Ultraviolet radiation from solariums: the main problems of measurement and evaluation of results

Introduction. Artificial tanning is now considered a public health issue. There is strong evidence linking tanning bed use to the risk of skin cancer. One measure to reduce the health risks associated with artificial tanning is to control exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Assessing the compliance of UV solariums with hygienic standards requires solving two main problems – methodological and instrumental support for the measurements taken.

The purpose of the study was to substantiate methodological approaches to measuring UVR irradiance in solariums.

Material and methods. Regulatory and methodological documents, as well as literary sources devoted to the issues of conducting UVR measurements of solariums and the criteria for assessing their compliance, were analyzed. To justify the conditions and scope of research, measurements of the energy illumination of the UVR of a mini-solarium, and pilot studies in a vertical turbo solarium using a UV Radiometer were carried out.

Results. According to the results of UVR measurements at the minimum possible distance from the radiating block of the mini-solarium, the highest values ​​of energy illumination in all ranges were obtained at the central point, which was also confirmed by the results of scanning the radiating surface. Analysis of the research results in a vertical turbo solarium at a distance of 0.3 m from the central vertical axis of the solarium showed that the highest values ​​of energy illumination for the two blocks were obtained at different heights (1.0 m and 0.5 m from the supporting surface), which confirms the need to carry out measurements at several points along the height of each radiating block.

Limitations. The results of the study can only be used when measuring the irradiance of ultraviolet radiation in solariums using UV radiometers.

Conclusion. The proposed methodological approaches make it possible to measure the energy illumination of ultraviolet radiation in places where solariums are used, process and format of the results obtained, and evaluate them for compliance with current hygienic standards. Issues arised when carrying out measurements and assessing energy illumination in the spectral region of 200–400 nm when examining solariums are identified.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require an opinion from a biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contributions:
Kriyt V.E. – research concept; editing;
Sladkova Yu.N. – research design; text writing;
Sklyar D.N. – research design; material processing;
Plekhanov V.P., Volchkova O.V., Dubrovskaya E.N. – material collection.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: May 3, 2024 / Revised: July 17, 2024 /Accepted: June 19, 2024 / Published: September 10, 2024