CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness America (PBA) has designated August as Cataract Awareness Month in an effort to educate the public on the disease. In addition, PBA has joined with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (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.

A new EPA report estimates that cataract cases can be avoided through environmental protection efforts. The report is titled “Protecting the Ozone Layer Protects Eyesight - A Report on Cataract Incidence in the United States Using the Atmospheric and Health Effects Framework Model.”

The agency uses the Atmospheric and Health Effects Framework (AHEF) to assess health benefits associated with reducing ozone layer depletion. In the past, the AHEF estimated the impact of changes in UV radiation on skin cancer incidence and mortality. Today, the AHEF now includes the capability to provide results for cataract incidence in the United States.

EPA models avoided cataract incidence as a result of changes to the Montreal Protocol, an international environmental treaty designed to phase out ozone-depleting substances. The EPA report estimates that the strengthening of the original Montreal Protocol through the Montreal Amendments of 1997 will avoid more than 22 million additional cataract cases for Americans born between 1985 and 2100.

There are currently more than 20 million Americans age 40 and older with cataract. And, cataract is the leading cause of blindness around the world.

“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 Prevent Blindness America. A copy of the new EPA report is posted at www.preventblindness.org.