title: Outdoor solar UVA dose assessment with EBT2 radiochromic film using spectrophotometer and densitometer measurements.
abstract: Direct measurements of solar ultraviolet radiations (UVRs) have an important role in the protection of humans against UVR hazard. This work presents simple technique based on the application of EBT2 GAFCHROMIC(®) film for direct solar UVA dose assessment. It demonstrates the effects of different parts of the solar spectrum (UVB, visible and infrared) on performed UVA field measurements and presents the measurement uncertainty budget. The gradient of sunlight exposure level permitted the authors to establish the mathematical relationships between the measured solar UVA dose and two measured quantities: the first was the changes in spectral absorbance at the wavelength 633 nm (A633) and the second was the optical density (OD). The established standard relations were also applied to calculate the solar UVA dose variations during the whole day; 15 min of exposure each hour between 8:00 and 17:00 was recorded. Results show that both applied experimental methods, spectrophotometer absorbance and densitometer OD, deliver comparable figures for EBT2 solar UVA dose assessment with relative uncertainty of 11% for spectral absorbance measurements and 15% for OD measurements.
authors.affiliation: Protection and Safety Department, Atomic Energy Commission, Damascus, PO Box 6091, Damascus, Syria prscientific@aec.org.sy.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abukassem
authors.affiliation: Protection and Safety Department, Atomic Energy Commission, Damascus, PO Box 6091, Damascus, Syria.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bero
mesh_terms: D003720:Densitometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005373:Film Dosimetry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013472:Sunlight; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays