Modeling acute and cumulative erythemal sun exposure on vulnerable body sites during beach vacations utilizing behavior-encoded 3D body models

Abstract

Vacationers in a high-solar-intensity beach setting put themselves at risk of ultraviolet radiation (UV) over-exposure that can lead to acute and chronic health consequences including erythema, photoaging, and skin cancer. There is a current gap in existing dosimetry work on capturing detailed time-resolved anatomical distributions of UV exposure in the beach vacation setting. In this study, a radiative transfer model of the solar conditions of Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA (27.8°N, 82.8°W) is combined with an in silico three-dimensional body model and data on typical beach vacation behaviors to calculate acute and cumulative body-site-specific UV exposure risk during a beach vacation. The resulting cumulative UV exposure calculated for a typical mix of clothing choices, settings, and activities during a week-long (7-day) beach vacation is 172.2 standard erythemal doses (SED) at the forearm, which is comparable with the average total annual UV exposure of European and North American residents and consistent with existing dosimetry studies. This model further estimates that vacationers choosing to spend a full day exclusively in the beach or pool setting can experience UV exposure in excess of 50 SED a day at multiple body sites. Such exposure indicates that significant sun protective measures would be required to prevent sunburn across all skin types in this setting. This work clarifies the significant role that beach vacations play in UV exposure and corresponding acute and cumulative health risks and highlights the importance of behavioral choices (including clothing, activity and photoprotection) as crucial factors in differentiating personal solar exposure risks.Graphical abstract