'Laughing Gas' Biggest Ozone-Destroyer After Phase-Out of CFC

Nitrous oxide, the laughing gas used by dentists to pacify anxious patients, is putting stress on the environment and is now the biggest man-made destroyer of the ozone layer.

N2O, a gas produced by using fertilizers and burning fuels, accounts for about 40 percent of ozone-destruction after the use of gases such as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, was banned because of their harmful effects, said A.R. Ravishankara, a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chemist.

Bloomberg