One of the reasons that chemical analysis is so important for UK businesses, is that its vital to be aware of any compounds which are hazardous, either to health or the environment, to ensure that it is meeting legal requirements.

Historically, one example of a compound which was widely used before realisation of its effect on the environment were chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which were widely used from the 1930s right up until the 1970s, in applications such as refrigerators, air conditioners, building foam and aerosol propulsion. However, once it was discovered that they were having a devastating effect on ozone layer depletion, they became heavily regulated, before the production of them becoming universally banned under the Montreal protocol after a hole was discovered in the ozone layer over Antartica.

Pre-existing CFCs, already installed in the likes of building foam and appliances, continue to leak into the air to this day, however, the amount was in steady decline up until 2013, research has found.

Now, scientists have detected a re-emergence of the ozone-destroying compounds in the atmosphere, and have warned that the recovery of ozone layer could be delayed by as much as a decade if the mystery source is not located, according to the Guardian.

Researchers have detected that the source of the CFC emissions is east Asia, however, they will have to make further studies to triangulate a more specific location.

Stephen Montzka, a scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Colorado said that it was the most shocking discovery he’s made in his 27 year career: “We are acting as detectives of the atmosphere, trying to understand what is happening and why. When things go awry, we raise a flag,” he said.

At the first signs of a slow down in the decline of CFCs, researchers looked into whether this was a naturally occurring event caused by how the atmosphere was dealing with CFCs, however, this was ruled out. They then began to look into whether degradation of existing CFCs were causing leak output to increase, but this theory was also rejected.

This lead them to the conclusion that someone was using the particularly damaging CFC-11 in production somewhere in the world, noting that the main substitute for this compound is more expensive to produce.

Montzka said that he is certain that the situation will be discovered and quickly remedied, as whoever the culprit is, is likely only using the compound as they believe themselves unlikely to be caught, but time is not on the world’s side: “If the increased emissions were to go away [soon], it’s influence on the recovery date for the ozone layer would be minor,. If it doesn’t go away, there could be a 10-year delay, and if it continued to increase, the delay would be even longer,” he said.

Until now, there had been what amounts to essentially no production of CFC-11 reported since 2007, and the Montreal Protocol had been heralded as one of the world’s most successful international environmental treaties.