U.N:ANTARCTIC OZONE HOLE NEAR RECORD SIZE

[Anonymous]

U.N.: Antarctic ozone hole nears record size
‘So-called ozone recovery has yet to be confirmed’
GENEVA, Switzerland —
The hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica has grown to near record
size this year, suggesting 20 years of pollution controls have so far
had little effect, the United Nations said on Friday.

In a bulletin on the seasonal depletion of ozone gas, which filters
harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts,
the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the hole would
peak within a couple of weeks.

“It will probably not break any records, but it shows that ozone
depletion is going on and that the so-called ozone recovery has yet to
be confirmed,” Geir Braathen, WMO’s top ozone expert, told a news
briefing.

U.S. scientists reported last month that the ozone layer has stopped
shrinking but it will take decades to start recovering. (Full story)

The hole above the South Pole and Antarctica, which spans about 27
million sq km, was expected to grow another million sq km in a week,
bringing it close to the record years of 2000 and 2003, the WMO said.

It had passed over Ushuaia, in the Patagonia region of southern
Argentina, “leading to noticeable increases in UV (ultraviolet)”
radiation, according to the bulletin, issued on the International Day
for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) containing chlorine and bromine, have been
blamed for thinning the layer because they attack the ozone molecules,
causing them to break apart.

Many CFCs, once commonly used in refrigeration, air conditioning and
industrial cleaning, were banned by the Vienna Convention, signed
exactly 20 years ago, and its Montreal Protocol clinched in 1987.

Most scientists say the hole spanned a record 29 million sq km (11
million sq miles) in September 2003, exposing the southern tip of South
America.

“You could say that the ozone situation is stabilizing at a low level.
We are approaching the maximum of ozone depletion, it is kind of
leveling off, but it is still too early to say that the situation is
improving,” Braathen said.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the 189
states to have ratified the Montreal Protocol had eliminated more than
1.5 million tons of annual production of chemicals that destroy the
ozone layer.

But developing countries were “only at the half-way point in many of
their obligations” under the pact, while in wealthy countries a number
of chemicals still needed to be phased out.

“It is essential that we remain alert to this hazard to avoid an
increase in skin cancers, cataracts and other health threats,” Annan
said.

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September 20, 2005 at 9:50 AM