People have worked outdoors in large numbers since time immemorial, whether in construction, agriculture or other areas, and are exposed there to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. UV radiation is a part of our everyday live. Exposure to it should however be reduced to a minimum, since UV radiation is able to induce skin cancer. Owing to the demographic development of the population and changes in the environment caused by depletion of the ozone layer, a substantial increase in the incidence of skin cancer can be anticipated for the future. The actual level of risk to certain occupational groups in this respect can be estimated only by means of task-specific exposure data. Such measurement data were, however, not available in the past.
For this reason, the GENESIS measurement system has been used since 2014 in the GENESIS-UV project in order to measure the exposure of workers outdoors to solar UV radiation. The system is programmed to record data automatically during the relevant hours of the day. As standard, this means from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.
For this purpose, all test subjects are provided with a GENESIS unit and are able to measure the radiation almost autonomously by means of an electronic dosimeter that is worn on the left upper arm using a strap specifically developed for the purpose. At the end of each working week, the data are transferred by a mobile phone or Internet connection to a data server on the Internet where they are collected and then forwarded to IFA. IFA thus receives measurement data updates on a weekly basis.
For each occupation studied to date with GENESIS-UV, a task profile has been created relating it to the solar UV radiation exposure. Results of measurements conducted in 2014 and 2015 are already available and have been published. Documents on campaigns currently in progress can also be downloaded.
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