UV Information

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) constitutes a significant health risk to people, with the sun being the main source of UVR for most. In the short term, erythema (sunburn) and photokeratitis (snow blindness or arc eye) can cause severe discomfort. Skin cancer is the most serious long-term health effect. The incidence of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, doubled in the UK over the period 1979–94, although there is now evidence from several countries that the mortality rate due to malignant melanoma is beginning to stabilise. The incidence of malignant melanoma in women in Scotland has also stabilised since 1986.

As a result of these health risks, the reduction of personal UVR exposure is important to many people. Clothing is an obvious source of protection against UVR exposure, but its effectiveness is not fully quantified. In addition to a garment providing good coverage of the skin, its fabric should prevent most of the incident UVR from reaching the skin beneath it.

Both the structure of a fabric (its fibre content, fibre thickness and the knit or weave) and its colour can have a large influence on its UVR protection. It is not possible for the average consumer to make a reliable assessment of the UVR protection of a fabric by visual inspection, so a method has been developed for determining the Clothing Protection Factor (CPF) provided by a fabric which is equivalent to the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) described in the British Standard. The CPF is also analogous to the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) quoted for sunscreens.

Clothing fabrics have a wide range of CPFs and those with the lowest CPFs (less than 10) provide inadequate protection from solar UVR during summer conditions. Laboratory measurements of the fabric transmittance are required to determine a CPF; it cannot be adequately predicted by visual inspection of the fabric. Both fabric structure and colour have a large effect on a CPF.

At RAYBLOCK all clothing that has a UPF rating has been tested and certified to provide a high level of protection.

What the UV-Index means - Australia

Over exposure to ultraviolet radiation can cause short term health effects such as sunburn. Long term exposure to ultraviolet radiation can increase the risk of damage to the skin and eyes which may result in skin cancers and cataracts.

UV-Index is a measure of the maximum daily level of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and is related to UVR exposure as follows:

UV-Index Level	Exposure Category	Colour Code	Precautions
2 or less	Low		You can safely stay outdoors with minimal protection.
3 to 5	Moderate		Wear a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, seek shady areas.
6 to 7	High		Wear a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, seek shady areas. Stay indoors between 10am and 2pm (11-3 daylight saving time).
8 to 10	Very High		Stay indoors as much as possible, otherwise use all precautions above.
11 or higher	Extreme		Same as previous category above.