Solar Ultraviolet Radiation: Aspects of Importance to the Weathering of Materials Available to Purchase

Constituents of the stratosphere and troposphere that serve to define the solar ultraviolet spectral energy distribution that is important to the outdoor deterioration of polymer-based materials are reviewed. Particular attention is devoted to the influence of ozone ⋯ both from an historical sense, and on the basis of the latest information available on the relationship between ozone depletion and the spectral energy distribution in the so-called ozone cut-off region of the solar radiation spectrum. The significance of the historically accepted solar ultraviolet spectrum, as well as that predicted on the basis of, for example, 10 and 20% decreases in total column ozone, are discussed in terms of [1] correctly measuring ultraviolet radiation in the spectral region of importance to materials, [2] assessing the effects of solar ultraviolet radiation on such materials, and [3] simulating the spectral energy distribution of solar ultraviolet radiation in indoor exposure test scenarios.