TL: OFFICIAL WASHINGTON IS SILENT ABOUT THE OZONE HOLE
    & OUR HEALTH
SO: Martha Honey, Greenpeace USA (GP)
DT: August 19, 1992
Keywords: atmosphere, ozone, us, governments, cfcs, human,
health, risks, cancer /

As Americans prepare to enjoy Labor Day weekend  the official
close of the summer season  many remain unaware of the growing
evidence that sunshine now means more than funtime. Today's sun
tan or sunburn can lead, a decade or so from now, to skin cancer,
cataracts, and deterioration of the immune system. Health risks
from the sun have increased because the ozone layer, the earth's
protective shield, is being destroyed by CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons) and other manmade chemicals. Over the past
year record levels of ozone depletion have been discovered over
both the South and North poles.

With every 1 per cent loss of ozone, 23 per cent more of the
sun's harmful ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation gets through,
threatening all forms of life. The increased UVB makes the sun's
rays stronger so that people tan and burn faster. Children are
especially vulnerable since half of an average person's lifetime
exposure to UVB radiation occurs before the age of 18. At highest
risk are those with light eyes or fair skin and those with moles
on their bodies. Damage to the immune system affects all skin
types. The first signs of immune system damage, cataracts, and
skin cancer  now the fastest growing type of cancer in both the
U.S. and worldwide  may not appear, however, for 10 to 20 years.


 Several countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and
Chile have taken steps to educate sunbathers and parents about
the health and environmental dangers of ozone depletion. These
warnings include daily weather reports of UVB levels, public
awareness campaigns that "It's Cool to CoverUp," an ozone
"hotline," and new school curriculum on "Living with Sunshine."
Yet during this past summer, no U.S. government agency warned
Americans about the health risks of prolonged exposure to the
sun.

During a week spent winding, by telephone, through a labyrinth of
government agencies dealing with atmospheric studies, the
environment, health care, medical research, and the weather,
almost none were found to have issued public advisories or to be
doing scientific investigations about the health implications of
ozone loss. This survey reveals that there is no coherent
government strategy of informing people about the health risks,
and several government scientists even express doubt that ozone
depletion is adversely effecting human life.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with
warning the public about environmental dangers. But EPA press
official Al Heier said that as far as he can recall, "We have not
issued any statements (about the health dangers of ozone
depletion). We would have been the logical ones in the federal
government to do so, but we haven't." In April 1991, the EPA did,
for the first time, issue shocking new projections: that over the
next 50 years, 12.5 million Americans will develop skin cancer
and 200,000 will die because of ozone depletion.

But the EPA has not translated these startling statistics into
any public health education. Its small, understaffed
stratospheric ozone group mainly advises consumers and businesses
on how to implement the ozone protection regulations in the 1990
Clean Air Act, including CFC warning labels and safe disposal
procedures. Some EPA press releases contain what press spokesman
Dave Ryan calls "the boiler plate facts on the dangers of ozone
depletion," but, he admits, "it's piecemeal and there's no
concerted program. We don't get into the health part."

This despite the fact that the public is asking the EPA for
information. According to a recent internal EPA survey, CFCs and
stratospheric ozone are two of top five topics (along with global
warming, greenhouse effect, and rain forests) "most requested by
the public for which we have no response, no literature. We have
empty hands," said public relations official Katheline Daniels.

Other government agencies are equally emptyhanded. Officials at
the National Cancer Institute and its parent organization, the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) say "no alert" has been put
out this year warning against prolonged and unprotected
sunbathing. In 1989, NIH did sponsor a 2 day conference on
"Sunlight, Ultraviolet Radiation, and the Skin" which discussed
the heightened health risks from ozone destruction, but this did
not result in any public documents or programs.

Dr. Vernon Houk, Director of the National Center on
Environmental Health at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in
Atlanta, called ozone depletion "by far the single most important
environmental issue facing the world" because it threatens to
destroy life on earth. He graphically equates the need to stop
depletion of the ozone layer to smallpox eradication: "We
eradicated smallpox from the world before we knew every last
thing about the virus. We should not allow ourselves to stand by
and say we don't have enough information [on ozone depletion] to
take action."

But Dr. Houk proposes pressuring the politicians, not warning the
public. He says the CDC "is not issuing any public health alerts"
about the dangers of prolonged sun exposure. "My personal opinion
is that the solution is not to warn people about exposure to the
sun. The solution is to get policymakers to do something about
the chemicals  CFCs and bromides  which are causing ozone
depletion."

At the National Science Foundation, a public affairs officer said
it "has not done any studies" or issued any public
pronouncements. Likewise, an official at the National Institute
of Environmental Health Studies was also not aware of any
government studies, saying that although he was personally
concerned about educating the public, "my suspicion is nothing
has been done" by any government agency.

 The U.S. Weather Service had a similar response. A public
relations officer in Washington said, "We've not working on ozone
and we don't put out any warnings" about UVB radiation levels.
A government scientific research institution, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its affiliate,
the Environmental Research Labs in Boulder, monitor ozone
depletion but they have not considered the health and
environmental impacts or issued public statements. "We don't have
the funds and it's not in our mandate," said a press officer at
the Boulder Research Labs.
Of the U.S. government agencies, the space agency  has been in
the forefront of documenting ozone layer depletion and UVB
radiation increases. And  scientists have been outspoken about
the findings. "Everyone should be alarmed. It's far worse than we
thought," 's manager of upper atmosphere research Michael Kurylo
said in February. But Agency scientists do not examine the health
implications, and some seem to minimize them. Lucien Froidevaus
of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California contends that
ozone depletion is not sufficient "reason that people should keep
inside."

Frank Lepore, a press officer for the National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and Information Service, another NOAA affiliate
which analyses weather, climate and ozone changes, went even
further, accusing the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)
of "doing science by press release." In contrast, he said, "We're
not ChickenLittletheskyisfalling types. As an operating
principle we are very conservative in our discussion of any
effects and attach no value judgments."

"This adds up to government negligence, buckpassing and
coverup," says Melanie Duchin, an ozone expert with Greenpeace. "
says destruction of the ozone layer is far worse than previously
thought, the CDC says ozone loss endangers all life on earth, the
EPA projects hundreds of thousands of Americans will die from
skin cancer caused by ozone depletion. Yet the government is not
telling us about what we can do to protect ourselves and our
children."
Given the near silence from officialdom in Washington, the
task of warning the U.S. public has fallen to environmental
groups and the nongovernment medical doctors and researchers.
This spring Greenpeace identified ozone as the earth's most
urgent
environmental crisis and launched a campaign demanding that
DuPont, the largest producer of CFCs and industry's replacement
HCFCs, immediately halt production and move to ozone-safe
alternatives. According to a forthcoming Greenpeace study,
alternative
technologies are close to or already commercially available for
most products which use CFCs, HCFCs, bromine and other
ozone-destroying chemicals. These include safe substitutes for
refrigerator, freezer, and air conditioner coolants, aerosol
strays, fire extinguisher foams, computer chip cleaners, and
styrofoam. Greenpeace has also begun a public education drive
including publication of an "Ozone Action Alert" designed for
school children.

Dr. Alexander Leaf, a specialist at Massachusetts General
Hospital and professor emeritus at Harvard University, says "the
government has not done anything" to warn people about UVB
radiation. He says categorically that "there should not be
sunbathing. People, especially children, should be covered with
sunscreen, hats, plastic glasses and protective clothing." Dr.
Walter Willett, a professor at Harvard's School of Public Health
says that although there is not yet adequate clinical data on
skin cancer and cataracts, "we cannot wait to count the bodies
before sounding off alarms."

The American Academy of Dermatology, a private nonprofit
association, has taken the lead in public education about skin
cancer detection and prevention. In recent testimony to Congress
the Academy said skin cancer in the U.S. is currently at
"epidemic proportions" and that with the combination of ozone
depletion and "changing lifestyles"  people spending more time
outdoors  "the future looks grim." The Academy estimates that one
in six Americans will develop skin cancer "and this number is
increasing."

In Britain as well, environmentalists and doctors, not the
government, have been in the forefront of research and public
education. A medical study commissioned by Greenpeace found that
the risk of children developing skin cancer by old age is 1015
per cent greater because of damage to the ozone layer. The study,
released this August, was the first ever in Britain to quantify
the risk of skin cancer due to ozone depletion. The British
government has failed to carry out such research despite being
urged to do so over four years ago by the House of Commons
Environment Select Committee.

Internationally, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
to which Frank Lepore referred  has tracked ozone destruction and
analyzed the likely health and ecological consequences. According
to UNEP a 10 per cent overall thinning of the ozone layer will
cause 300,000 additional skin cancer cases and close to 2 million
new cases of eye cataracts and blindness each year
worldwide. UNEP also predicts that increased UVB will suppress
the human immune system, thereby increasing the rate and severity
of infectious disease.

 These estimates may well prove too conservative. Joe Farman, the
British scientist credited with "discovering" the Antarctica
ozone hole in 1985 predicts that by the year 2000 it is possible
that ozone losses over northern Europe and North America could be
as high as 20 to 30 per cent.

Government officials, scientists and environmentalists in
countries nearest the North and South poles have stepped up their
medical studies and public warnings. In February, Canada's
Environment Minister Jean Charest warned parents that it is
"prudent" to keep children "out of the sun. " Charest termed the
ozone depletion problem very serious and vowed his office would
take appropriate measures. In April, the ministry began issuing a
weekly Ozone Watch detailing serious ozone depletion and UVB
levels. A cable weather network, which has installed 24 UV ground
monitors across Canada, also provides the same information.
Dr. Jason Rivers, director of the Canadian Dermatological
Association's sun awareness program told the House of Commons
that one in seven Canadians born in 1992 will develop skin cancer
due to ozone depletion. Dr. Rivers called for an "entire
restructuring" of Canada's health care towards prevention. He
advocated rebuilding school playgrounds with more shady areas and
reprogramming outdoor athlete activities for the early mornings
or late afternoons.
Australia, which has among the world's worst ozone depletion,
also has the highest recorded rate of skin cancer. Deaths from
skin cancer have doubled in the last 7 years. A 1989 report by
the governments's Health and Research Council concluded that
ozone depletion "is a threat to human health" and suggested a
wide range of government responses including a national radiation
monitoring network, a national survey of skin cancer, cataracts
and other conditions, increased scientific research, and public
and
professional education. In several Australian states, school
athletic programs have been rescheduled to early more, before the
sun's rays become too dangerous.

Every summer  December through March  New Zealand announces "burn
times" for sunbathers  usually 15 minutes  as part of the regular
weather forecasts on television and radio. In May, the Cancer
Society announced that the most serious type of skin cancer,
melanoma, had increased 74 per cent over the last decade, giving
New Zealand one of the highest levels of melanoma in the world.
Using the slogan "It's Cool to CoverUp," the Cancer Society runs
an extensive public education campaign aimed at school children
and teenagers which includes a teacher's guide about sun safety.

In Chile, where the most dangerous sun exposure time is from
September to early December, there is growing public and
scientific concern about the health impacts of ozone depletion.
In Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world which lies on
the edge of the ozone hole, townspeople have begun routinely
wearing protective hats, sunglasses, and sun block and a special
ozone "hotline" gives advice on how to avoid UVB exposure.
Doctors say they are besieged with patients who have skin
allergies, unusual sun burns, and eye irritations.

 For the past three years, Punta Arenas residents have also
noticed alarming changes in their environment which they suspect
are linked to the ozone hole above their heads. Previously rich
pastureland is now barren at higher altitudes, garden plants are
diseased and dwarfed, and sheep have developed severe eye
infections. Blind rabbits and salmon have also been discovered,
along with a 6 to 8 per cent drop in plankton, a crucial
foundation in the ocean's food chain.

Chile rightly feels it is the victim of the industrialized
nations' negligence and corporate greed. Since 1973, the link
between CFCs and ozone depletion has been known, but it was not
until 1987 that any serious international negotiations began.
Unfortunately, the multilateral treaty proposed by the so-called
Montreal Protocol is riddled with loopholes which will allow
continued production of ozone-destroying chemicals to the year
2030.

Sergio Cabrera, an associate professor of molecular biology at
the University of Chile says, "If the world continues using CFCs,
we are going to have problems because Chile's fresh fruit,
forestry and fish meal exports will be affected." To a lesser
extent, Canada also claims to be victim of circumstances outside
its control. Environment Minister Charest said that Canada
"contributes 2 per cent of the CFC problem in the world, but we
pay a disproportionate price" because of the country's proximity
to the Arctic. The Canadian Minister said further that Canada
plans to end about 85 per cent of its CFC production by 1993
five years ahead of schedule  and he hopes to persuade other
countries to accelerate the international deadline for phasing
out CFC production.
The U.S. is the largest producer and consumer of CFCs in the
world. In February, President Bush announced a CFC phaseout by
the beginning of 1986, a deadline DuPont had earlier said it
could meet. But so far there has been no government regulation,
legislation or executive order finalizing this date, raising
concerns that it may not prove binding.

Even if production of all CFCs and related gases stopped
immediately, the ozone destroying chemicals already released will
take decades to reach the upper atmosphere and therefore "commit
the world to an unavoidable decrease in stratosphere ozone well
into the next century," UNEP reported in February. Therefore, as
UNEP Executive Director Mostafa Tolba put it, "the full
consequences of our past folly," including the health and
environmental damage caused by ozone destruction, will continue
as well for at least another century.


Greenpeace Feature Service. Written by Martha Honey, Greenpeace
Media Department.

For more information on ozone depletion and the health and
environmental consequences write to Greenpeace, 1436 U Street,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009.

-30- [Greenbase Inventory August 31, 1992 ]
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