CHICAGO—August is Cataract Awareness Month, and Prevent Blindness America (PBA) is raising awareness about the link between ozone layer depletion and cataracts due to prolonged UV exposure. According to an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report titled “Protecting the Ozone Layer Protects Eyesight - A Report on Cataract Incidence in the United States Using the Atmospheric and Health Effects Framework Model,” damage to the ozone layer due to ozone depleting products is not expected to be repaired until after 2065. However, the EPA report estimates that cataract cases can be avoided through environmental protection efforts such as the stricter 1997 amendments to the Montreal Protocol—an international treaty to gradually eliminate products that are damaging to the ozone layer—which could save more than 22 million Americans from developing cataracts (the same amount of Americans that currently suffer from cataracts, according to the EPA).
According to the report’s findings:
- Counties with large population groups older than age 55 see greater changes in cataract incidence.
- Northern latitudes see greater changes in UV exposure than southern latitudes, due to a greater decrease in column ozone (ozone between the Earth's surface and outer space).
PBA has joined with the EPA in its "SunWise" campaign, an environmental and health education program that teaches children and their caregivers how to protect themselves—and their vision—from overexposure to the sun. Choosing sunglasses that block 99–100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation is an important step in protecting against the risk of developing cataracts, according to the program. And, cataract is the leading cause of blindness around the world.
Click here to learn more about protecting your eyes from UV radiation.
“The EPA’s report serves as an opportunity for us to educate ourselves on the steps we can take to help protect our vision,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of PBA.
Read the full EPA report here.
