Health risks of extended exposure to low-level UV radiation – An analysis of ground-based and satellite-derived data

Abstract

This study aims to indicate the importance of revising current health recommendations concerning the duration of exposure and individual sensitivity of the skin to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. For this purpose, a 16-year data series (2005–2020) of erythemal radiant exposure (Her) and UV index (UVI) for Serbia was analyzed. The UV-related risk was estimated for lighter skin (skin phototypes I-IV) under prolonged exposure on days when maximum UVI was below the recommended protection threshold (UVIlow days, for UVI < 3). Risk assessment was performed for seasonal exposure using satellite-derived data (OMUVBd product) previously validated by ground-based measurements in Novi Sad. The assessment of harmful effects included an analysis of the relation between the daily maximum UVI and the corresponding daily Her, the occurrence of UVIlow days, the exceedance of minimal erythema dose (MED), and the minimum duration of exposure to induce erythema (tMED) for all lighter skin phototypes. It was found that the share of UVIlow days in the total number of days in Serbia increases with the latitude, with the highest percentage in winter (up to 69.454%) and the lowest in summer (up to 3.468%). The results show that the daily Her frequently exceeded the harmful threshold for lighter skin phototypes I-IV (on average by 91.521, 84.923, 70.556, and 56.515%, respectively) on UVIlow days. It was found that prolonged exposure on days with a maximum of UVI = 2 poses a significant risk of erythema for all lighter skin phototypes, even for a duration of 3 h in the middle of the day, as well as medium risk for UVI = 1, and an absence of risk for UVI = 0. The results suggest that health recommendations should be revised, especially in the mid-latitudes, where the share of UVIlow days is large, and in areas where the population is predominantly lighter-skinned.