Ueven sun exposure across our bodies is dangerous.

Common sense tells us we get more burnt in some parts than others, but a European study illustrates that the sun’s different angles mean certain body parts receive higher than the published UV ratings for the day.

 
If you look at the graphics, you will see that a womans breast area for example, is one of those zones.

The abstract is printed below, and the full article is downloadable below.

Visualisation of UV exposure of the human body based on data from a scanning UV-measuring system

Original article: Int J Biometeorol (2004) 49:18-25
D. Hoeppe A. Oppenrieder C. Erianto P. Koepke J. Reuder M. Seefeldner D.Nowak

Abstract
In general, measurements of UV radiation are related to horizontal surfaces, as in the case of the internationally standardized and applied UV index, for example. In order to obtain more relevant information on UV exposure of humans the new measuring system ASCARATIS (Angle SCanning RAdiometer for determination of erythemally weighted irradiance on TIlted Surfaces) was developed and built….

On the basis of these data virtual three dimensional models of the human body surface consisting of 20,000 triangles could be created and each of these triangles coloured according to its UV irradiation. This allowed the UV exposure of the human body to be visualised for any kind of body posture and spatial orientation on the basis of real measuring data…

In these examples the UV “hotspots” can be detected and, among other things, used to inform and educate the public about UV radiation.

Figure 1: Distribution of UVI levels on the upper part of the body of a man and woman standing facing south on Mt. Zugspitze on 12 June 2001 at 1:15pm

Discussion

The visualisation of the UV irradiation of the body can be used to inform the public about the dangers of exposure to the sun and aid the understanding of its role in the genesis of skin damage and skin cancer. The body maps of UV irradiation, for example clearly show how the body orientation affects an individuals exposure to UV and this information can be easily made available to the public. As the models for the UV visualisation are unclothed, the results are hypothetical and show worst case scenarios. If parts of the body are covered by clothing the UV irradiation of the covered skin areas decreases significantly. Depending on the clothing properties (density of weave, colour), this may result in negligible UV levels as far as adverse health effects are concerned. In general the parts of the body that commonly are not covered by clothing, i.e. the head and neck, are exposed most to UV radiation. The visualisations could thus also be used as the basis for advice about covering the most exposed areas of skin by clothing or shading them by wearing a hat….

Reprinted in part here permission of Dr Peter Hoeppe, Geo Risk Research, Munich Reinsurance Company, 80791 Munich Germany.

Download full article

3 comments to UV body map

  • Notable event! Many thanks!

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