Article publication date
8 March 2025
ARPANSA review date
March 2025
Summary
This European study reports on the creation of a new Job exposure matrix (JEM) for solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure to outdoor workers. The JEM was created by combining occupational UVR exposure measurements with estimations of the time workers spend outdoors. The exposure measurements were sourced from 12 studies published between 2005 and 2022 which detailed personal UVR exposure for 49 different occupations. The JEM estimates also included an expert assessment rating representing 3 regions of Europe based on latitude (Northern, Central and Southern Europe). The expert assessment rated the average duration of outdoor work for 372 occupations as 0, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, or ≥5 hours per workday. These exposure times were then adjusted based on latitude and on the time of the year (spring, summer, autumn or winter). This JEM will be able to be used in epidemiological studies to estimate occupational UVR exposure when participants’ work histories, and the latitude of worksites and time of year is known.
Published in
Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 2025
Link to study
A European job-exposure matrix for solar UV exposure
Commentary by ARPANSA
This study provides the details of the first quantitative measurement-based JEM for UVR exposure. This JEM will improve occupational assessment of UVR exposure in epidemiological studies. However, there are a number of limitations of the JEM, in particular, that 86% of included occupations are not based on measurements, but on expert assessment alone. Other JEMs that have characterised occupational UVR exposure have been solely based on expert assessment (Kauppinen et al, 2009; Peters et al, 2012) and this makes it difficult to accurately quantify exposure–response relationships in subsequent epidemiological studies.
In Australia the impact of UVR exposure has been assessed previously based on ambient UVR at specific latitudes or based on region (Green et al, 1996; Lucas et al, 2013; Sun et al, 2014). This type of exposure characterisation may not accurately reflect UVR exposure due to worker behaviours or other occupational factors. The use of a UVR JEM could improve the exposure characterisation and provide a better understanding of how occupational UV impacts diseases like skin cancer in Australia. However, a different JEM for Australian workers would be required for this purpose as this study restricts its analysis to defined latitudes of Europe. There are distinct differences in UV intensity between latitudes and also between the northern and southern hemispheres.
Australia has some of the highest rates of melanoma and skin cancer in the world and two-thirds of Australians will receive a skin cancer diagnosis of some type in their lifetime. As such, skin cancers, including melanoma, continue to constitute a large public health burden. One of the best way for Australian to protect themselves from the sun is by following the Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide messaging. More information on UV protection can be found on the ARPANSA Sun Protection factsheet.
