Is this BS?

[keithw]

Someone has posted a thread on Gardenweb touting Ionization systems siting the following data. Has any one seen any studies supporting this? I haven't.

On a global level, however, scientists have released new data saying that the hole in the ozone layer is bigger now than ever and continues to grow. This surprised many in the scientific community who assummed the ozone problem had been curtailed by the elimination of arisol propellants worldwide. Upon further investigation, it is widely believed that chlorine gas, evaporating from open water supplies around the world is now the leading cause of the depletion of the ozone layer. Chlorine may well become the "arisol" of the new millinium....And just so you know Belgum has banned the use of chlorine in pools and other countries in Europe are soon to follow.

[CarlD]

News to me. I suspect it's bogus. I NEVER trust "news releases" from companies trying to sell a product I suspect (and in this case KNOW) is bogus.

[chem geek]

This is BS.

1) Refer to this link or others similar to this that refer to the latest scientific studies that showed that the ozone hole was bigger than ever BUT was due to weather conditions and that the expectation is that there will be a complete recovery by 2065. Prior to this year, the ozone hole had gone down in size so the overall trend has been positive since CFCs were banned, but it's going to take a while before we notice a definitive drop.

2) It isn't ANY chlorine compounds that deplete the ozone layer, but only those compounds that are very stable (e.g. chlorofluorocarbons aka CFCs), do not breakdown readily by UV (though they do eventually breakdown in the stratosphere), and do not dissolve in rain. Refer to this link from the EPA that talks more about this. Chlorine gas that comes from swimming pools dissolves readily in water (and therefore rain) and is also broken down by UV and therefore does its "reactivity" very low in the atmosphere and never makes it to the stratopshere where the ozone is present. Of course CFCs are very heavy so wouldn't make it up to the stratosphere through diffusion anyway, but high winds (such as tornados) could do it and once up there they act as catalysts and wreck havoc with the ozone (regular weather winds in the troposphere also push up CFCs and some will migrate to the stratosphere over many years). Maybe a tornado over a swimming pool might be an issue...who knows. My guess would be that the UV would break down the chlorine (HOCl) in the water to chloride ion rendering it harmless to the ozone and that this would happen much, much faster than it would take for the chlorine to reach the stratosphere.

3) I cannot find any source that says that chlorine was banned in Belgium. All I can find is this study by Belgian researchers about the problems of using chlorine in indoor pools (which we've talked about before in other threads including this one).

Richard

[chazas]

They can't even spell "aerosol" - which should be your first clue.

[medvampire]

I can see only in rare cases where the chlorine in a pool could combine with other chemistry to form a compound that may cause depletion of the ozone layer. I also think the amounts would be so small that it would have little impact. I think it is another round of chem. freaks trying to scare people.
As for Richards’s tornadol….If a tornado rips through my back yard getting my pool, the ozone layer will be the last thing on my mind.
Steve