Increased danger from ultraviolet radiation

Leaked research from a top laboratory of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States indicates that sun-screens may not provide protection from excessive ultraviolet radiation (UV-B) resulting from the thinning ozone layer.

According to Ozone Action, a non-profit organisation concerned with UV radiation and the destruction of the ozone layer, the research also states that UV-B appears to suppress the immune system of animals and humans despite the use of sun-screens. According to this research, the use of sun-screens may even damage DNA.

Already documented is evidence that increased UV-B from ozone loss causes eye damage and skin cancer, and significant increases in both have been predicted. Researchers from Oregon recently showed that UV-B is killing off the eggs of frogs and toads, known to be in decline in the Cascade Mountains of that state. If UV-B can suppress the human immune system, this would have consequences for infectious diseases and vaccination programs.

NASA and NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) both measured record levels of ozone depletion worldwide in the northern spring and summer of 1993.

According to documents obtained by Ozone Action through the Freedom of Information Act, NASA scientists were so concerned about the potential for UV-B exposure that they urged the EPA to issue a public health warning before the beach season of 1993 -- but were unsuccessful.

EPA in December persuaded the DuPont Company to create chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs -- one of the most powerful ozone-depleting chemicals) for a full year beyond DuPont's promised US phase-out. The Clinton administration was concerned about a possible consumer backlash from expensive automobile air conditioner repairs if the CFCs needed to recharge them became rare and expensive.

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