The Los Angeles Times says it's po
ssible:
A synthetic chemical widely used in the manufacture of computers and
flat-screen televisions is a potent greenhouse gas, with 17,000 times
the global warming effect of carbon dioxide, but its measure in the
atmosphere has never been taken, nor is it regulated by international
treaty.
The
chemical, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), could be considered the "missing
greenhouse gas," atmospheric chemists Michael J. Prather and Juno Hsu
of UC Irvine wrote in a paper released June 26 in the journal
Geophysical Research Letters. "With the surge in flat-panel displays,
the market for NF3 has exploded." ...
Air Products officials say that about 2% of NF3 is emitted
during manufacturing and that much of that is burned off before
reaching the atmosphere.
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.
--Josh Patashnik