Abstract
Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation follows people during their whole life. Exposure to UV radiation is vital but holds serious risks, too. The quantification of human UV exposure is a complex issue. UV exposure is directly related to incoming UV radiation as well as to a variety of factors such as the orientation of the exposed anatomical site with respect to the sun and the duration of exposure. The use of badge-sensors allows assessing the UV exposure of differently oriented body sites. Such UV devices have been available for over 40 years, and a variety of measuring campaigns have been undertaken since then. This study provides an overview of those studies which reported measurements of the personal UV exposure (PE) during outdoor activities of people not related to their occupation. This overview is given chronologically to show the progress of knowledge in this research and is given with respect to different activities. Special focus is put on the ratio of personal exposure to ambient UV radiation. This ratio, when given as a function of solar elevation, allows estimating PE at any other location or date if ambient UV radiation is known.
Highlights
People are exposed to solar UV radiation during their entire life
The exposure ratio to ambient (ERTA) should be investigated as a function of solar height because the personal UV exposure (PE) can be calculated for any solar elevations utilizing ambient UV measurements
For a certain activity, this ERTA depends mainly on the inclination between the body site and the sun when the surrounding is similar. Such an ERTA can be used to calculate the PE for the same body site (BS) and the same solar elevation by multiplying ambient UV exposure Hamb and ERTA
Summary
People are exposed to solar UV radiation during their entire life. The major part of this UV exposure is unintended, while only a small part is intended (e.g. sunbathing). The measured PE depends on the body part where the dosimeter is placed, on exposure duration, on the period of the year and on the geographical location It is only valid for these specific conditions. Exposure values have been reported which are close to those measured on a horizontal plane In their study, Serrano et al (*89) investigated the PE of mountaineers and a few tennis players and runners by VioSpor badges placed on the cap and the wrist. (111) have investigated the feasibility of smartphone diaries by PE measurements from wristwatch-like electronic miniature UV meters (*69) in Denmark Later, they [112] analyzed the effects of smartphone diaries and personal dosimeters on behavior of the volunteers. Some quantitative measurements gained during beach activities and during walking were presented
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