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Show Sun-Bad For SCiin i TS)es soaking up the rays of a blazing sun make you feel healthy, young and full of vitality? vi-tality? ARE YOU a sun worshiper who regards bronzed skin as a status symbol of the leisure life? We have an endless number of reasons for exposing ourselves our-selves to the sun. Some of us even must do it as a part of our job. But few of us consider con-sider that in the long run our health and appearance ' are likely to suffer from excessive ex-cessive sun exposure, says a pamphlet from the American Medical Association. KNOW THE facts before you go into the sun and decide ' just how much is best for you. Too much sun can mean anything from sunburn to rapidly aging skin to skin cancer. How much you tan or burn depends, in large part, on how much ultraviolet radiation gets to your skin. Amount of ultraviolet light is greatest at the equator and decreases as you travel north or south. SEASONAL changes also are important. Intensitv of solar radiation reaches a maximum on June 21. In winter many of the rays in the sunburn range do not reach -the northern part of the Unit-jt ed States. The time of day is important. impor-tant. The sun's rays are most potent between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. standard time. These are the hours when you are most likely to tan or burn. CLOUDY DAYS aren't necessarily safe. Sky radiation radia-tion can burn without apparent ap-parent bright sunlight. Dirt particles and smoke that contaminate con-taminate the air may provide considerable protection against sunburn by absorbing sunburn-producing rays. Altitude is another factor. Skiers high in the mountains find that there is less atmosphere at-mosphere to filter the ultraviolet ul-traviolet rays. And snow reflects the sunburn rays right into your face. BEACH umbrellas can give a false sense of protection. Radiation waves radiate from all sides, penetrating under the umbrellas. Sand on the beach will reflect the sun's burning rays. ;-: |