Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Feb 1997

Vol. 475 No. 4

Written Answers. - Ozone Layer Depletion.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

185 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment the scientific studies, if any, presented in view of the fact that fluoride is found in chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs, which have helped create the hole in the ozone layer; and if his attention has been drawn to facts which prove that evaporation of fluoride from lakes and rivers after fluoridation does not take place to add further to ozone depletion. [5231/97]

Minister for the Environment (Mr. Howlin)

I am aware of studies which have demonstrated that it is the chlorine, and not the fluorine, content of CFCs — chlorofluorocarbons — which contributes to ozone depleting processes in the stratosphere. Fluorides used in water fluoridation do not contribute to ozone layer depletion.