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Article: The hole that spells cancer for children
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 14, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Man-made damage to the Earth's protective ozone layer will
cause around 8,000 extra skin-cancer cases in Britain each year,
according to a panel of government advisers.
These extra cases will be among people who are now children. As
they go through life, they will receive an increased dose of
ultraviolet light in sunshine because of the thinning of the layer
by industrial and agricultural chemicals.
The epidemic will occur even though steps have been taken to
curb these chemicals and allow the layer, located in the
stratosphere above 40,000ft, to begin healing itself. Scientists
are now forecasting that it will be another 10 years, perhaps as
long as 14, before this recovery process begins. ...