Organization: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Research Title: Health Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) Exposure

Funding Level (millions of dollars):

FY94	3.1
FY95	4.0
FY96	4.0

Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Component:
(a) Subcommittee: (i) Global Change Research Subcommittee -- 100% (ii) Risk Assessment Group (iii) Committee on Health, Safety, and Food R&D

Organization Component: Division of Extramural Research and Training, NIEHS; Division of Intramural Research, NIEHS

Point of Contact:
Anne Sassaman
Phone: 919-541-7723

Research Goals:
To identify the adverse health effects anticipated from UV radiation exposure.

Research Description:
As the protective ozone layer in the upper atmosphere continues to be damaged by man-made chemicals, it is expected that humans will be exposed to UV radiation at higher levels. Research supported by this program includes several studies investigating the effects of UV exposure on the immune system, the aging process, sensitive tissues such as the retina and skin, and methods to reduce these harmful effects. The goal of these projects is to discover all possible health effects and to identify prevention and intervention techniques to reduce the severity of disease.

Program Interfaces:
N/A

Program Milestones:
The research projects within this program are generally investigator initiated basic research projects. The output from these projects are peer reviewed scientific journal articles.

Policy Payoffs:
Possible policy payoffs include improved risk assessments for global change health effects. Identification of prevention methods could lead to better public health programs for preventing disease, thus reducing health care costs.