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Description of Greenhouse Gases of California Concern <br /> <br />Draft Initial Study–Negative Declaration B-1 <br />Description of Greenhouse Gases of California Concern <br />Greenhouse Gas <br />Physical Description and <br />Properties <br />Global Warming <br />Potential <br />(100 years) <br />Atmospheric <br />Residence <br />Lifetime <br />(years) Sources <br />Carbon dioxide <br />(CO2) <br />Odorless, colorless, natural gas. 1 50–200 Burning coal, oil, natural gas, <br />and wood; decomposition of <br />dead organic matter; <br />respiration of bacteria, plants, <br />animals, and fungus; oceanic <br />evaporation; volcanic <br />outgassing; cement <br />production; land use changes <br />Methane <br />(CH4) <br />Flammable gas and is the main <br />component of natural gas. <br />28 12 Geological deposits (natural <br />gas fields) extraction; landfills; <br />fermentation of manure; and <br />decay of organic matter <br />Nitrous oxide <br />(N2O) <br />Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is a <br />colorless GHG. <br />298 114 Microbial processes in soil and <br />water; fuel combustion; <br />industrial processes <br />Chloro-fluoro- <br />carbons <br />(CFCs) <br />Nontoxic, nonflammable, <br />insoluble, and chemically <br />unreactive in the troposphere <br />(level of air at the Earth’s <br />surface); formed synthetically by <br />replacing all hydrogen atoms in <br />methane or ethane with <br />chlorine and/or fluorine atoms. <br />3,800–8,100 45–640 Refrigerants aerosol <br />propellants; cleaning solvents <br />Hydro-fluoro- <br />carbons <br />(HFCs) <br />Synthetic human‐made <br />chemicals used as a substitute <br />for CFCs and contain carbon, <br />chlorine, and at least one <br />hydrogen atom. <br />140 to 11,700 1–50,000 Automobile air conditioners; <br />refrigerants <br />Per-fluoro- <br />carbons (PFCs) <br />Stable molecular structures and <br />only break down by ultraviolet <br />rays about 60 kilometers above <br />Earth’s surface. <br />6,500 to 9,200 10,000–50,000 Primary aluminum production; <br />semiconductor manufacturing <br />Sulfur <br />hexafluoride <br />(SF6) <br />Human‐made, inorganic, <br />odorless, colorless, and <br />nontoxic, nonflammable gas. <br />22,800 3,200 Electrical power transmission <br />equipment insulation; <br />magnesium industry, <br />semiconductor manufacturing; <br />a tracer gas <br />Nitrogen <br />trifluoride <br />(NF3) <br />Inorganic, is used as a <br />replacement for PFCs, and is a <br />powerful oxidizing agent. <br />17,200 740 Electronics manufacture for <br />semiconductors and liquid <br />crystal displays <br />Source: Compiled by Rincon Consultants, Inc. in October 2021