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Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure
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Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Occupational Safety and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 11648

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chiara Burattini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Astronautical Electric and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: lighting design; visual comfort; non-visual effects; photobiology; daylighting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alberto Modenese

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
Interests: occupational health and safety; epidemiology of occupational diseases; ionizing and non-ionizing radiation exposure; occupational medicine; workers' health; prevention at in workplaces; exposure to occupational risk factors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Andrea Militello

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL, via Fontana Candida 1, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Rome, Italy
Interests: spectral and radiometric measurements; coherent and incoherent optical radiations; solar radiation exposure; chemical analysis; synthesis and purification of organic substances
Prof. Dr. Giacomo Salvadori

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Building Services Laboratory, Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: building physics; indoor environmental quality; energy performance of lighting systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Outdoor workers are a risk category, since they are exposed to solar radiation (SR) everyday for many hours. Sun overexposure is responsible for adverse effects on the human body, such as damage to the skin and eyes, but exposure limits related to certain effects are still not defined, since they depend on many factors, including personal characteristics. Nevertheless, several methods have been proposed to define the amount of SR received by the body and guidelines have been provided by international organizations.

Sun exposure is highly variable as it is the result of many environmental factors, such as sky conditions, period of the year, time of day/night, latitude, altitude, albedo, etc. For this reason, exposure differs from one worker to another and the assessment of the received dose is personal; various methods for its estimation have been proposed in the literature, but the measure of the real dose is still an open issue. Personal protection is widely recommended, but often, outdoor workers do not use it.

In this Special Issue, we are interested in submissions in areas including, but not limited to, the measurement of SR and exposure of outdoor workers; correlations between sun exposure and the development of diseases; advances in treatments for sun related diseases, as well as in prevention and protection systems; innovations in monitoring the personal exposure of workers; definitions of new quantities, measurement systems, and techniques.

Dr. Chiara Burattini
Dr. Alberto Modenese
Dr. Andrea Militello
Prof. Dr. Giacomo Salvadori
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radiation measurements
  • exposure assessment
  • adverse effects on human body
  • workers protections
  • technologies for workers’ safety
  • overexposure prevention
  • workers’ risk categories
  • quantities and measurement units
  • national and international standards

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2924 KiB  
Article
UVR Exposure and Prevention of Street Construction Workers in Colombia and Germany
by Mayra F. Calvache Ruales, Stephan Westerhausen, Hernan A. Zapata Gallo, Benjamin Strehl, Sergio D. Naza Guzman, Helmut Versteeg, Wiho Stöppelmann and Marc Wittlich
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7259; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127259 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1720
Abstract
(1) Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses a major risk factor for developing skin cancer after years of chronic exposure. The irradiation is strongly dependent upon the activity or occupation carried out, but also on the climate conditions at the workplace. Knowledge of both [...] Read more.
(1) Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses a major risk factor for developing skin cancer after years of chronic exposure. The irradiation is strongly dependent upon the activity or occupation carried out, but also on the climate conditions at the workplace. Knowledge of both has been tested within the occupational group of road construction workers in Colombia and Germany. (2) The GENESIS-UV measurement system has been used at both locations for consistency. A number of workers in both countries wore an electronic data logging dosimeter for several months to deliver detailed information on UVR exposure. (3) It was found that in a tropical climate, UVR exposure remains constant throughout the year, while in a temperate climate seasonal effects are visible, superimposed by behavioural aspects e.g., in springtime. The daily distribution of the radiation shows a distinct dip, especially in the Colombian data. Derived data show the high fraction of working days exceeding a threshold set by the skin type. (4) Road construction work involves high UVR exposure. In both countries, preventive measures are required to reduce the personal exposure to a minimum. Exceedance of the minimal erythema dose (MED) suggests a possible enhancing effect, especially in fair skinned people. Intercomparison of UVR exposure at workplaces is possible between countries and climate zones, emphasizing efforts for global action against skin cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure)
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13 pages, 1151 KiB  
Article
Bringing Light into Darkness—Comparison of Different Personal Dosimeters for Assessment of Solar Ultraviolet Exposure
by Claudine Strehl, Timo Heepenstrick, Peter Knuschke and Marc Wittlich
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9071; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179071 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1663
Abstract
(1) Measuring personal exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses a major challenges for researchers. Often, the study design determines the measuring devices that can be used, be it the duration of measurements or size restrictions on different body parts. It is therefore [...] Read more.
(1) Measuring personal exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses a major challenges for researchers. Often, the study design determines the measuring devices that can be used, be it the duration of measurements or size restrictions on different body parts. It is therefore of great importance that measuring devices produce comparable results despite technical differences and modes of operation. Particularly when measurement results from different studies dealing with personal UV exposure are to be compared with each other, the need for intercomparability and intercalibration factors between different measurement systems becomes significant. (2) Three commonly used dosimeter types—(polysulphone film (PSF), biological, and electronic dosimeters)—were selected to perform intercalibration measurements. They differ in measurement principle and sensitivity, measurement accuracy, and susceptibility to inaccuracies. The aim was to derive intercalibration factors for these dosimeter types. (3) While a calibration factor between PSF and electronic dosimeters of about 1.3 could be derived for direct irradiation of the dosimeters, this was not the case for larger angles of incidence of solar radiation with increasing fractions of diffuse irradiation. Electronic dosimeters show small standard deviation across all measurements. For biological dosimeters, no intercalibration factor could be found with respect to PSF and electronic dosimeters. In a use case, the relation between steady-state measurements and personal measurements was studied. On average, persons acquired only a small fraction of the ambient radiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure)
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18 pages, 2422 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of a Wearable Non-Invasive Thermometer for Monitoring Ear Canal Temperature during Physically Demanding (Outdoor) Work
by Charlotte Christina Roossien, Audy Paul Hodselmans, Ronald Heus, Michiel Felix Reneman and Gijsbertus Jacob Verkerke
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4896; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094896 - 04 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2982
Abstract
Aimed at preventing heat strain, health problems, and absenteeism among workers with physically demanding occupations, a continuous, accurate, non-invasive measuring system may help such workers monitor their body (core) temperature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and explore the [...] Read more.
Aimed at preventing heat strain, health problems, and absenteeism among workers with physically demanding occupations, a continuous, accurate, non-invasive measuring system may help such workers monitor their body (core) temperature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and explore the usability of the wearable non-invasive Cosinuss° °Temp thermometer. Ear canal temperature was monitored in 49 workers in real-life working conditions. After individual correction, the results of the laboratory and field study revealed high correlations compared to ear canal infrared thermometry for hospital use. After performance of the real-life working tasks, this correlation was found to be moderate. It was also observed that the ambient environmental outdoor conditions and personal protective clothing influenced the accuracy and resulted in unrealistic ear canal temperature outliers. It was found that the Cosinuss° °Temp thermometer did not result in significant interference during work. Therefore, it was concluded that, without a correction factor, the Cosinuss° °Temp thermometer is inaccurate. Nevertheless, with a correction factor, the reliability of this wearable ear canal thermometer was confirmed at rest, but not in outdoor working conditions or while wearing a helmet or hearing protection equipment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure)
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18 pages, 10912 KiB  
Article
Solar Ultraviolet Radiation Risk Estimates—A Comparison of Different Action Spectra and Detector Responsivities
by Friedo Zölzer and Stefan Bauer
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4887; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094887 - 04 May 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2242
Abstract
Studies assessing the dose–response relationship for human skin cancer induction by solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) apply a range of methods to quantify relevant UVR doses, but information about the comparability of these datasets is scarce. We compared biologically weighted effectivities applying the most [...] Read more.
Studies assessing the dose–response relationship for human skin cancer induction by solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) apply a range of methods to quantify relevant UVR doses, but information about the comparability of these datasets is scarce. We compared biologically weighted effectivities applying the most relevant UVR action spectra in order to test the ability of certain UVR detectors to mimic these biological effects at different times during the day and year. Our calculations were based on solar spectra measured at Dortmund, Germany (51.5° N) and at Townsville, Australia (19.3° S), or computed for latitudes 20° S and 50° N. Convolutions with the CIE action spectra for erythema and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and with ICNIRP’s weighting function showed comparable solar zenith angle (SZA) dependences with little influence of season or latitude. A different SZA dependence was found with Setlow’s action spectrum for melanoma induction. Calculations for a number of UVR detector responsivities gave widely discrepant absolute irradiances and doses, which were nevertheless related to those calculated with both CIE spectra by correction factors largely independent of the SZA. Commonly used detectors can thus provide quite accurate estimates of NMSC induction by solar UVR, whereas they may be inadequate to mimic melanoma induction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure)
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10 pages, 1642 KiB  
Article
Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Sun Exposure of UK Office Workers
by Katarzyna Anna Baczynska, Rebecca J. Rendell and Marina Khazova
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(8), 4362; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084362 - 20 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1967
Abstract
The impact of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in April–June 2020 on UV exposure of office workers was assessed using an online survey on time spent outdoors and environmental data for different locations in the UK. Without the need for commuting and [...] Read more.
The impact of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in April–June 2020 on UV exposure of office workers was assessed using an online survey on time spent outdoors and environmental data for different locations in the UK. Without the need for commuting and with the flexibility of homeworking, weekday time spent outdoors was higher in the 2020 lockdown than in the same period in 2017. The weekday erythema effective radiant exposure was higher in 2020 due to an additional 45 min outdoors in the late afternoon that was not observed in 2017 and high UV levels due to extremely sunny weather in spring. The lockdown did not impact the frequency of time spent outdoors around midday, which was still governed by work commitments, and at the weekends, no difference between 2020 and 2017 was observed. In 2020, responders felt that time outdoors was very important for their health and well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health and Safety: Outdoor Workers and Sun Exposure)
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