A promising alternative to CFC-113.A promising alternative to CFC-113 CFC-113, or trichlorotrifluoroethane, is a solvent commonly used for degreasing and cleaning, especially in the electronics industry. As part of the montreal Protocol (SN: 6/10/89, p. 367), the United States and several other nations are phasing out production of this chlorofluorocarbon chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Any of several organic compounds containing carbon, fluorine, and chlorine. A number of different CFCs have been made and sold under the trade name Freon. , the culprit behind an estimated 4 percent of the human-generated chlorine now damaging Earth's protective ozone layer. And that's why U.S. firms that reported emitting a ton or more of this pollutant annually (in EPA's first Toxic Release Inventory, published earlier this month) express excitement about new test data on Genesolv 2010, the trade name for a mix of HCFC-123 and HCFC-141b. Last month, EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. announced that a panel of 230 industrial and government researchers identified this experimental degreaser as the first potential CFC-113 substitute that performs as well or better but poses less environmental threat. Like CFC-113, the hydrofluorocarbons hydrofluorocarbons: see under chlorofluorocarbons. in Genesolv 2010, would release chlorine. But because they would remain in the stratosphere for far shorter periods, "the amount they contribute would be minuscule compared to CFC-113," comments atmospheric chemist Michael Prather at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), at Columbia University in New York City, is a component laboratory of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Earth-Sun Exploration Division and a unit of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . |
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