title: Ultraviolet protection factors for clothing: an intercomparison of measurement systems.
abstract: In recent years the need to standardize measurement protocols for quantifying the degree of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection provided by clothing has led to the introduction of a number of standards around the world. To date, these standards have specified spectral measurements of UVR transmission by clothing and fabrics. Development of a standard test method has become an important part of the testing process, and this article presents results from an intercomparison involving 10 independent testing laboratories and 11 different UVR transmission measurement instruments. In addition to comparing the measured ultraviolet protection factors (UPF), this intercomparison also incorporates detailed scan results from all 10 laboratories and highlights differences in performance of the various instruments in different wavelength regions. Careful examination of these differences can indicate where changes to the systems could be made to allow improvements both in equipment performance and in agreement of the final results. The variability in the measurements of UPF in this study suggest that the protection categories in standards may need to be broadened.
authors.affiliation: Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), Melbourne, Australia. peter.gies@health.gov.au
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gies
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McLennan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pailthorpe
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hilfiker
authors.forename: Uli
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Osterwalder
authors.forename: Berto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Monard
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moseley
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sliney
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wengraitis
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Sep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Human
authors.forename: Zafira
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bilimis
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Holmes
mesh_terms: D003020:Clothing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011481:Protective Clothing; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays