As Earth Day Approaches, Stubborn Myths Cling to Aerosols

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As Earth Day Approaches, Stubborn Myths Cling to Aerosols

Did You Know that CFCs Have Long Been Banned from Aerosol Cans?

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, Apr. 17 -/E-Wire/-- With Earth Day on the horizon (Monday, April 22) public attention will turn to the environment, specifically to the quality of the air we breathe and the Earth's protective ozone layer. If history is any guide, aerosol spray cans will once again be the focus of Earth Day stories -- and once again the subject of misunderstanding.

Contrary to popular opinion, and the views of even some environmental reporters, aerosol spray cans do not contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that deplete the ozone layer. These propellants were actually banned in 1978 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In fact, long before that year, the aerosol industry voluntarily began to use alternate propellants consisting of naturally occurring hydrocarbons such as propane and butane.

Today, these non-CFC propellants are used in hairsprays, insecticides and other aerosol products. Only a very small amount (less than one percent) of all aerosol spray products still contain CFCs -- e.g. medical and pharmaceutical products such as asthma inhalers that are permitted by the EPA. Even many of these products are switching to non-CFC propellants as soon as this has become feasible. Not only are aerosol products friendly to the upper atmosphere, they can also be recycled when empty and so don't become a solid waste problem.

For reporters in search of an interesting Earth Day story, one angle might be the persistent but mistaken belief that aerosols contain harmful CFCs. Opinion research suggests that even the most informed and environmentally conscious consumers are often unaware that aerosol products are CFC-free, and have been for more than twenty years.

If you would like more information on aerosol spray cans and the environment, or opinion research findings on aerosol cans, call a Consumer Aerosol Products Council representative at [REDACTED-PHONE], or visit the website at: http://www.nocfcs.org .

Consumer Aerosol Products Council

http://www.nocfcs.org

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