How2Day: Greenhouse Gases and Cleaning Chemicals

Global warming is caused by a buildup of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. David Epperson/Photodisc/Getty Images
Greenhouse gases are the gases that form the ozone layer and cause the "Greenhouse Effect." The "Greenhouse Effect" is the heating of the Earth's temperature due to the concentration of these greenhouse gases; some heat generated by the sun is unable to leave the atmosphere, thus causing global warming. Environmentalists, intent on combating global warming, have often turned on cleaning products as a source for greenhouse gases, but their effect on the environment in general is more damaging than any gas they produce.

The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons. These are emitted in a variety of different ways, the most well-known being that carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels are burnt. Methane is produced by cattle and decaying animals, and even by some humans.

Nitrous oxide is relatively low in concentration in the environment, 1,000 times less abundant than carbon dioxide, but according to the BBC's Weather Centre, is 200 to 300 times more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide. This is mainly produced by nitrogen-based fertilizers.

Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are part of a group of gases called halocarbons, which produce a warming effect 3,000 to 13,000 times more than carbon dioxide does. Of course, halocarbons account for a lower percentage of the Earth's ozone layer than carbon dioxide, and they don't occur naturally. CFCs were used in aerosol cans and cleaning products across the world in the 1970s, but most countries agreed to restrict their usage in 1987. The widespread use of CFCs was curbed, but the successors, HFCs (hydroflurocarbons), another halocarbon, do still trap heat and therefore worsen the greenhouse effect. Also, many other halocarbons that trap heat were not restricted by the agreement signed in 1987, and they are still present in aerosols and cleaning products today. These gases are also resistant, and can remain in the atmosphere for up to 400 years.

Although cleaning chemicals are not an especially large source of greenhouse gases, they do pose several environmental risks, and may be especially hazardous to people who use the chemicals on a regular basis. The biggest environmental risk presented by cleaning products is to the more local environment. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, six percent of janitorial staff experience problems related to chemical exposure each year. As well as this, chemicals present in cleaning products are harmful to fish and other aquatic species if they are dumped into water without being properly treated. One common ingredient in cleaning products, alkylphenol ethoxylates, has been shown to cause adverse reproductive effects in animals exposed to it.

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