Annual occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation in central Queensland.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine annual occupational exposure to UV radiation by measurement and derive ambient exposure fractions for an entire year that could be applied in the human exposure model. Using polysulphone the daily occupational erythema effective solar ultraviolet radiation exposure at selected body sites of Australia Post mail delivery personnel and physical education teachers were measured over an 18-mo period on a daily basis in the Rockhampton (lat. 23.5 degrees S) region. The daily exposures were summed to estimate an annual exposure for these occupations in this region. For the Australia Post mail delivery personnel, who had very little change to the posture or route during delivery, the annual mean estimates of exposure to erythema effective solar irradiance for the chest, hands, and back were in the range of 192+/-27 kJ m(-2), 388+/-45 kJ m(-2), and 283+/-32 kJ m(-2), respectively. Physical education teachers had varied duties on a day-to-day basis and many changes in their posture and outdoor locations where the exposure occurred. Their annual mean exposure on the vertex (hat), chest, shoulder, thigh, and back were in the range 340+/-71 kJ m(-2), 140+/-28 kJ m(-2), 180+/-40 kJ m(-2), 129+/-24 kJ m(-2), and 212+/-42 kJ m(-2), respectively. The annual exposure range for erythema effective solar irradiance at different body sites during the experimental period was between 120 and 440 kJ m(-2) for the two occupational groups. These exposures greatly exceed the National Health and Medical Research Council occupational standard limit of 30 J m(-2) for daily exposure, which indicates the need for additional protective measures. The ambient exposure was also measured and used to compute ambient exposure fractions for the different body sites over an entire year, which are useful for model calculations on human exposure and assess increase in risk of n on melanoma skin cancer.