Methanol and 2-propanol solutions of 1,2-dibromotetrafluoroethane and 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane were irradiated with gamma-rays after perfect de-oxygenation. The product, formed by the substitution of one of the bromine or chlorine atoms with a hydrogen atom, was observed by radiation-induced degradation and the product was also de-halogenated. The G-value of de-halogenation was more than a thousand times higher than G(e(solv)(-)) and increased with the decreasing dose rate, meaning that a chain reaction is involved in the process. The efficiency of the degradation in 2-propanol was several times higher than that in methanol. It is concluded that the charge transfer from an alcohol radical will be the trigger of the chain reaction the same as in the degradation of hexachloroethane in alcohol solutions (Sawai et al., 1978). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.