scholarly journals Balance between Health Risks and Benefits for Outdoor Workers Exposed to Solar Radiation: An Overview on the Role of Near Infrared Radiation Alone and in Combination with Other Solar Spectral Bands

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Grandi ◽  
Maria Concetta D’Ovidio
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Uvb Radiation ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Visible Radiation ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management

Near infrared or infrared A (IRA) accounts for over 40% of the solar spectrum (SS) and is able to reach subcutaneous tissue as well as the retina. Outdoor workers are occupationally exposed to solar radiation (SR), but the level of exposure may differ widely depending on the job performed, time spent outdoors, latitude, altitude, season, personal protection, etc. Until now, risk assessment and management for outdoor workers has focused on the prevention of both acute and long-term effects on the eye and the skin due to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) with little consideration of the other components of the SS (a possible exception is represented by visible radiation with reference to the eye). A growing body of evidence coming from in vitro studies indicates that IRA is involved in cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and may interfere with the respiratory chain in the mitochondria. Moreover, it can modulate gene expression and some metabolic pathways. The biological action of IRA is only partly attributable to a thermal mechanism, should it be also involved in photochemical ones. The cellular and molecular pathways affected by IRA are partly similar and partly different with respect to those involved in the case of visible ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. Consequently, the net effect of the SS is very difficult to predict at different levels of the biological organization, making more difficult the final balance of health risk and benefits (for the skin, eye, immune system, blood pressure, etc.) in a given exposure situation. Moreover, few in vivo studies and no epidemiological data are presently available in this regard. Investigating this topic may contribute to better defining the individual exposome. More practically, it is expected to bring benefits to the risk assessment and management for outdoor workers exposed to SS, contributing to: (1) better definition of the individual profiles of susceptibility, (2) more focused preventive and protective measures, (3) better implementation of the health surveillance and (4) a more effective information and training.

scholarly journals The effect of optically thin cirrus clouds on solar radiation in Camagüey, Cuba

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 8777-8799
Author(s):  
B. Barja ◽  
J. C. Antuña
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Local Heating ◽  
Spectral Band ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Cirrus Clouds ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Earth System ◽  
The Earth

Abstract. Cirrus clouds play a key role in the radiation budget of the Earth system. They are an important aspect in the climate system, as they interact with the atmospheric radiation field. They control both the solar radiation that reaches the Earth surface and the longwave radiation that leaves the Earth system. The feedback produced by cirrus clouds in climate is not well understood. Therefore it is necessary to improve the understanding and characterization of the radiative forcing of cirrus clouds. We analyze the effect of optically thin cirrus clouds characterized with the lidar technique in Camagüey, Cuba, on solar radiation, by numerical simulation. Nature and amplitude of the effect of cirrus clouds on solar radiation is evaluated. Cirrus clouds have a cooling effect in the solar spectrum at the Top of the Atmosphere (TOA) and at the surface (SFC). The daily mean value of solar cirrus cloud radiative forcing (SCRF) has an average value of −9.1 W m−2 at TOA and −5.6 W m−2 at SFC. The cirrus clouds also have a local heating effect on the atmospheric layer where they are located. Cirrus clouds have mean daily values of heating rates of 0.63 K day−1 with a range between 0.35 K day−1 and 1.24 K day−1. The principal effect is in the near infrared spectral band of the solar spectrum. There is a linear relation between SCRF and cirrus clouds optical depth (COD), with −30 W m−2 COD−1 and −26 W m−2 COD−1, values for the slopes of the fits at the TOA and SFC, respectively in the broadband solar spectrum. Also there is a relation between the solar zenith angle and cirrus clouds radiative forcing displayed in the diurnal cycle.

scholarly journals The effect of optically thin cirrus clouds on solar radiation in Camagüey, Cuba

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 8625-8634 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Barja ◽  
J. C. Antuña
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Local Heating ◽  
Spectral Band ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Cirrus Clouds ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Cirrus Cloud ◽  
Heating Rates

Abstract. The effect of optically thin cirrus clouds on solar radiation is analyzed by numerical simulation, using lidar measurements of cirrus conducted at Camagüey, Cuba. Sign and amplitude of the cirrus clouds effect on solar radiation is evaluated. There is a relation between the solar zenith angle and solar cirrus cloud radiative forcing (SCRF) present in the diurnal cycle of the SCRF. Maximums of SCRF out of noon located at the cirrus cloud base height are found for the thin and opaque cirrus clouds. The cirrus clouds optical depth (COD) threshold for having double SCRF maximum out of noon instead of a single one at noon was 0.083. In contrast, the heating rate shows a maximum at noon in the location of cirrus clouds maximum extinction values. Cirrus clouds have a cooling effect in the solar spectrum at the Top of the Atmosphere (TOA) and at the surface (SFC). The daily mean value of SCRF has an average value of −9.1 W m−2 at TOA and −5.6 W m−2 at SFC. The cirrus clouds also have a local heating effect on the atmospheric layer where they are located. Cirrus clouds have mean daily values of heating rates of 0.63 K day−1 with a range between 0.35 K day−1 and 1.24 K day−1. The principal effect is in the near-infrared spectral band of the solar spectrum. There is a linear relation between SCRF and COD, with −30 W m−2 COD−1 and −26 W m−2 COD−1, values for the slopes of the fits at the TOA and SFC, respectively, in the broadband solar spectrum.

Contaminants in sludge: implications for management policies and land application

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. Dentel
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Land Application ◽  
Surfactant Aggregates ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Polymer Surfactant ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management

Policies on sludge (or biosolids) management vary widely, particularly when decisions must be made on what to do with the final product. This paper examines the two principal rationales with which such decisions are made, and through which scientific knowledge is included in the process. These rationales are risk analysis (risk assessment and management), and the criterion of sustainability. Both are found to be potentially arbitrary due to the difficulty in defining the individual constituents necessary to relate environmental phenomena to environmental policy. To place the difficulties in a practical context, this paper presents research results from three recent projects concerned with contaminants in sludge (phosphorus, flocculant polymers, and polymer-surfactant aggregates), and uses the findings to exemplify the dilemma encountered in policy making. A path forward is proposed.

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