October 2000

INTERNATIONAL MEASURES FAIL TO PROTECT OZONE LAYER

A Chilean expert points out that the 1987 Montreal Protocol has not been effective in arresting the destruction of the ozone layer in the earth’s atmosphere, resulting in the unprecedented size of the ozone hole this year, and causing 120,000 people in Chile to be on ‘yellow alert’ for ultraviolet radiation (meaning a fair-skinned person would get burnt within 10 minutes of being exposed to the sun).

By Gustavo Gonzalez

Santiago: The unprecedented size of the hole in the atmosphere’s ozone layer this year demonstrates the shortcomings of the international community’s attempts to confront the problem, says a Chilean expert.

The ozone layer will not begin to recover until late October, stresses Bedrich Magas, whose laboratory is based in Punta Arenas, a city 2,000 kilometres south of Santiago. There, 120,000 residents are on ‘yellow alert’ due to the sharp increase in ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

The ozone gap over Antarctica, which is continuously monitored by satellite, reached 28.3 million square kilometres in size, the largest hole measured, followed by that of 19 September 1998, at 27.2 million square kilometres.

The size of this year’s ozone hole is nearly twice the area of Europe.

The phenomenon of this atmospheric gap over the Antarctic was discovered in 1980, and recurs periodically, reaching its greatest extensions in September and October, in other words, during the southern hemisphere springtime.

In ecological terms, the principal function of the ozone as an atmospheric gas is to filter out the sun’s ultraviolet rays, preventing the damage they cause to life on earth.

The deterioration of the ozone and the subsequent rise in radiation increases the risk of skin cancer and vision problems among the human population. It also threatens crop yields and kills off the plankton that forms the basis of the marine food chain - among numerous other serious consequences.

The ozone hole is represented in satellite imaging as an oval-shaped mass of air, and now its vortex has reached Tierra del Fuego, creating danger for the residents of Punta Arenas, a port city on the Strait of Magellan some 1,100 kilometres from the Antarctic Peninsula.

The city’s authorities warn residents to avoid direct exposure to the sun, especially between 11:40 and 14:40 local time, stressing that if they must go out, they should wear sunglasses, wide-brimmed hats and long sleeves.

The yellow alert goes into effect when ultraviolet radiation readings are between 4.5 and 6.4, a level that would cause burns for fair-skinned individuals within 10 minutes of exposure.

When indices range from 6.5 to 9.4 - causing burns within seven minutes - officials call an orange alert. Ultraviolet levels of 9.5 to 15 merit the red alert, indicating the rays would produce burns within five minutes

The critical situation in Punta Arenas began on 19 September, just three days after the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) celebrated International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

The date commemorates the signing in 1987 of the Montreal Protocol, which set deadlines and quotas for all countries to gradually eliminate production and use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other volatile chemicals that destroy the ozone found in the earth’s stratosphere.

On 16 September, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed that the notable progress made so far in reducing the production of ozone-damaging chemicals must continue until we are absolutely sure the ozone layer is completely protected.

Annan also emphasised the importance of compliance with the Montreal Protocol agreements and praised the advances made by industrialised countries.

Now,  he said,  attention must be focused on developing nations  to help eliminate their CFC emissions by the year 2010.

UNEP Executive Secretary  Klaus Toepfer advocated  for a  ‘strong and effective’ commitment among nations of the industrialised North - responsible for more than 80% of ozone-damaging emissions - and the developing South to maintain the rate at which they have been implementing compliance with the Montreal Protocol.

But Magas disagrees with the relative optimism of Annan and Toepfer.

The University of Magallanes researcher told IPS that ‘the current destruction of the ozone layer is due to the emissions of chlorine coming from CFCs and bromine from halons (another volatile chemical group) accumulated by 1995, eight years after the Montreal Protocol was signed’.

Magas, one of Chile’s leading experts on the issue, stated that on 29 September 1987, Robert Watson, of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), told the world on behalf of the 150 participants in the Punta Areas ozone experiments that 90% of all CFC emissions must be banned, not just the 50% established by the Protocol.

‘They didn’t pay any attention to him and now we are living the results,’ commented the Chilean scientist. NASA was in charge of the Punta Arenas ozone experiments.

CFCs are used in refrigeration, aerosols, foams and numerous other products.

‘In addition, the cooling of the stratosphere, the result of the heating of the troposphere - in other words, atmospheric warming - is not stabilising at all, which increases the destruction of the ozone,’ Magas added.

‘The rising price of petroleum is the greatest help so that some day the trend (known as the greenhouse effect) is reversed,’ he said.

‘The destruction of the ozone would never have occurred without the cooling of the stratosphere, which is the consequence of combustible fuel emissions. The oil and auto companies are just as responsible as the CFC manufacturers,’ Magas pointed out.

Given the gravity of the problem, the expert recommends creating a national commission in Chile, such as a National Photoprotection Fund, based on tax-deductible donations, to arbitrate and execute measures to protect the population from the exposure to excessive ultraviolet rays.

All beaches in the southern hemisphere should be posted, as they are in Australia, with updated signs indicating the ‘minutes of sun exposure that would cause burns on any given day,’ Magas proposed.

He also suggested that daily weather reports should include information on maximum radiation as well as the sun-exposure time before burning, and perhaps something like a traffic signal, with red indicating the highest danger, yellow as a warning and green meaning a low-risk day to be out-of-doors.

Magas believes sunburns should be considered an occupational hazard and, as such, the issue should be included in policies and systems to prevent on-the-job injuries.

He also thinks sun-blocking creams should be classified as non-prescription medications, not as cosmetics.

The scientist said ideally the world would immediately and completely eliminate the marketing of CFCs, halons and methyl bromide. But even if this were to happen, he said, ‘we would have to wait 50 years before the situation (of the ozone layer) would stabilise.’

Magas, who has been consulted on his research by US presidential candidate Al Gore, also criticised the use of ozone research funds around the world. He said 99% goes to studying the geophysics of the atmosphere and just 1% is spent on studying the human consequences of ozone depletion. - Third World Network Features/IPS

About the writer: Gustavo Gonzales is a correspondent for Inter Press Service, with whose permission the above article has been reprinted.

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