Solar Radiation Exposure and Outdoor Work: An Underestimated Occupational Risk

Alberto Modenese, Leena Korpinen and Fabriziomaria Gobba
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Alberto Modenese: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy
Leena Korpinen: Clinical Physiology and Neurophysiology Unit, The North Karelia Central Hospital, 80210 Joensuu, Finland
Fabriziomaria Gobba: Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: A considerably high number of outdoor workers worldwide are constantly exposed for the majority of their working life to solar radiation (SR); this exposure is known to induce various adverse health effects, mainly related to its ultraviolet (UV) component. The skin and the eye are the principal target organs for both acute and long-term exposure. Actinic keratosis, non-melanoma skin cancers, and malignant melanoma are the main long-term adverse skin effects, whereas in the eye pterygium, cataracts, and according to an increasing body of evidence, macular degeneration may be induced. Despite this, SR exposure risk is currently undervalued, if not neglected, as an occupational risk factor for outdoor workers. SR exposure is influenced by various environmental and individual factors, and occupation is one of the most relevant. For a better understanding of this risk and for the development of more effective prevention strategies, one of the main problems is the lack of available and adequate methods to estimate SR worker exposure, especially long-term exposure. The main aims of this review were to provide a comprehensive overview of SR exposure risk of outdoor workers, including the UV exposure levels and the main methods recently proposed for short-term and cumulative exposure, and to provide an update of knowledge on the main adverse eye and skin effects. Finally, we also outline here preventive interventions to reduce occupational risk.

Keywords: solar radiation; ultraviolet radiation; skin cancers; macular degeneration; cataract; occupational exposure; outdoor work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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