University Daily Kansan / Thursday, February 6, 1992 9 Recycling Freon offers prevention of further ozone damage to Earth By Ranjit Arab Kansan staff writer Although NASA announced this week that depletion of the ozone layer had reached alarming proportions, professors at the University of Kansas said students could help prevent further damage. Diane Debinski, professor of environmental studies, said recycling Freon gas was the best way students could prevent destruction of the ozone layer. She said Freon gas, found in refrigerators and air conditioners, was the most common of the chlorofluorocarbons, generally known as CFCs. In products such as deodorants and hair sprays, most of the propellants that once contained CFCs are no longer in use, she said. When CFCs are released, their chlorine molecules steal oxygen molecules from the ozone layer, causing holes in the atmosphere, she said. According to the NASA study, high levels of ozone damage were found above the Northern Hemisphere. "Students do not worry about the damage because they think, 'If it is in Antarctica, who cares?'" she said. "The problem is, they should care." The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultra-violet rays emitted by the sun. Exposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancer and cataracts, as well as plant life damage, she said. "Students do not worry about the damage because they think, 'If it is in Antarctica, who cares?' Diane Debinski Professor of environmental studies Debinski said students should make sure Freon was properly recycled when they had their refrigerators or car air conditioners repaired. Robert Glicksman, professor of law administration, said businesses that service vehicle air conditioners had been required by law to provide Freon recycling since Jan. 1. He said the law was part of the Clean Air Act of 1990, enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, Glickman said that businesses servicing refrigerators and other types of air conditioners were not yet legally responsible for recycling Freon. *If students are truly concerned about protecting the ozone layer, they can ask to see the evidence of the business' training and certification," Glicksmansaid. If a repair service fails to provide the information, students can contact the regional office of the EPA in Kansas City, Kan., he said. Students also can prevent further damage by not trying to fix their own air conditioners and refrigerators, he said. However, Glickman said it would be awhile before positive results came from ozone testing because so many CFc remained in the atmosphere. "Even if we stopped emitting all CFCstoday, additional damage would continue for decades," he said. "Things would get worse before they got better." Gaylen Liska, assistant director of vehicle maintenance for facilities operations, said that when campus-owned vehicles were serviced the Freon was recycled. He said the garage had been using a recycling system since June. The process of recycling Freon did not cost extra when repairing a car's air conditioner. "It was pretty expensive to get the system," he said. "But we are all into clean air and that is just a price you pay." Marla Webster, an employee at AAA Automobile Electric & Air Conditioner, 716 E. Ninth St., said the shop recycled Freon. 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