Question

What is ozone? What is its function in the environment? What emissions from human activities lead to ozone depletion?

Answer 1

Hint: Ozone ${ O }_{ 3 }$ is a highly reactive gas composed of three oxygen atoms. It is both a natural and a man-made product that can occur in the Earth's upper atmosphere(the stratosphere) as well as the lower atmosphere (the troposphere). Depending on where it is found in the atmosphere, ozone affects life on Earth in either a good or bad way.

Complete answer:
Ozone ${ O }_{ 3 }$, or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule. It's a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It's less stable than the allotrope ${ O }_{ 2 }$.
-Small concentrations of gas occur naturally within the stratosphere, which is an element of the Earth’s higher atmosphere. At that level, ozone helps to safeguard life on Earth by engrossing actinic rays from the sun, notably UVB radiation that may cause carcinoma and cataracts, damage crops, and destroy some forms of marine life.
-Some compounds that release chlorine and bromine on exposure to high ultraviolet light, mainly contributes to the ozone layer depletion. Such compounds are termed as Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). The ozone-depleting substances that contain chlorine are chlorofluorocarbon, carbon tetrachloride, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and methyl chloroform. Whereas, the ozone-depleting substances that contain bromine include halons, methyl bromide, and hydro bromofluorocarbons.

Additional Information: The artificial gas or ozone that forms in the troposphere layer is extraordinarily noxious and corrosive. People who are in regular exposure to ozone may harm their respiratory organs or suffer from metabolic process infections. Gas exposure may scale back lung performance or irritate existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, pulmonary emphysema, or bronchitis. It might also cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, or congestion.

Note: In addition to human health effects, ground-level gas is additionally exhausting on plants and animals, damaging ecosystems and resulting in reduced crop and forest yields. Ground-level ozone also kills several seedlings and damages foliage.