Suntan salons and the American skin
Suntan salon franchises burst upon the economic scene in the United States in 1978 and proliferated rapidly. At present it is estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 salons are active in the country. Of the two types in use, the more common uses a fluorescent UVB source which emits primarily the highly injurious sunburn rays between 290 and 320 nm. These are the rays that not only are responsible for the acute cellular injury and erythema called sunburn, but at least under experimental conditions are the most carcinogenic. The UVA units are found primarily in Europe. The hazards of their rays have not been clarified as yet, but they are known to be responsible for the vast majority of exogenously photosensitized reactions that occur in the skin, they do augment the acute injury produced by the UVB rays, they cause dermal blood vessel damage, and they can produce lenticular injury. In conclusion, tanning for cosmetic purposes is not innocuous.
- OSTI ID:
- 5512708
- Journal Information:
- South. Med. J.; (United States), Vol. 74:7
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
SKIN
RADIOSENSITIVITY
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BLOOD VESSELS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ERYTHEMA
HEALTH HAZARDS
SKIN DISEASES
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
BODY
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
DISEASES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
HAZARDS
ORGANS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
SYMPTOMS
552000* - Public Health
560151 - Radiation Effects on Animals- Man