Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were first created in 1928, as a non-toxic, non-flammable refrigerant produced commercially by the DuPont chemical company. As early as 1974, Dr. Mario J. Molina and Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland at the University of California, Irvine, published a laboratory study examining the catalytic ability of CFCs to breakdown the ozone layer. As early as 1978, satellite measurements of ozone were performed by scientists working for NASA, to determine the long term effects of CFCs on the stratosphere. Scientists believed that this depletion would lead to harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation, causing skin cancer and global warming.

   Their initial prediction was 7% depletion by the year 2034. This prediction changed to 10-40% depletion by 2024, and lead to the Federal Task Force's investigation of the ozone issue, and government banning of CFC's in aerosol sprays and refrigerants in 1978.Their initial prediction was 7% depletion by the year 2034. This prediction changed to 10-40% depletion by 2024, and lead to the Federal Task Force's investigation of the ozone issue, and government banning of CFC's in aerosol sprays and refrigerants in 1978.

   The ozone hole found by scientists over Antarctica was instrumental in international awareness of the problematic effects of CFCs and other ozone depleting substances. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, signed in 1987, called for international diplomacy in confronting the ozone issue, and held all countries that signed responsible for their role in ozone depletion.