleting chemicals have been tracked.

The ozone layer protects life from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer and cataracts and suppress the body’s immune system. Concern has led to international conferences on the ozone-depletion problem.

“Los Angeles County is a global hot spot for ozone layer destruction,” said Michael Belliveau, executive director of the environmental group.

EMISSIONS AND THE OZONE Following are the 10 corporations that top the list in a study of firms using two industrial chemicals that erode the Earth’s protective ozone layer. The two chemicals, methyl chloroform and chlorofluorocarbon-113, are emitted by their plants in California. Shown are the number of plants operated by each corporation, the percent of the corporations’ emissions among all manufacturing releases in California, and the change in their contribution to ozone depletion since 1987.

Change Number of % Contribution contribution Corporation plants each corporation (‘87-’89) 1. Hughes Aircraft/ 10 10% 191% General Moters* 2.General Dynamics 7 6% -13% 3.Allies Signal 8 5% 157% 4.Rockwell International 6 3% -40% 5.McDonnell/ 5 3% 83% Douglas Aircraft** 6.Rohr Industries Inc. 2 3% 382% 7.TRW 3 2% 216 8.IBM Corp. 1 2% -84 9.Hewlett Packard 7 2% -23 10.Unisys 6 2% 42

* Hughes Aircraft, with nine plants reporting emissions, is a subsidiary of General Motors Corp., which also operates an automobile plant in the Los Angeles area.

** McDonnell Corp. is owned by Douglas Aircraft Co. and has three plants in California.

Source: Citizens for a Better Environment