Ultraviolet Radiation

Badges that measure doses of sunlight have been developed by a San Diego company for people worried about the thinning ozone layer and the effects of ultraviolet rays on the skin.The badges are similar in concept to the ones worn by X-ray technicians to measure cumulative doses of radiation. Called Sun Alert, each badge consists of a plastic circle about an inch in diameter with an adhesive backing that adheres to clothing or skin.Within an inner circle is a depiction of the sun wearing sunglasses.

Reports from southern Chile that the ozone hole has left sheep blinded by cataracts and some people blistered by sunburn are probably tall tales, scientists say, but they do expect skin cancer and cataract cases to begin rising sharply worldwide by the end of the century.In addition, the planet may see infectious diseases spread more quickly, the loss of animal and plant species and a reduction in crop yields, they say.Why? Because more ultraviolet radiation is now reaching the Earth as the protective ozone shield thins over most of the world.

The buildup of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere appears to be slowing for the first time since the compounds came under attack as destroyers of the planet's protective ozone layer, says one of the scientists who first identified the problem."

As spring dawns in the Antarctic, scientists are finding a larger-than-expected hole in the ozone layer, leading them to conclude that the Earth will have to live with less of its protective shield for the next several decades.Over the past 12 years, scientists have seen the size of the seasonal hole vary in a regular pattern. This was a year in which they expected it to shrink.But this week the hole became as big as it was last year and four out of the five previous years, according to Richard Stolarski, a research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center.

sunbathing at the beach, picking fresh corn in the field or taking adaylong hike in the woods are the kinds of activities that many waitfor all winter.But if you're not careful, the joys of summertimecan turn your skin into the pain of a lifetime at a moment's notice.Taking care of the body's largest organ -- a 150-pound man's skin, if stretched out, would cover 20 square feet -- is obviously a year-round task.But in the summer, when warm weather causes us to shed clothes and expose more of the skin to the elements, skin problems are more common.

WASHINGTON -- Even if the world drastically curtails the use of ozone-destroying chemicals, a large volcano could touch off a catastrophic worldwide ozone loss sometime in the next 20 or 30 years, scientists warned last month.A volcano similar in size to the 1982 El Chichon eruption in Mexico would accelerate chemical reactions between ozone and millions of tons of chlorofluorocarbon chemicals that will continue to float in the atmosphere for years after use of the substances has ended, said Guy F. Brasseur, a physicist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

IRVINE, Calif. -- Chemicals that are eating a hole in the Earth's protective ozone layer are still being released into the air at a record level despite international agreements to phase out their use, says the scientist who first spotted the phenomenon 17 years ago.F. Sherwood Rowland, a University of California scientist who discovered the link between chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, and the ozone layer, has released the results of tests that show emission of the chemicals reached a record high this year and are growing.