Is the ozone really decreasing? around 1991

 Dr. Hugh Erlesser, an atmospheric chemist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the U.S., dismissed as a myth without scientific basis the argument that CFCs deplete the ozone layer, increase the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth's surface, and increase the incidence of skin cancer.

　According to him, there is currently no solid evidence that ozone in the stratosphere is decreasing. All of the recent papers on ozone depletion show an increase in ozone in the decade after 1969. Even if the mechanism by which CFCs deplete the ozone layer cannot be denied, the ozone hole occurs in a limited area of the atmosphere for a limited period of time, and cannot be blamed on CFCs alone. He also argues that the ozone layer is not so fragile that it can be destroyed artificially.

　As for the increase or decrease of ultraviolet radiation, he said that it cannot be linked to the increase or decrease of the ozone layer alone, and that there is no need to be overly afraid of the effects of ultraviolet radiation. The amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the ground differs by a factor of about 50 between the equator and the poles, and even if the stratospheric ozone were to decrease by 5%, that would mean that we would have to move at most 10 From a medical point of view, this would be beneficial in that it would increase the efficiency of vitamin D production. He also denounces the fact that no one is paying attention to the problem that removing the smog over Los Angeles will also increase the amount of ultraviolet radiation by 30%.