n ultra-violet rays when they come from the sun and converts the radiation to heat and chemical energy. The ozone layer also seals earth from the many of the other powerful radiation rays that the sun gives off. Splitting of oxygen molecules depends upon the intense radiation, therefore, the greatest ozone production is over the tropics. The ozone is dangerous to us because is causes many types of skin cancer such as malignant melanoma--a very deadly cancer which causes death to forty percent of all recorded cases of cancer. Many people predict that the ozone layer would cause thirty thousand skin cancers just in the United States alone, and over five hundred-thousand world wide. Cancer, though, is only one of the few problems that the ozone layer causes. For example small organisms such as plankton in the sea which is the aquatic food which serves as the basic food chain would be destroyed and therefore destroying the food chain--not only the sea food chain, but also the land. Nobody knows what exact reaction there may be if the ozone continues to break down as it is now. Besides rays from the sun, photon can also come in the Earth and be destructive. Outer portions of the atmosphere, i.e., the thermosphere, the energy from the photon is used to photodisociate (break down) oxygen molecules. Ozone is an unstable compound, if it is left to itself it will turn into O2, but this takes place very slowly in the presents of light. Air pollution increases ozone destruction as show below. NO, nitrogen oxide, is air pollution. The troposphere has too much ozone and ozone is harmful to us if is too close. Ten to fifteen molecules per million of ozone in the atmosphere is enough to kill small animals. Since the number is eight per million already, it is not long until it will get extremely destructive. Shown below is how ozone can be created, ozone being O3 and NO2 being pollution. The hole in the ozone layer is become bigger every day. If we do n...
