Article publication date
March 2025
ARPANSA review date
September 2025
Summary
This study examined the Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection of shade cloths and natural shade present in 10 playgrounds on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. The study used UV light meters to assess the UVR levels, expressed as a UV index, in open space, underneath trees, shade cloth and shelter sheds. A 3D model of the parks was also generated to evaluate the amount of shade in the parks. The study found that the amount of shade in each park varied by a large margin from 25.9% to 77.2% and so did the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of the shade cloths which ranged from 5.1 (low protection) to 14.9 (moderate protection). In open spaces, the UV index was reported as between 21.5 and 26. Under the shade cloths, despite the low protection ratings, the UV index was substantially lower, ranging from 1.7 to 5. The authors concluded that the shade cloth in many of the parks needs to be updated as many of the UPF ratings were below 15, whereas ARPANSA recommends UPF ratings of 15 or above (ARPANSA, 2025). They also suggested that shade in general should be increased in parks to ensure users are provided with more protection.
Published in
Carvolth & Tavares
Journal of Urban Design
Link to study
Full article: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure in playgrounds: an Australian case study
Commentary by ARPANSA
This study unfortunately has a glaring problem with their UV measurements that detract from what is otherwise an interesting study. The issue is that the UV index levels they are reporting are all wildly above the levels that exist in the natural environment. The reported UV index values for the open sky of between 21.5 and 26 are far above the midsummer maximums measured in ARPANSA’s UV monitoring network for Brisbane and more extreme UV environments like Darwin. This is despite the measurements in the study being conducted in midwinter (July) where typical maximum values for Brisbane are around 4. There is therefore a clear issue with their measurement apparatus in setup or interpretation and the reported measurements are not UV index levels or erythemally weighted irradiance as the authors believe. They also used their reported UV index levels to calculate the protection factor for playground shade cloth. This means that all the UV related information they report is incorrect and cannot be used to evaluate sun safety in parks.
The study still reports on shade coverage and the methods they used for this are sound and provide usable data. The results for each park were reported individually and the authors could have done more with the data they collected which would allow for a better snapshot of shade in the parks. An interesting picture unfolds when examining the data by quartiles. We found that in the 3rd quartile there was a 53% shade coverage meaning that 75% of parks had less than 53% shade coverage. The recommendations for shade coverage of playground by the NSW Cancer Institute is 70% (Cancer Institute NSW, 2025). The requirements for Queensland are that all play equipment be fully covered (Queensland Department of Health).
Overall, despite the errors in this study, ARPANSA agrees with the sentiment of the authors that sun protection needs to be a focus when designing or upgrading parks. Australia has some of the highest rates of melanoma and overall skin cancer in the world and two-thirds of Australians will receive a skin cancer diagnosis of some type in their lifetime. One of the best ways for Australians to protect themselves from the sun is by following the Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide messaging. More information on UV protection can be found on the ARPANSA Sun Protection factsheet.
