• Free radical gases in the atmosphere trap UV heat inside the Earth's atmosphere.pollution image by Joseph Chiapputo from Fotolia.com
  
  Ultraviolet light from the Sun plays an essential role in maintaining the Earth's temperature levels. Some of this light enters the Earth's atmosphere and is absorbed and some of it is radiated back out. Because of free radical gases, a good amount of heat becomes trapped within the Earth's atmosphere. These conditions can have adverse effects on the ozone layer, the environment and human health.
  
  

Molecular Breakdown

• According to the Science News information site, free radical gases--also known as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs- include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Manufacturing processes, carbon exhausts and aerosols contribute to a build-up of gases in the Earth's ozone layer. The ozone layer acts as a protective cover that prevents excess amounts of ultraviolet light from reaching the earth. As ultraviolet light moves through the ozone layer, the molecules that make up the free radical gases begin to break down. When this happens, chlorine and chlorine oxides begin to eat away at the ozone layer. In effect, the ozone layer starts to thin out, which enables more ultraviolet light to reach the Earth's surface. Once they enter the atmosphere, free radical gases remain in place for decades. The light radiated back from the Earth can also become trapped, as these materials tend to prevent this light from leaving the Earth's atmosphere (see Reference 1).
  
  

Environmental Effects

• According to Michigan State University, the effects from free radical gases have increased the Earth's temperature by .5 degrees Celsius within the past century. The build-up of heat within the Earth's atmosphere contributes to what's known as the Greenhouse Effect, which is a natural process unless too much heat becomes trapped inside the atmosphere, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This increase causes elevated sea levels because of melting polar ice caps. As a result, increases in water vapor levels within the atmosphere contribute to global weather changes in the form of severe flooding, tropical cyclones, droughts, tidal waves and a gradual erosion of coastal lines (see References 2 and 3).
  
  

Health Effects

• The gradual increase in temperatures brought about by free radical gases contributes to a process known as Global Warming. According to the University of Michigan, the environmental effects from global warming causes an increase in insect populations that gradually migrate from the equator line toward the north and south poles. As a result, diseases such as dengue fever, cholera and malaria increase throughout the world. Current strains of these diseases can become increasingly resistant to current treatments, which lead to further disease spread. Elevated temperatures also aggravate heat-sensitive disorders such as respiratory and heart conditions and heatstroke (see Reference 2).