<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/19/california-toxic-gas-sulfuryl-fluoride>
"Levels of a potent greenhouse gas are quietly spiking in the atmosphere and
increasingly worrying environmental groups that say its use needs to be reined
in if the US is to avoid climate catastrophe.
Furthermore, recent research has found the vast majority of the little-known
gas, known as sulfuryl fluoride, is attributable to a state typically known for
its climate-forward policies: California.
About 85% of US emissions of sulfuryl fluoride were traced by a recent
peer-reviewed study to southern California, where the state’s $4.2bn
pest-control industry uses it for drywood termite control. Sulfuryl fluoride is
estimated to be up to 7,500 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of
its greenhouse-gas potential.
The gas, which is also highly toxic, “has slipped under the radar”, said the
Johns Hopkins University study co-author Dylan Gaeta, in large part because it
only started to be widely used in recent years.
State regulators in 2023 rejected a petition calling for a sulfuryl fluoride
phaseout, and Gaeta and others say the findings highlight the need for urgent
regulatory action.
“Without some form of intervention, sulfuryl fluoride is going to keep
accumulating in our atmosphere,” he added.
The US Environmental Protection Agency first approved sulfuryl fluoride in
about 1960, but it was not used widely until methyl bromide, a common pesticide
and powerful greenhouse gas previously utilized in termite treatment, was
phased out about 20 years ago."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
