There are numerous sectors, such as the building industry, forestry and agriculture, the delivery industry, but also education and childcare, in which work frequently has to be done outside. The daily working lives of these approximately 2-7 million employees  (depending on the estimate) are spent completely or partly outdoors, which means their annual exposure to solar UV radiation is markedly higher than that of the general population. However, a doubling of the summed up (cumulative) UV dose leads to more than twice as great a risk of suffering from a form of non-melanoma skin cancer (i.e. there is an exponential dose-response relationship).

The legislature took this finding in 2015 into account when it added squamous cell carcinoma and multiple actinic keratoses to the Ordinance on Occupational Diseases (Berufskrankheiten-Verordnung, BKV) as occupational disease No. 5103. In addition, the Occupational Medical Rule AMR 13.3 specifies provisions of the Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (Arbeitsmedizinische Vorsorgeverordnung, ArbMedVV). It determines when outdoor activities entail intensive exposure to natural UV radiation and therefore give occasion for  recommended preventive care. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG; sections 4, 5, 11, 12),  the Workplaces Ordinance (Arbeitsstättenverordnung, ArbStättV; sections 3, 6, Annex 5.1), and especially its concretisation with regard to workplaces that are not fully enclosed and outdoor workplaces by means of the workplace rule ASR A5.1 (Arbeitsstättenregel). Technical rules for workplaces reflect the state of the art and other reliable scientific findings for the safety and health of employees when setting up and operating workplaces. By compliance with the workplace rule, employers can assume that they meet the relevant requirements of the ArbStättV (presumption of conformity).

The UV Index as a supportive risk assessment tool

Employers have a duty to assess the risks posed by natural UV radiation that employees face outdoors and to implement appropriate protective measures. The expected local maximum value of the UV Index (UVI) during the work is used as criterion for risk assessment. The UVI is based on erythemally relevant UV irradiance - solar radiation’s sunburning power - and is expressed on a scale from 0 to 11+ with low (UVI up to 2), medium (UVI up to 5), high (UVI up to 7), very high (UVI up to 10), and extreme sunburn risk (UVI 11 and above).

As of a UVI of 3, the ASR A5.1 requires measures to be taken to protect workers from the risks arising from solar UV radiation, with increasing protection required for higher UVI. This can be achieved via an appropriate combination of technical, organizational, and personal protective measures (see below). The latter are mandatory when the UVI reaches 8 or higher.

UV Index calendar

An analysis of data from the UV measuring station at Dortmund for the years from 1998 to 2018 has been taken as the basis for the development of a simplified UVI calendar that depicts graphically the typical long-term maximum mean UVI reached each month.

During the period covered by the analysis, for example, no UVI of 2 was ever measured in January in Dortmund, whereas this is possible on a few days in February. In June there is less than one day a month on average when the UVI goes up to 8. A UVI of 9 has not yet been recorded in Dortmund until 2018, but is possible in other parts of Germany, particularly at higher altitudes. While the UVI reaches 1 on about two-thirds of days in November, this usually only happens on approximately two days in December.

The UVI calendar is ideal for the early planning of measures relating to outdoor work that are to be implemented between March and October. However, the maximum UVI values given in the calendar should be regarded as approximate guidelines only because lower or higher readings may be measured depending on geographical location and weather conditions. In addition, unusually high UVI levels can also occur in spring as a result of what are known as "low-ozone events" in the stratosphere. In particular when temperatures rise after the winter, at a time when people start wearing lighter clothing and engaging in more open-air activities, their still completely untanned skin is put at high risk of sunburn. It is necessary to make employees aware of this issue, for example during workplace training, in good time.

The live graph below shows how the UV Index changes in real time over the course of the day at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, BAuA) offices in Dortmund. The information published on the website of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, BfS) includes UVI levels from all over Germany.

Measures

In essence, the recommendations on protection against natural UV radiation for outdoor workers are not significantly different from those intended for the general population. Technical and organisational measures have priority over personal measures, but combining them sensibly offers the most effective protection.

Technical measures

involve different ways of providing shade:

• Canopies, shelters, projecting roofs and sun sails/sun parasols for permanent outdoor workplaces
• Sun sails/sun parasols for mobile workplaces, with the direction the sun is coming from being checked regularly
• Side screens where there are highly reflective surfaces such as metal or glass facades and surfaces covered with snow
• opportunities for shelter offered by buildings or plants, although the latter usually give less protection against UV radiation
• Completely enclosed cabins on mobile work equipment (with windows kept shut)

Care should be taken to ensure that excessive levels of heat do not build up in workplaces when using technical measures.

Organisational measures

are aimed at minimising the amounts of time for which workers are exposed to the sun:

• Avoid spending time in the sun during the middle of the day (approx. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.)
• Relocate activities to shaded areas or indoor spaces
• Start work earlier or end work later (while doing the same number of hours)
• Adjust the timing of rest breaks
• Spread work between several employees
• Avoid overtime when the UV Index is high

What is more, it is of particular significance for employees to be informed about the possible risks from natural UV radiation and the measures implemented to deal with them.

Personal measures

Examples of personal measures:

• Suitable (long-sleeved) clothing that covers the body and gives adequate UV protection, for instance garments made of densely woven fabrics
• Head coverings with broad brims and flaps to protect the neck and ears
• Sunscreen for parts of the body that cannot be protected with textiles, such as the face, the backs of the hands, and the neck (sunscreen should have a suitable Sun Protection Factor of at least 30, including UV-A filter, and be applied correctly at regular intervals)
• UV protective goggles and sunglasses that  have a tinting suitable for the work activity

The employer must provide personal protective equipment such as UV protective goggles or sunscreen free of charge and in sufficient quantity. 

The BAuA has been a member of the nationwide UV monitoring network since 1996 and a partner of the UV protection alliance since 2013.