Quite a number of people in Rwanda know it emits pollutant substances but are not sure how and the extent of its effects. Some even think that living with a fridge in the house is harmful to human health. A local businessman and scientist, Jean Damascene Kayitaba demystifies the fridge.

Quite a number of people in Rwanda know it emits pollutant substances but are not sure how and the extent of its effects. Some even think that living with a fridge in the house is harmful to human health. A local businessman and scientist, Jean Damascene Kayitaba demystifies the fridge.

According to Kayitaba, the fridge is not directly dangerous to humans, but to the ozone layer. Even then, it only affects the ozone layer when it has been misused. The ozone is a layer of gases in the atmosphere that protect the earth from the direct ultra-violet rays of the sun. When the ozone is destroyed, the sun’s rays hit the earth directly causing skin cancer to many and affecting people’s eyes, plus a multitude of other effects.

Kayitaba explains that in its cooling functions, a refrigerator uses gases that belong to the group of chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. The CFCs are used for general cooling purposes such as in cold rooms, air conditioning, perfumes, and so on. It is for example due to the CFCs that your skin feels cool for a moment when you spray perfume on it.

Yet these CFCs are among the leading causes of ozone layer breakdown. The CFC gases react with the ozone layer gases and in the process destroy the layer. The resultant holes so far created in the ozone layer are responsible for the current increase of eye illnesses worldwide, not to mention skin cancer, Kayitaba clarifies.