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Why can ozone depletion increase the risk of skin cancer?

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organohalogen compound Vinyl chloride is an organohalogen compound that has important industrial applications. When treated with certain catalysts, vinyl chloride monomers undergo polymerization and form the larger compound known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC is used in the manufacture of numerous products, including packaging films and water pipes.

Ozone depletion increases the risk of skin cancer because the ozone layer acts as a critical shield that blocks most harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun from reaching the Earth's surface.12

When human activities—specifically the release of organohalogen compounds like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—introduce chlorine and bromine into the stratosphere, these chemicals catalyze the destruction of ozone molecules. As the concentration of stratospheric ozone declines, higher levels of UV radiation penetrate the atmosphere.123

Exposure to this increased UV radiation is dangerous because it can cause pyrimidine dimerization in human DNA. If these mutations occur in growth-regulatory genes and are not repaired, they can initiate and promote the development of skin cancer, including basal-cell carcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma. Protecting the ozone layer is therefore a vital ethical imperative for safeguarding global public health.4123