A One-Month Monitoring of Exposure to Solar UV Radiation of a Group of Construction Workers in Tuscany

Alberto Modenese, Fabriziomaria Gobba, Valentina Paolucci, Swen Malte John, Pietro Sartorelli and Marc Wittlich
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Alberto Modenese: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Fabriziomaria Gobba: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Valentina Paolucci: Department of Prevention—Health and Safety Unit, Azienda USL Toscana Sud-Est, 58100 Grosseto, Italy
Swen Malte John: Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine and Health Theory, University of Osnabrück, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany
Pietro Sartorelli: Unit of Occupational Medicine—Department of Medical Biotechnology, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Marc Wittlich: Division 5—Accident Prevention: Digitalisation—Technologies, Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: Solar radiation exposure at work is a relevant heath risk in the construction sector. Our objective was to monitor for a full month the individual solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of a group of three construction workers active in Siena (latitude = 43°19′ N), a town in Tuscany (Italy). We used personal electronic dosimeters “X-2012-10” (Gigahertz, Turkenfeld, Germany) to register the UV irradiance in the UVA and UVB/C regions separately and we consulted a specific database to retrieve the corresponding ambient erythemal UVR dose (cloud-free conditions). In spring, construction workers from central Italy received a quite variable UVR dose, between 0.9 standard erythemal doses (SED) and 15.6 SED/day, 5.7 on average. Considering the proportion with respect to the potential environmental exposure, personal exposure resulted between 2.7% and 31.2% of the ambient erythemal dose, with a mean value of 12.5%. Cumulatively, the three construction workers received in one working month a UVR dose of more than 120 SED. In a year, we estimated that a construction worker from Tuscany region is exposed to about 750 SED. This data demonstrates that construction workers in Italy are exposed to extremely high levels of solar UVR, with a relevant risk of developing adverse health effects related to the potential accumulation of UVR-induced damage in susceptible biological tissues, such as the skin and the eyes.

Keywords: solar radiation; ultraviolet rays; exposure assessment; construction; skin cancer prevention; workers health; personal dosimetry; occupational safety and health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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