But Prather, a leading author of the influential reports of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, cited a study showing that even "under ideal conditions," more than 3% may be emitted. And, he added, "a slippery gas" such as NF3 could easily leak out undetected during manufacture, transport, application or disposal.
"We don't know if 1% is getting out or 20% is getting out. . . . But once you let the genie out of the bottle, you can't get it back in."
Prather said UC Irvine researchers were working on a method to measure concentrations of the gas in the atmosphere so that industry emissions estimates would not be the only source of information.
Atmospheric scientists not connected with the paper said the authors had raised a significant issue for future climate negotiations.
"NF3 lives a very long time in the atmosphere," said Charles E. Kolb Jr., an IPCC scientist with Massachusetts-based Aerodyne Research Inc.
"We are having a hard enough time controlling carbon dioxide and methane -- we shouldn't be creating a new problem."
Another climate scientist, V. (Ram) Ramanathan of UC San Diego, noted the potency and long life of NF3, adding: "This paper raises new awareness of this molecule. We need to know how much of these super-greenhouse gases are up there."
The Kyoto Protocol covered six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, PFCs and sulfur hexafluoride.
California, citing the danger of water shortages, wildfires and other effects of climate change, last month adopted a draft plan to control global warming emissions statewide, including several synthetic greenhouse gases but not NF3. "The larger issue is the chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons," said state air resources board spokesman Stanley Young.
"Enough material [is] stored in old refrigerators, air conditioners and insulating foams to equal over 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in California alone."
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margot.roosevelt@ latimes.com
