Solar ultraviolet radiation incident upon reef snorkelers determined by consideration of the partial immersion of dosimeters in the natural ocean environment

Abstract

Reef snorkeling is potentially a high risk activity for persons visiting tropical and sub-tropical waters due to possible overexposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR have shown there to be some variation in the UVR distribution, with the neck receiving the greatest proportion of ambient UVR (0.56 ± 0.14 (1σ)), followed by the lower back (0.36 ± 0.14 (1σ)).Similarly high UVR exposures were determined at neck and lower back sites for different seasons, different times of day and over the latitudinal range of the study.3

Basal and squamous cell carcinoma risks for golfers: An assessment of the influence of tee time for latitudes in the Northern and Southern hemispheres

“…However for the golfing population group, being placed by necessity in the sun for extended periods of time, there remains limited information on exposure and the related skin cancer risk (9,10). To characterize UV exposure risk for a range of expected conditions, UV irradiance models have been used to provide a reasonable first approximation which can be applied to describe the likely exposures for a range of outdoor activities (11,12,13), including golf, provided the exposure of the individual is expressed relative to the ambient exposure. In doing this, the factors that influence the UV exposure episodes at any latitude must first be summarized and presented relative to existing numerical techniques that have been used to determine relative skin cancer risk.…”

Review on Nonoccupational Personal Solar UV Exposure Measurements

“…Downs et al . (*) investigated the exposure of tourists at the Great Barrier Reef during spring and summer months (September to January). The PSF was also calibrated on the air–water interface as these were mounted at the neck and the back of the snorkelers.…”

“…Contrary to that, a well‐defined study on snorkeling was published (*). Besides a restricted range of solar elevation, also the special requirements on calibration at the air–water interface have been considered.…”