In the mid-1970s, however, the suspicion arose that freon might harm the earth's atmosphere. In 1985, a gigantic hole was discovered in the so-called ozone layer, which protects the earth against radiation.
At a UN conference in Montreal in 1987, a global plan for the discontinuation of freon was adopted. Today, the use of freon in refrigerators is prohibited throughout the industrialized world, instead other coolants have been developed that are not harmful to the atmosphere. In the developing countries, the use of freon has not yet been prohibited. Therefore, large amounts of freon still escape into the atmosphere.
Did you know?
Freon was developed by an American engineer, Thomas Midgley, in 1929. Before that, Midgley had made another important discovery: He found out that the irritating knocking sound from a car's engine could be removed by adding lead to its gasoline. It was well known already then that lead is extremely hazardous to the human body, but the gasoline companies denied it or distorted the information. Thomas Midgley himself was suffering from lead poisoning, but chose to keep it a secret.