Freon
Freon, the trade name of the Du Pont Company for a group of fluids used as refrigerants and solvents. They are also used as blowing agents in the production of plastic foams. Freons are fluorocarbons, compounds containing fluorine and carbon; some Freons contain chlorine as well. Freons are stable, colorless, nontoxic, noncorrosive, nonflammable, and almost odorless. The first commercial Freon—Freon 12 —was developed in 1930. In the late 1980's DuPont began to phase out the production of Freon 12 and certain other Freons because of the danger they pose to the earth's ozone layer.