In an article published in the journal Nature, officials from the U.S. Atmospheric Administration report on the results of a study. They explain that the emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are increasing very seriously, especially CFC-11 (trichlorofluoromethane), the second most harmful chemical that has caused the hole in the ozone layer, has grown.

In theory, CFC-11 has not been produced since 2006, but measurements show that this substance has increased in the atmosphere by 25 per cent since 2012. Scientists have ruled out that this is a trace of past emissions, and that some by-product has an effect: “It looks like someone is making new spills,” study leader Stephen Montzka told The Guardian. This medium has revealed that the new production is “somewhere” in East Asia.

The CFC was used in aerosols, washing machines and other similar products, but it has been banned since the discovery of the ozone hole in the ozone layer in 1980 and the signing of the Montreal Protocol at the end of that decade. Since then, measurements of these substances have been made and the tendency has been to decrease, putting the ozone layer on the road to recovery.

This new data, in addition to violating international regulations, could disrupt the work so far, for the researchers it could delay the recovery of the layer for 10 years and if the spill continued it would still take longer.

Another worrying hypothesis that scientists have in their hands is: The “new” CFC-11 is widely used in foam products around the world. If this were the case, it has still given only a small fraction of the amount of emitted substances time to filter them into the atmosphere, and the worst would come.