Question

Depletion of which gas in the atmosphere can lead to an increased incidence of skin cancers?
Option A- Nitrous oxide
Option B- Ozone
Option C- Ammonia
Option D- Methane

Answer 1

Hint: There are many gases present in the atmosphere like nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide. High concentration of nitrogen gas is found followed by oxygen and other gases. Ozone gas is made up of 3 molecules of oxygen. It absorbs the ultraviolet radiations of the sun and protects life on earth.

Complete answer:
Depletion of gas in the atmosphere that can cause or increase skin cancer is the one that absorbs harmful UV radiations from the sun because UV rays are very harmful for skin. Most cancers of skin are the result of exposure of UV rays from the sun as these are found on the sun exposed parts of the body.

Option A- Nitrous oxide: Nitrous oxide gas has a green house effect, it absorbs radiations and traps heat in the atmosphere.

Option B- Ozone: Depletion of ozone layer increases the UV rays reaching earth’s surface and people who are much sun exposed their skin get affected by this direct coming UV radiations. This causes non-melanoma skin cancer and affects skin to a large extent.

Option C- Ammonia: Ammonia in gaseous form present in the atmosphere when is exposed in high amounts it causes burning of the eyes, nose, respiratory tract etc. It is not associated with any kind of skin cancer.

Option D- Methane: It is an important greenhouse gas, it traps heat in the atmosphere. Thus, it is not associated with skin cancers like ozone gas is.

So our correct answer is Option B- Ozone.

Note: Ozone is usually an unstable molecule made up of three oxygen atoms. It is present in less fraction in the atmosphere. Most ozone is found in the stratosphere layer. It forms a layer called an ozone shield, with the depletion of this shield we would be more susceptible to skin cancers and other diseases.