It doesn’t require an MBA or a PHD to learn how to protect yourself from light radiation risks. Yet often, we wait until we are diagnosed, or have a friend or loved one diagnosed before we take the topic of protection and prevention seriously. That is when we learn the sobering reality that the cancer could have been potentially avoided with simple preventative practices. We wait until we have the illness before we start trying to learn how to protect against it. Our goal at RayWear is to be proactive and prevent the illness before it begins. We are going to be exposed to light radiation, that is unavoidable, but how we protect ourselves and minimize our absorption will control our future health. Let’s adopt effective personal and workplace practices today, so we can have longer and healthier futures tomorrow. When the average worker thinks of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), they imagine heavy led vests used when getting x-rays or HAZMAT suits designed to fight plagues. Technology has come a long way, especially with fabrics. Protecting yourself, or your workers, no longer means changing your entire operation, changing your lights, or spending a lot of money to retrofit your building. It is a simple as changing your shirt.
It is understood that UV radiation is the main cause of skin cancer, but how many know the real facts about the abundance of skin cancer cases and the statistical probability of getting it?
- Between 40-50% of Americans who reach 65 will be diagnosed with skin cancer
- 1 in 5 Americans with develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime
- Nearly 13 million are living with a history of carcinomas
- Over 800,000 are living with a history of melanoma
- Melanoma, is now one of the most common cancers for those between 15-29yrs old
- Melanoma is responsible for 75% of all skin cancer deaths
- Skin cancer cases account for more than all other cancer cases combined
The Skin Cancer Foundation has done extensive research on the protective qualities of the clothing the average person is wearing. In simple terms, your average cotton t-shirt ranges from 4-12 Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF). These numbers will vary per thickness of material, color, moisture in the air, moisture from your body, chlorine, amount the garment has been washed, along with many other factors. A common misconception is that because your skin isn’t tanned, or burned, then you are not affected by the UV rays. This simply isn’t true. The misconception of covered = protected is plaguing the industry and leaving many well-intentioned workers at risk. Today’s radiation is tomorrow’s cancer.
We have discussed at great length how light radiation effects your health physically, but what about the real-world costs? What does treating skin cancer look like financially?
- Estimated numbers of new cancer cases and deaths in 2019 (In 2019, there will be an estimated 1,762,450 new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,880 cancer deaths in the United States.)
- About 4.9 million U.S. adults were treated for skin cancer each year from 2007 to 2011, for an average annual treatment cost of $8.1 billion.2
- This represents an increase over the period from 2002 to 2006, when about 3.4 million adults were treated for skin cancer each year, for an annual average treatment cost of $3.6 billion.
- The annual cost of treating nonmelanoma skin cancer in the U.S. is estimated at $4.8 billion, while the average annual cost of treating melanoma is estimated at $3.3 billion.2
- Researchers estimate that there were nearly 34,000 U.S. emergency department visits related to sunburn in 2013, for an estimated total cost of $11.2 million.
Unnecessary exposure to light radiation isn’t just attacking your future health physically, but also financially. Statistically we are seeing higher and higher numbers of skin cancer and radiation related illnesses. The yearly cost of these illnesses is increasing yearly. And this is not including projected litigation stemming from workplaces that have not provided adequate safety solutions for their team. RayWear offers effective and affordable solutions that not only protect your workers’ futures, but the future of your business, by avoiding potentially crippling lawsuits. Being proactive with the health and safety of your team is not just the right thing to do morally, but also is the right thing to do for your own financial success professionally. At RayWear, growing is your passion, protecting you is ours.
Resources:
https://www.epa.gov/sunsafety/health-effects-uv-radiation
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/basal-and-squamous-cell-skin-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts
http://www.who.int/uv/intersunprogramme/activities/uv_index/en/index2.html
https://serc.si.edu/labs/photobiology/UVIndex_calculation.aspx
http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/uva-and-uvb
http://www.dermascope.com/sun/a-guide-to-light-protection#.WeJAH2hSzou
http://www.who.int/uv/faq/uvhealtfac/en/
http://www.uv,.edu/safety/lab/hazards-of-ultraviolet-radiation
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130949
http://www.ishn.com/articles/94815-dangers-of-overexposure-to-ultraviolet-infrered-and-high-energy-visible-light
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18248499
https://sciencing.com/negative-effects-infrared-waves-8592303.html
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0130949
https://www.cancer.gov/types/common-cancers
https://www.aad.org/media/stats/conditions/skin-cancer