Applicability of the Polysulphone Horizontal Calibration to Differently Inclined Dosimeters

Abstract

Polysulphone (PS) dosimetry has been a widely used technique for more than 30 years to quantify the erythemally effective UV dose received by anatomic sites (personal exposure). The calibration of PS dosimeters is an important issue as their spectral response is different from the erythemal action spectrum. It is performed exposing a set of PS dosimeters on a horizontal plane and measuring the UV doses received by dosimeters using calibrated spectroradiometers or radiometers. In this study, data collected during PS field campaigns (from 2004 to 2006), using horizontal and differently inclined dosimeters, were analyzed to provide some considerations on the transfer of the horizontal calibration to differently inclined dosimeters, as anatomic sites usually are. The role of sky conditions, of the angle of incidence between the sun and the normal to the slope, and of the type of surrounding surface on the calibration were investigated. It was concluded that PS horizontal calibrations apply to differently inclined dosimeters for incidence angles up to approximately 70° and for surfaces excluding ones with high albedo. Caution should be used in the application of horizontal calibrations for cases of high-incidence angle and/or high albedo surfaces.

Ultraviolet Reflection Irradiances and Exposures in The Constructed Environment For Horizontal, Vertical and Inclined Surfaces

“…Polysulphone dosimetry is an acceptable method to evaluate erythemal UV exposure, due to the spectral response that approximates the erythemal action spectrum provided that there is an appropriate calibration under the same atmospheric conditions . There can be issues with dosimeters used on non‐horizontal planes however as the dosimeters are being used comparatively per position this is not considered critical. The dosimeters were calibrated to the scanning spectroradiometer described in the previous section located on a building rooftop nearby which records the global UV spectral irradiance every 10 min from 280 to 400 nm in 0.5 nm steps.…”

Extreme UV index and solar exposures at Plateau Rosà (3500 m a.s.l.) in Valle d’Aosta Region, Italy

“…PS spectral response (C.I.E., 1992) resembles the erythemal action spectrum (Diffey, 1984). Polysulphone is thermally stable (Diffey and Davis, 1978), the dark reaction is known and the dosimeters exhibit a good angular response for incident angles up to 70° (Casale et al, 2012). PS dosimeters are light and cheap; these properties enable PS dosimeters to be used in field campaigns with a statistically significant number of volunteers (Siani et al, 2014).…”

“…As found in Casale et al (2012) it is possible to apply the standard horizontal calibration to tilted dosimeters for incidence angles of the sun's beam on the badge till 65°-70°. In fact, below such angles, the dosimeters' angular response follows the expected cosine law within ±20% and personal doses can be determined with an acceptable level of accuracy (at least for this kind of studies).…”

“…The overall uncertainty on ER was derived from the error propagation formula taking into account an uncertainty of 10% in the ambient exposure provided by the broad-band radiometer combined with the uncertainty of personal exposure of 10% for PS and 15% for PPO (Appendix of Casale et al, 2012).…”

The angular distributions of ultraviolet spectral irradiance at different solar elevation angles under clear sky conditions

“…Other researchers have measured UVR on inclined planes with fixed angles (Esteve et al 2006;Utrillas et al 2009;Navntoft et al 2012); Oppenrieder et al (2004Oppenrieder et al ( ), (2005 measured erythemally weighted UV irradiance at azimuth intervals of 15°on 0°and 45°inclined planes by the use of a fully automatic measuring system, an angle scanning radiometer. Casale et al (2012) used south-facing polysulphone (PS) dosimetry to measure erythemal intensity on the seven inclined planes of which the angular intervals were 15°. The former study focused on the influence of azimuths, while the latter study focused on the influence of inclined angles under different weather conditions.…”