Protection against solar ultraviolet radiation

Interest in protection against solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) among the general public in Australia has been increasing steadily as a result of the 'SunSmart' campaigns run by the various state cancer councils. This increa sing awareness is due in part to the requirements for occupational protecti on of outdoor workers and to provision of UVR protection for the recreation al market. Behaviour outdoors can significantly affect exposure to solar UV R and use of items of personal protection can provide a substantial reducti on in the UVR dose received. The protective properties of sunscreens, sungl asses, hats and clothing against UVR have been the subject of considerable research for some time, and over the last few years interest has extended t o the provision of shade structures and the UVR protection provided by vari ous commonly used materials. These materials include shadecloth, plastics, glass, windscreens and applicable tints. Australia has rigorous standards c overing protection and WR, in particular for sunscreens [Standards Australi a/Standards New Zealand, Sunscreen products-evaluation and classification, Report No. AS 2604, Sydney/Wellington, 1993.], sunglasses [Standards Austra lia, Sunglasses and fashion spectacles-nonprescription types, Report No. AS 1067.1, Sydney, 1990.], protective eyewear [Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, Eye protectors for industrial applications, Report No. AS/NZS 1337, Sydney/Wellington, 1992.] and shadecloth [Standards Australia, Synthe tic shadecloth, Report No. AS 4174, Sydney, 1994.]. Compliance with the sun glass standard became mandatory in 1988 and UVR protection provided by sung lasses has increased substantially since then. In July 1996 a standard on ' sun protective textiles' [Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, Sun pr otective clothing-evaluation and classification, Report No. AS/NZS 4399, Sy dney, 1996.] incorporating ultraviolet protection factors (UPFs) and a rati ng scheme with protection categories, was introduced; this was the first of its kind in the world. Australian Radiation Laboratory (ARL) UPF swing tag s with UVR protection advice from the Australian Cancer Society on the reve rse side are used to denote the amount of protection against solar UVR prov ided by clothing. To date in excess of 5 million ARL swing tags have been i ssued. Work on the various standards is continuing. The maximum allowed 'su n protection factor' (SPF) limit for sunscreens may be increased to SPF 30 + in the near future, and additions to the sun protective textiles standard are also planned. This paper discusses measurement methods, results, the r ationale used in formulating the Australian Standards and the current state of WR protection in Australia. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.