Because of those articles, I just got rid of my black plastic utensils, but I’ve been using them over a decade so if they were contaminated, it’s probably too late

I think you're confusing volatile organic compounds like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and HFCFs with general aerosols. CFCs destroy the ozone layer, and are banned worldwide.

Aerosola are just droplets in a gas. Clouds are aerosols. They're perfectly safe to use in general, assuming the droplets and the gas are safe.

I get where they're coming from! I was a kid when the aerosols were burning a hole in the ozone layer, and it taught me to distrust anything that can come out of a can too quickly.

Clean air act banned cfcs, not aerosols. Aerosols are just pressurized gases.