Rising radiation levels
Exposure to radiation — from natural sources on Earth and from human activity — is increasing day by day. The depletion of the ozone layer and accidents at nuclear power stations have been particular causes.
Examples: the Fukushima power station in Japan and the Chernobyl power station in Russia.
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Why radiation is dangerous to living things
The radiation from radioactive materials and the high-energy ultraviolet let through by a thin ozone layer carry enough energy to damage the molecules of living cells, including DNA. A cell with damaged DNA may die, or may begin to divide out of control — which is cancer — and damage in the cells that form eggs and sperm can cause deformities in the next generation. After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, a wide area had to be abandoned; the Fukushima accident in 2011, set off by an earthquake and tsunami, released radioactive material into the air and the sea. Radioactive substances do not disappear quickly: some stay dangerous for thousands of years, which is also why nuclear waste is sealed in concrete or metal and buried.
Not all radiation is harmful
Light and heat from the Sun are radiation too, and we need them. The danger comes from high-energy radiation — ultraviolet, X-rays and the radiation from radioactive materials.
More radiation, more harm
Ozone depletion and nuclear accidents such as Fukushima and Chernobyl are raising radiation exposure, which damages DNA and causes cancer and deformities.