Very high erythemal doses of ultraviolet radiation around solar noon measured in Arica, northern Chile

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Miguel Rivas
Elisa Rojas
David Laroze
Laura Pérez
Marcelo de Paula Correa

Abstract

In general, news media and meteorological bulletins report on the ultraviolet index (UVI) to prevent against overexposure to the sun. However, this information does not reflect the accumulated damage to the skin induced by the total amount of UVR accumulated over time, known as erythemal dose (ED). This study analyzed the UVI and ED measured at 30 and 60 minutes around solar noon (SN) in Arica, North of Chile. The results show that SN ED exceeded the Minimum Erythema Dose (MED) for all the skin types. During the summer, short exposures to sunlight for up to 1 hour may result in sun exposure up to 10 times greater than the acceptable occupational safe limit for unprotected human skin.

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