Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 9, 1994 TAG: 9405090026
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
In his experiments at the University of California, Los Angeles, Alfred Y. Wong found that electricity disabled the chlorine atoms released by ozone's atmospheric enemy, chlorofluorocarbons.
Each chlorine atom is capable of destroying hundreds of thousands of radiation-screening ozone molecules.
By charging chlorine atoms in a chamber that simulates Earth's atmosphere, Wong and his colleagues prevented them from chemically reacting with ozone, he said. As a result, ozone levels in the chamber returned to normal.
Because the sun is constantly creating new ozone, ozone levels in the atmosphere similarly could be restored if the chlorine was disabled, Wong wrote in a paper being published today in the journal Physical Review Letters.
But at least one critic questioned the cost and side effects of such a plan.
"We are extremely skeptical of so-called geoengineering solutions," said Michael Oppenheimer, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund in New York.
"No one knows what the chlorine ions will end up doing" after they are electrified, he said.
Wong said that electrifying the ions would in fact make them easier to remove or push out of the atmosphere.
Wong will begin testing his ozone-saving equipment Tuesday in a high-altitude airplane from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
"We want to test this idea of putting charges in a small region of the atmosphere," he said.
Eventually, Wong envisions helium-filled balloons that would send aloft solar-powered electric platforms to neutralize chlorine atoms. He also talks about transmitting radio waves in the upper atmosphere near the North and South Poles to drive chlorine ions out of the atmosphere permanently.
Although other scientists have proposed using chemicals to neutralize ozone-depleting pollutants, Wong said his electrical approach "will not introduce long-lasting problems such as greenhouse warming."
The ozone layer protects the Earth from the sun's damaging ultraviolet rays, which can cause skin cancer and genetic changes. Emissions of chlorofluorocarbons - used in refrigerants, industrial processes and formerly in aerosol cans - destroy ozone.
by CNB