🚀 go-pugleaf

Greig Ebeling wrote:
> 
> Fred Pribac <fred@vortex.shm.monash.edu.au> wrote:
> 
> >Epidemiological studies suggest that incidence of skin cancer
> >has been rising in australia over the past 40 years.
> 
> True.
> 
> >Surface measurements of UV also show upward trends over later
> >decades.
> 
> There is some speculation regarding the relevance of this, considering
> that UV increases are greater in high lats, where natural UV levels
> are low, and also that higher surface UVR does not necessarily
> translate into higher exposure, considering sunwise trends, and
> blockout.
> 
> >Given that early exposure to UV has been linked to increased
> >incidence of skin cancer in later life - it is reasonable to
> >guess that these trends may be correlated.
> 
> Actually it is far more likely that it was caused by the suntanning
> trend of the late 60s and 70s.  This is obvious from the fact that
> skin cancer has a long latency period.  Also, ozone depletion has only
> occurred at a significant degree in the last 10 years.  Any
> correlation between UV-B exposure and increases in cancer would need
> to show a recent increase. This is not shown in the data I have seen.
> 

Or, it could have been caused by the British atmospheric atomic and hydrogen
bomb testing in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s, with a similar latency
period.  Since these tests were conducted to the west of the major population
centers the fallout would have been caried by the prevailing winds over the
cities in the East.


Dennis Nelson