Turkish company: boron products may help narrow ozone hole

ANKARA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish technology firm stated on Monday that its boron products might narrow the ozone hole, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"The products manufactured using boron minerals decreased the amount of exhaust gas released by motor vehicles by 15 percent, thus making the hole on the ozone layer getting smaller," General Manager of NNT Nano Teknoloji A.S. Mehmet Can Arvas was quoted as saying.

Arvas said the world-wide known technical supervision authority TUV and the German research institute BAM have approved and registered his company's products.

"If Turkey's boron products are used in the vehicles all over the world, the hole in the ozone layer will getting smaller in 20 years," Arvas said, adding "Boron minerals will play a key role in the preservation of human health."

According to the report, the importance of boron, which is widely used in industries ranging from detergent industry to glass industry, would increase as hydrogen fuelled motor vehicles are introduced.

Boron, a semi-metallic element, exhibits some properties of metal as well as of non-metal. Turkey has almost 72 percent of the world's boron potential and boron reserves.