Chinese factories are pumping tons of dangerous chemicals into the air despite an international agreement intended to halt the destruction of the ozone layer, a study released on Wednesday said.

Two provinces in China have been cited as a source of a spike in emissions of a globally banned chemical chlorofluorocarbon, according to the study, published in the journal Nature.

“This is a huge problem,” a State Department official told the Washington Post. “If it’s a problem in another country, we’re also going to be suffering.”

The chemical, once widely used in insulating foam, leaks into the air and destroys ozone molecules in the upper atmosphere.

The ozone layer is critical to life, limiting the amount of harmful ultraviolet solar radiation that reaches the planet’s surface.

The report underscores the importance of international environmental agreements and the enforcement of the treaties. It also shows that China’s growing environmental challenges have global consequences.

With Post wires