?Solariums make a mockery of our efforts to reduce skin cancer ...

Cancer Council Australia has launched one of the strongest public attacks to date on the use and regulation of sunbeds in the country. This?follows a report that some solarium devices emit UV radiation six times stronger than the sun at midday in Australia.

In a press release issued today, the CEO of Cancer Council Australia, Professor Ian Olver, cited a paper published in this month?s Photochemistry and Photobiology journal?when calling for the Australian Government to phase out solariums.

The paper, publishing research by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), reported that of 20 different solarium devices tested only one had an intensity of less than 12 on the UV Index and three had a UV Index greater than 36. To put this in perspective,?a UV Index greater than 11 is considered ?extreme? and experts recommend not exposing unprotected skin or eyes to the sun in these conditions.

Although the ARPANSA report?included only?a small sample, the 20 devices tested indicated that, ?solaria in Australia emitted very large amounts of UVA, and very intense levels of UVB irradiance in comparison with midday summer sunlight.? Exposure to both UVA and UVB is known to directly contribute to skin cancer, including melanoma.

?Australians are putting their lives at risk when using a solarium,? Professor Olver said, ?Each year 1850 Australians die of skin cancer and solariums make a mockery of our efforts to reduce skin cancer?.

As the body of evidence grows on the risks posed by solariums, it is Professor Olver?s?belief that,??public health would be the winner? if the Australian government decided to phase out solariums. Despite Australia having some of the toughest solarium regulations in the world, only Brazil has taken the ultimate step of banning their cosmetic use outright.

The Cancer Council media release can be accessed here and full text of the ARPANSA paper is available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-1097.2010.00835.x/pdf.

Reference

Gies, P, et al (2011). ?UVR Emissions from Solaria in Australia and Implications for the Regulation Process?. Photochemistry and Photobiology. 87: 184-190.

Image reference

?Ultraviolet light bulb.jpg? posted to Wikimedia on 18 July 2009 by Anakin101 < http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ultraviolet_light_bulb.jpg?uselang=en-gb>

Related Posts:

Tags: about, Australia, cancer, light, radiation, research, skin cancer, skin conditions, sunbed, sunsmart, tan, tanning, UV, UV radiation, UVA, UVB

This entry was posted on Monday, May 16th, 2011 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Issues & Discourse, Light & Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.clinuvel.com/en/blog/lightandhealth/solariums-make-a-mockery-of-our-efforts-to-reduce-skin-cancer-cancer-council-australia/

anzac sathya sai baba miracles dfo gears of war 3 beta muddy waters