Regular umbrellas help in blocking UV rays
Source: Agencies |
March 22, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IF it's streaming sunshine outdoors and the sunscreen isn't handy, grab an umbrella for shade, researchers say.
According to a US study published in JAMA Dermatology, any fully-functioning handheld umbrella can block more than three-quarters of ultraviolet (UV) light on a sunny day. Black ones do even better, blocking at least 90 percent of rays.
"The umbrellas blocked between 77 percent and 99 percent of UV radiation," wrote Suephy Chen and colleagues at Emory University in Atlanta. Noting that umbrellas are widely used for shade in parts of Asia - up to 45 percent of women in China - as well as the Middle East, the researchers decided to see how well regular umbrellas actually blocked UV light.
So they collected 23 working umbrellas - no fabric tears allowed - from people at their medical school. On a sunny morning they used UV devices to measure radiation just under each umbrella's fabric, and by the nose of the person using it - and then compared this to umbrella-less radiation readings. All but one of the umbrellas was a standard, handheld rain umbrella. The other was a travel sun umbrella, which blocked more than 99 percent of rays.
According to a US study published in JAMA Dermatology, any fully-functioning handheld umbrella can block more than three-quarters of ultraviolet (UV) light on a sunny day. Black ones do even better, blocking at least 90 percent of rays.
"The umbrellas blocked between 77 percent and 99 percent of UV radiation," wrote Suephy Chen and colleagues at Emory University in Atlanta. Noting that umbrellas are widely used for shade in parts of Asia - up to 45 percent of women in China - as well as the Middle East, the researchers decided to see how well regular umbrellas actually blocked UV light.
So they collected 23 working umbrellas - no fabric tears allowed - from people at their medical school. On a sunny morning they used UV devices to measure radiation just under each umbrella's fabric, and by the nose of the person using it - and then compared this to umbrella-less radiation readings. All but one of the umbrellas was a standard, handheld rain umbrella. The other was a travel sun umbrella, which blocked more than 99 percent of rays.
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