Читать книгу Patty's Industrial Hygiene, Physical and Biological Agents - Группа авторов - Страница 133

Rigid materials that are transparent to visible radiation but attenuate UV to some extent include glass and polycarbonate. Crown glass used in eyeglass lenses transmits close to 90% of UV radiation at wavelengths longer than 340 nm, about 50% of radiation at 310 nm, and 10% of radiation at 295 nm (48). Polycarbonate plastic has better UV‐shielding characteristics but still transmits about 10% of radiation at 320 nm and 50% of radiation at 350 nm (48). CR‐39 (allyl diglycol carbonate), another plastic used for eyeglass lenses, transmits about 10% of radiation at 360 nm and 50% of radiation at 375 nm (48). UV absorption by glass or plastics may be enhanced by UV‐absorbing additives or films. The UV protection afforded by sunglasses is not indicated by the darkness of the tint (49).

The UV‐shielding properties of fabrics depend on a number of characteristics, including fiber type, color, thickness, weight, and density of the weave or knit (50). Ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) for a fabric is defined as the inverse of the fraction of erythemal‐weighted solar spectral irradiance between 290 and 400 nm that is transmitted through the fabric. For example, if the weighted irradiance transmitted through a fabric is one‐tenth of the weighted irradiance incident on the fabric, the UPF for that fabric is 10. Wool, silk, nylon, and polyester generally have higher UPFs than cotton, linen, or rayon. UPFs tend to increase with darker color, tighter weave, heavier weight, and greater thickness. Bleaching a fabric reduces its UPF by removing UV‐absorbing impurities. Washing increases the UPF of cotton fabrics, probably by tightening the weave or knit through shrinkage (50). Wetting may decrease UPF, and though UPF is a good predictor of the protection afforded by loose‐fitting clothing, it may underestimate exposure to the skin under tight‐fitting clothing (51). Because UPFs are determined using simulated solar UV radiation, they might not accurately represent the degree of protection afforded against UV radiation of wavelengths less than 290 nm, such as germicidal UV radiation. Also, the UPF for a fabric does not provide a good measure of protection against the effects of UV‐A radiation, including photoaging and reaction to photosensitizers (52). The general principle of selecting tightly woven fabrics or leather for good protection should, however, hold true throughout the UV spectrum.

Studies of UV attenuation by materials used in disposable elastomeric gloves (53) found that chloroprene, nitrile, and latex provided significantly better UV protection than vinyl gloves in the UV‐A and UV‐B regions. Vinyl gloves transmitted 70% or more of incident radiation at wavelengths greater than 300 nm. All four materials were highly protective at wavelengths less than 290 nm, transmitting less than 1% of incident radiation. Stretching significantly increased transmittance in many gloves samples, an effect that was spectrally dependent. Glove transmittance increased with water or saline wetting. Color and thickness of gloves were not found to be a consistent predictor of protection (53).

UV barrier creams, such as sunscreens, use the UV‐absorptive properties of various chemicals to attenuate UV exposure to the skin. Organic molecules used as active agents in sunscreens generally contain aromatic rings. The inorganic chemicals zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are also commonly used. Sunscreens are assigned a sun protection factor (SPF), which is defined as the ratio of the minimum erythemal dose (MED) for skin treated with a specified amount of sunscreen to the MED for unprotected skin. SPFs are determined experimentally by testing the sunscreen product on fair‐skinned human subjects exposed to simulated solar UV radiation between 290 and 400 nm (54). SPF is not necessarily a good measure of protection from UV‐C radiation since that band is nearly absent from solar UV, nor from photoeffects other than erythema, such as photoaging. The use of sunscreens for prevention of occupational skin cancer is controversial, in part because the effectiveness of sunscreens has not been demonstrated for some types of skin cancer, and in part because use of sunscreen may give a false sense of security leading to more prolonged exposure and neglect of other UV protective measures (55).