Influence of solar UVA on erythemal irradiances.

Many materials in everyday use such as window glass in homes and offices, glass in sunrooms and greenhouses, vehicle glass and some brands of sunscreens act as a barrier to the shorter UVB wavelengths while transmitting some of the longer UVA wavelengths. This paper reports on the erythemal exposures due to the UVA waveband encountered over a 12-month period for a solar zenith angle (SZA) range of 4 degrees to 80 degrees and the resulting times required for an erythemal exposure of one standard erythemal dose (SED) due to the erythemal exposures to the UVA wavelengths. The minimum time for an exposure of one SED due to the UVA wavelengths in winter is approximately double that what it is in summer. The time period of 40 to 60 min was the most frequent length of time for an exposure of one SED with 60 to 80 min the next frequent length of time required for a one SED exposure.