PHA-Exchange> Children At Greatest Risk From Ozone Depletion

[Claudio]

From: Environmental Ecology News <envecolnews at yahoogroups.com>

> Children At Greatest Risk From Ozone Depletion
>
> MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, September 16, 2003 (ENS) - The special
> vulnerability of children to the Sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays is
> the theme of today's 16th anniversary of the global treaty that limits the
> emission of ozone depleting chemicals - the Montreal Protocol on
> Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. These substances are chemicals
> containing chlorine and bromine atoms, used primarily as refrigerants,
> fire suppressants, and fumigants.
>
> UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today praised progress made under the
> Montreal Protocol, ratified by 184 countries, as Rimpressive,S with
> scientists reporting a decline in ozone depletion and the first signs of
> recovery following efforts to eliminate the destructive chemicals emitted
> by human activities.
>
> But 66,000 people each year are dying from melanoma and other skin
> cancers, many due to the Sun's ultraviolet radiation, and children are
> especially vulnerable, Annan recognized.
>
> While we may be gratified with the progress that has been made through
> international cooperation, we must not be satisfied until the preservation
> of the ozone layer is assured, Annan said in his message marking today as
> International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
>
> "We cannot be complacent, Annan cautioned. The ozone layer remains
> depleted above the Antarctic and the Arctic, as well as in the
> midlatitudes of both hemispheres of the earth.
>
> The Antarctic ozone hole has grown rapidly this year and as of September 9
> covered some 27 million square kilometers.
>
> The World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies today warned
> that protecting children from skin cancers that are triggered by
> overexposure to UV radiation is a matter of urgency.
>
> "As ozone depletion becomes more marked and as people around the world
> engage more in Sun seeking behavior, the risk of developing health
> complications from overexposure to UV radiation is becoming a substantial
> public health concern," said WHO Director General Dr. Lee Jong-wook at the
> agency's headquarters in Geneva.
>
> "UV radiation is of particular concern because people are often unaware of
> the health risks. The effects of exposure often do not appear until many
> years later and overexposure to the Sun poses a risk to all populations,
> not just fair skinned ones," said Dr. Mike Repacholi, coordinator of WHO's
> Radiation and Environmental Health Unit.
>
> "While most of the known melanomas included in the International Agency
> for Research on Cancer statistics occur in the industrialized world, this
> is not necessarily because only fair skinned populations are affected by
> UV radiation," said Dr. Repacholi.
>
> "Given adequate reporting mechanisms, we would expect to see many more
> melanoma cases originating in developing countries. Moreover, cataract
> susceptibility has nothing to do with the skin type, and people living
> close to the equator are most likely to be affected," he said.
>
> "We know that by reducing overexposure of children and adolescents to the
> Sun," said Dr. Lee, "we can substantially reduce the risk of contracting
> skin cancers, cataracts and other conditions which might only appear much
> later in life."
>
> To help people around the world become more aware of the risks from
> exposure to UV radiation, and to take the measures to prevent
> overexposure, WHO's Intersun Project is today launching a School Sun
> Protection Package.
>
> Three booklets make up the package - a guide for schools and teachers on
> why and how to develop effective sun education programs, practical
> teaching materials for primary school students, and evaluation materials
> to assess the effectiveness of primary school sun education programs.
>
> Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said,
> "Recent scientific findings have shown that the ozone layer is on the road
> to recovery, but we must remain vigilant and more needs to be done before
> we can say that the problem is solved for good."
>
> "The phaseout of the ozone depleting pesticide methyl bromide, combating
> the illegal trade in CFCs [chlorofluorocarbons] and full implementation of
> the Montreal Protocol in developing countries are all issues that need to
> be tackled, Toepfer said. "Only then can we say that the sky above our
> heads will be safe for our children and their children to come."
>
> The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), an international
> organization with offices in London and Washington, warned today that the
> Montreal Protocol is at serious risk of being undermined by illegal trade
> and production of ozone depleting substances.
>
> RWe have found evidence of CFC smuggling in many parts of the world,
> particularly now in developing countries, where CFC phaseout schedules are
> beginning to be felt," said, EIAUs ozone layer campaigner Ezra Clark.
> "Much equipment exists in these countries which relies on CFCs, but the
> high cost of alternative chemicals creates a demand which is often
> satiated by illegal material.
>
> A further problem which could undermine the Montreal Protocol and delay
> the recovery of the ozone layer, Clark said, is the request by the United
> States to the Secretariat of the Montreal Protocol for exemptions allowing
> it to increase its use of the fumigant methyl bromide - one of the most
> potent ozone depleting chemicals still in widespread use.
>
> The Montreal Protocol meeting in Nairobi in November this year will decide
> whether to grant this controversial "critical use exemptions" to the
> United States.
>
> Most ozone exists in the upper part of the atmosphere. This region, called
> the stratosphere, is more than 10 kilometers (six miles) above the EarthUs
> surface.
>
> There, about 90 percent of atmospheric ozone is contained in the ozone
> layer, which shields us from harmful ultraviolet light from the Sun.
> Ozone in the stratosphere absorbs some of the Sun's biologically harmful
> ultraviolet radiation. Because of this beneficial role, stratospheric
> ozone is considered good ozone.
>
> By contrast, ozone at Earth's surface, known as smog, is formed from
> pollutants emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels. It is considered bad
> ozone because it can be harmful to humans and plant and animal life.
>
> The initial step in the depletion of stratospheric ozone by human
> activities is the emission of ozone depleting gases containing chlorine
> and bromine at Earth's surface, explains the Montreal Protocol Secretariat
> in a report reviewed by the 74 scientists who attended the Panel Review
> Meeting for the June 2002 ozone assessment in Switzerland.
>
> Most of these ozone depleting gases accumulate in the lower atmosphere
> because they are unreactive and do not dissolve readily in rain or snow.
> Eventually, the emitted gases are transported to the stratosphere where
> they are converted to more reactive gases containing chlorine and bromine.
> These more reactive gases then participate in reactions that destroy
> ozone.
>
> Finally, when air returns to the lower atmosphere, these reactive chlorine
> and bromine gases are removed from Earth's atmosphere by rain and snow,
> the report explains.
>
> Despite the ban on production of refrigerant gases containing chlorine for
> domestic use since January 1995, these CFCs are still produced in Europe
> for export to developing countries.
>
>There is strong evidence of surplus global production, and EU produced
> CFCs ending up on the black market in developing countries," Clark said.
>
> "While we welcome the recent voluntary reductions in production of CFCs
> announced by the EU, we feel stronger actions are needed, and the Montreal
> Protocol should take more concrete steps to accelerate the phaseout of
> these harmful ozone destroying chemicals.
>
>   * * *
>
> Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2003. All Rights Reserved.