In a study presented this week at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco, scientists say they were stunned by findings that up to 70 percent of the ozone layer over the North Pole has been lost. Environmental double whammy Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center say the extreme cold in the Arctic stratosphere only exacerbates ozone depletion. Atmospheric physicist Paul Newman says the cold slows the dissipation and decay of CFCs and causes them to destroy ozone faster. Newman said the data came from a winter-long project that involved scientists from the United States, Europe, Russia and Japan. Bromine even harder on ozone Protection of the ozone layer is important to the protection of human life.
Ozone reduces ultraviolet radiation, the kind that burns skin.
Loss of that protection has predictable results, Newman says. Skin cancer rates will go up. Sunburns will occur at a faster rate, degradation of plastics and so forth, because of enhanced ultraviolet radiation from a lowering of ozone. International agreements like those in the Montreal Protocol of 1987 have significantly slowed the use of chlorine around the world. NOAA believes bromine is 45 times more damaging to ozone in the atmosphere than chlorine, but has not been subject to the same restrictions because many countries could not stand the loss of income from its stricter regulation.