New research reveals that beach umbrellas may not provide the level of sun protection that, to date, many had assumed they would. According to researchers from the University of Valencia in Spain, while beach umbrellas block most of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation coming directly from the sun, a percentage of the scattered or reflected UV radiation still reaches beneath the shelter.
Prolonged exposure to UV radiation has been shown to have a variety of detrimental health effects on humans, including; sunburn, immune system suppression, ocular damage (cataracts), premature skin aging and the development of skin cancers. The solar UV radiation directly from the sun and its encircling light only makes up approximately 40% of the total radiation which may reach a person’s skin at ground level. The other 60% comes from the surrounding sky, it may be reflected from the surface of nearby objects, such as buildings, trees and sand, or it may be scattered by the molecules which make up the air. This reflected UV radiation is known as ‘diffuse radiation’ and is able to penetrate horizontally through unobstructed sections of the sky.
As we have discussed previously in our recent ‘
In Australia, Sunsmart and the state Cancer Councils work to educate and inform the public of the consequences of UV exposure and the protective and defensive measures that should be taken in order to avoid sunburn and to decrease the risk of skin cancer and melanoma developing later in life. An important part of changing behaviour in relation to UV exposure is to increase our understanding of the science of UV, sunburn and skin.
