William Atkins
Thursday, 12 March 2009 23:39
Science -
Climate
Page 1 of 3
A team from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom found a chemical compound that had replaced a banned greenhouse gas because it was bad for the environment is, itself, also bad for the environment. The culprit is a fumigant with the chemical name sulfuryl fluoride.
The use of methyl bromide was ended in 2005 because it was helping to deplete the ozone layer up there in the upper atmosphere of Earth.
It was phased out by order of the international treaty called the Montreal Protocol (on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer). The
Montreal Protocol was enacted to limit chlorofluorocarbons and other greenhouse gases (from eroding our quality of life) and to protect the ozone layer.
Well, surfuryl fluoride replaced methyl bromide because, at the time, it was thought that is was safe to use. Both are standard fumigant used to control insects in and around grain storage facilities and to eliminate insects that feed directly on crops.
U.S. atmospheric scientist
Ron Prinn, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the authors of the study that made this discovery, stated,
“Such fumigants are very important for controlling pests in the agricultural and building sectors.” However, he added that "industry had to find alternatives” when mehyl bromide was phased out, “so sulfuryl fluoride has evolved to fill the role.” [MIT News: “
New greenhouse gas identified: Early detection may permit 'nipping it in the bud'”]
Scientists performing a research study, from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and other institutions, on the effects of surfuryl fluoride have found that the gas is not as safe as we thought it was to our health and the health of our atmosphere above us.
Their paper, which highlights their conclusions, is entitled “
Sulfuryl fluoride in the global atmosphere.” It was published on Thursday, March 12, 2009, in the
Journal of Geophysical Research [J. Geophys. Res., 114, D05306, doi:10.1029/2008JD011162].
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