The earth has a mysterious and ‘unknown cleaning agent that scrubs away toxic air pollution.’ ‘Molecules called hydroxyl radicals naturally clean trace amounts of pollution from the air, but the process spews out toxic ozone. In June 2009 researchers announced that a mysterious substance is at work in China’s Pearl River Delta that cleans the air without creating ozone.’

The earth’s atmosphere it seems has a self-cleaning process. ‘Highly reactive OH radicals are continually recycled in the atmosphere through reactions with water vapor and nitric oxide, both naturally present in the air. Part of nature’s self-cleaning mechanism, the reactions break down trace amounts of pollutants. But when the radicals are recycled by nitric oxide, ozone is created.’

Previous studies confirm that ‘trace gases and pollutants in the lowest level of our atmosphere break down naturally.’ This is due to certain molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals. The breakdown, however, ‘spews out ozone, itself a toxic pollutant and a greenhouse gas.’

New findings of scientists reveal ‘the existence of another method of recycling OH radicals—one that occurs without nitric oxide.’ Researchers have discovered this in China’s heavily polluted Pearl River Delta. At the site, researchers found copious amounts of OH radicals but ‘relatively small amounts of resulting ozone.’ They say, “It was a complete surprise to us [that], after such a long time of scientific research, such a big gap has been found.”

Via National Geographic