Human exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation

Abstract

Solar ultraviolet (UV) irradiation depends upon the local UV climate, people's behaviour. Behaviour includes the time spent outdoors and the use of photoprotective agents. In adult life, a British indoor worker in the UK might typically receive 30% of his or her annual UV exposure from sun-seeking holidays, 40% from summer weekends, 20% from casual weekday exposure between April and September and just 10% from sun exposure during the 6 month period October to March. Whilst climatic factors do influence levels of UV radiation (UVR) at the Earth's surface, it is people's behaviour out of doors that has a much greater impact on personal solar UV irradiation. Methods of personal protection include: avoiding direct sunlight in summer around noon; seeking the shade; wearing clothing absorbs UVR; wearing hats that shade face and neck; and using topical sunscreens.

Basal and squamous cell carcinoma risks for golfers: An assessment of the influence of tee time for latitudes in the Northern and Southern hemispheres

“…Considering a cloud free sky, in which the UV irradiance follows a normal distribution with the time of day, exposures received before and after solar noon will be lower than exposures received during the peak noon period, followed by irradiance reductions caused by absorption by stratospheric ozone, air and atmospheric particulates, the local altitude and slight variations in the earth sun distance caused by the earth's elliptical solar orbit (14,15,16,17). The timing and total duration of any playing round has the most significant influence on the total UV exposure received.…”

Human skin pigmentation, migration and disease susceptibility

“…Exposure to high UVR has been caused both by migration of populations from low-UVR to high-UVR environments, such as in the translocation of large numbers of people from Great Britain to Australia in the early twentieth century, and by a dramatic increase in the popularity of recreational sun-tanning over most of the last century [95,96]. The 'vacation effect' now contributes substantially to UVR-related CMM morbidity and mortality [14,25,97]. These conditions cannot be considered typical of our species prior to the twentieth century.…”

“…Actual human exposure to UVR depends not only on geographical position, but also on the time of day, posture, clothing and behaviour [14,23]. Clothes and shade-seeking behaviours reduce effective solar exposure markedly when people are outside [24], but for over half of the world's population who are city dwellers, the potential for UVR exposure is primarily regulated by the urban built environment [25].…”

“…This depends on the angle at which solar radiation passes through the atmosphere (the solar zenith angle or SZA), the mass of air through which the Sun's rays must pass (the path length) and the presence of clouds and pollution in the lower atmosphere [14][15][16]. The shorter the wavelength, the more likely it is that radiation will be absorbed or scattered by the atmosphere.…”

Sunglass Filter Transmission and Its Operational Effect in Solar Protection for Civilian Pilots

“…The latter type of windshield results in unprotected ocular exposure to UV-A to exceed ICNIRP limits (21,23) on all flights and, potentially, over-exposure within one hour of flight (10). No significant UV-B radiant exposures to the pilot have been found during flight (10,17). The difference in transmittance between the two windshield types is likely to be due to the presence of a plastic material such as acrylic or polycarbonate either as a component of a multi-plied windshield structure (as found in airline aircraft types) or as a purely plastic material as typically found in general aviation aircraft.…”