Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Environmental Protection Agency is going after Northwest sun worshipers. That’s because Washington State has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the nation.

The agency is launching a new program to educate kids and adults about the dangers of too much sun.  Correspondent Anna King reports.

Luke Hall-Jordan is with the EPA. He says Washington State -- a state known for rain -- has the fifth-highest melanoma rate in the country.

And the problem’s not just in sunny Eastern Washington and it’s not just because of the sun.

Luke Hall-Jordan: "It could be tanning beds. The research is not a hundred percent clear on whether or not tanning beds do cause melanoma but there is a lot of evidence indicating that they probably do."

The EPA’S new SunWise program is encouraging schools to teach kids about being safe in the sun.

Online:

Sunwise Program