Doctor predicts rise in skin cancer

Press, 29 June 1987, Page 7

Doctor predicts rise in skin cancer

By

MARK TREVELYAN

NZPA-Reuter Brussels Chemical pollution which is attacking the Earth’s protective ozone layer threatens to cause an extra 100 million skin cancer cases in the United States alone over the next 90 years, a United States expert has said. Dr Janice Longstreth told a seminar of the European Environmental Bureau that one “worst case” scenario saw 100 million additional American skin cancer cases between now and the year 2075, along with two million more cancer deaths. The threat comes from

chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, which are discharged into the atmosphere from aerosol sprays, solvents, cushion foam and air conditioning and refrigeration units, she said. Scientists have found that these substances, which can stay in the atmosphere for 75 to 110 years, trigger a chemical reaction which punches

holes in the ozone barrier and lets harmful ultraviolet rays through more easily. Dr Longstreth contended that these rays were a leading cause of skin cancer, including a virulent form called melanoma. They also

gave rise to eye cataracts and attacked the body’s immune system, making it more vulnerable to infections such as herpes. “We must have very strict controls (on these substances) or find substitutes,” Dr Longstreth said. “But it is going to be very tough on industry,” she said, adding that most available substitutes were costly or highly toxic.