Measurement of the UVR Exposures of Expeditioners on Antarctic Resupply Voyages † Peter Gies* 1 , Roland Watzl 2 , John Javorniczky 1 , Colin Roy 1 , Stuart Henderson 1 , Jeff Ayton 2 and Melissa Kingston 2 1 Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, Yallambie, Victoria, Australia 2 Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia Received 18 January 2009, accepted 21 May 2009, DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2009.00602.x ABSTRACT A study to assess the potential exposure to solar UV radiation of expeditioners on Australian Antarctic resupply voyages was carried out over the Austral summers of 2004 ⁄ 2005 to 2006 ⁄ 2007. Subjects wore UVR-sensitive polysulphone (PS) badges on the chest for the duration of their working day, which generally ranged from 5 to 10 h, but could be as long as 14 h. Measurements were carried out during unloading of two vessels while they were at the three Australian Antarctic stations. The subjects wore standard Australian Antarctic Division clothing assemblages, although the face and hands and in some cases more of the limbs were uncovered and subjected to exposure to UVR. The badges worn by the subjects received exposures ranging from 0.2 to 18 standard erythemal doses (SEDs), with a median of 3.2 SEDs. However, comparison with occupational exposure limits showed that more than 80% of the subjects’ PS badges received UVR exposures in excess of the limits while 31% received more than five times the limits. Despite sun protection being provided more than 70% of the workers reported mild erythema. INTRODUCTION Australia has carried out research in the Antarctic since 1948, initially by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expe- ditions (ANARE) and more recently as the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). The research carried out at the three Australian stations on the Antarctic mainland Casey, Davis and Mawson as well as at subantarctic Macquarie Island, covered a broad range of disciplines ranging from marine biology and ecosystems to upper atmospheric studies. Expeditioners to Antarctica are subject to a wide range of environmental conditions and levels of solar UVR. These levels range from minimal to low solar UVR in winter, which can result in lowering of blood serum vitamin D levels as well as effects on bone density (1–4), in the Antarctic spring the levels are highly variable and fluctuating, while in summertime solar UVR levels are significant (5). Lugg and Roy (2) investigated the reported incidence of health events for the period 1987–1998 in the ANARE Health Register (p355) and found a decreasing incidence of sun-related effects compared with previous decades. Acute effects of UVR in the form of sunburn and snow blindness were seen but the incidence was very low. Pitson et al. (1) showed that although there were dramatic changes in solar UVB levels with subsequent changes in 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentration for expeditioners during the year in Antarctica, the active metabolite 1,25- dihydroxyvitamin D seemed to be maintained. Iuliano-Burns et al. (4) studying Australian Antarctic wintering expeditioners showed that 85% of wintering expeditioners developed 25-hydroxy-vitamin D insufficiency (<50 nmol L )1 ) within 6 months of their sojourn in Antarctica due to minimal solar UVB exposure over the Austral winter. Vitamin D insuffi- ciency can cause bone loss, which after prolonged sunlight deprivation (4), may only be partly reversed, meaning bone mineral density may remain reduced and result in an increased fracture risk. Outdoor workers are one of the groups most at risk from solar UVR exposures, and they can often be exposed to substantial levels of solar UVR in the course of their work (6,7), exposure levels that are in many cases a significant fraction of ambient solar UVR and are often well in excess of recommended occupational (8,9) threshold limit values (TLVs). While the TLVs for exposure to UVR were originally intended for limiting exposures to artificial sources of UVR in industry (10), they have also been applied to occupational exposures to solar UVR. While outdoor worker UVR expo- sures have been shown to be substantial at midlatitude locations, the magnitude of the UVR exposures of personnel working at the Australian Antarctic stations in summer was unknown, particularly in comparison with the recently intro- duced Australian Occupational UVR Exposure Standard RPS12 (11). A study to assess the potential UVR exposures of AAD expeditioners using UVR-sensitive polysulphone (PS) film was therefore initiated. RPS12 (11) makes compliance with the allowed exposure limits mandatory for occupational exposures to artificial sources of UVR while taking a risk management approach to reducing exposures of outdoor workers to solar UVR, an uncontrolled source. This risk management lists the responsibilities of the employers as well as of the employees in reducing UVR exposures. The AAD, as an Australian government organization, is an employer that takes its obligations under the standard seriously and has workplace policies and procedures in place to limit UVR exposures, including the provision of items of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as hats, sunscreens rated †Published in the journal website (http://www.ASPjournal.com) *Corresponding author email: [email protected] (Peter Gies) ȑ 2009 The Authors. Journal Compilation. The American Society of Photobiology 0031-8655/09 Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2009, 85: 1485–1490 1485