The September 1995 complaint alleged that during an inspection of Smith's scrap yard, EPA inspectors discovered several small appliances with refrigerant systems completely intact. No refrigerant lines had been cut, broken or punctured and no signs of prior refrigerant evacuation were visible. Consistent compliance is essential to protect human health and the environment. CFCs are regulated because of their potential to destroy the Earth's protective stratosphere, or ozone layer, which shields us from the sun's radiation.
Recent studies indicate that the ozone hole over Antarctica is now approximately the size of Europe.
The World Meteorological Organization has documented losses of stratospheric ozone over the Northern Hemisphere as well and projects that ozone levels over Europe and North America will drop another five percent over the next few years. Ozone in the upper atmosphere, with its salutary UV screening effect, must be distinguished from ground-level ozone, a byproduct of auto and factory emissions that ages lungs prematurely.