Potential health effects of climatic change: effects of increased ultraviolet radiation on man.

There is scientific evidence that stratospheric ozone concentration has declined over the Northern Hemisphere in the past 20 years, and projections based on various assumptions about future release of chlorofluorocarbon gases and other contaminants suggest that this decline will continue into the next century. The effects on human health secondary to increase in biologically effective ultraviolet radiation are expected to consist of increases in nonmelanoma skin cancer and malignant melanoma of the skin, possible alteration of immune response, and development of lens cataracts. The recent and projected increases in skin cancer and changes in human immune responses are discussed.