Reassessing Impacts of Extended Daily Exposure to Low Level Solar UV Radiation

Richard L. McKenzie; Robyn M. Lucas

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32056-3

Reassessing Impacts of Extended Daily Exposure to Low Level Solar UV Radiation

Richard L. McKenzie^*, Robyn M. Lucas

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Currently, health agencies recommend that no sun-protection is required when the UV Index (UVI) is less than 3. We use high-quality data from spectroradiometers and model calculations to demonstrate that this simplification is seriously flawed, particularly for mid-latitude conditions. For days when the peak UVI is below the threshold for advising protection, the daily dose of sun-burning UV available frequently far exceeds the threshold for damage to fair skin. This may have important health consequences, as populations at mid latitudes include a significant proportion with fair skin that is susceptible to damage.

Original language	English
Article number	13805
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	8
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32056-3
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2018

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abstract = "Currently, health agencies recommend that no sun-protection is required when the UV Index (UVI) is less than 3. We use high-quality data from spectroradiometers and model calculations to demonstrate that this simplification is seriously flawed, particularly for mid-latitude conditions. For days when the peak UVI is below the threshold for advising protection, the daily dose of sun-burning UV available frequently far exceeds the threshold for damage to fair skin. This may have important health consequences, as populations at mid latitudes include a significant proportion with fair skin that is susceptible to damage.",

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AB - Currently, health agencies recommend that no sun-protection is required when the UV Index (UVI) is less than 3. We use high-quality data from spectroradiometers and model calculations to demonstrate that this simplification is seriously flawed, particularly for mid-latitude conditions. For days when the peak UVI is below the threshold for advising protection, the daily dose of sun-burning UV available frequently far exceeds the threshold for damage to fair skin. This may have important health consequences, as populations at mid latitudes include a significant proportion with fair skin that is susceptible to damage.

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Reassessing Impacts of Extended Daily Exposure to Low Level Solar UV Radiation

Abstract

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