For Peru Schoolkids, Sun Hats Now De Rigeur

[Judi Lynn]

For Peru Schoolkids, Sun Hats Now De Rigeur
FRANKLIN BRICENO, Associated Press
Posted: 9:27 am PDT March 28, 2011
Updated: 9:32 am PDT March 28, 2011

LIMA, Peru -- Hundreds of thousands of Peruvian children returned from summer vacation this month with a new addition to their school uniform: a hat.

Education officials in the highland provinces of Cuzco and Arequipa ordered hats for their 740,000 students after a study by a Cuzco hospital found that most children had developed skin irregularities due to exposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.

Some private schools have chosen baseball caps in school colors. Public schools in Arequipa use broad-brimmed blue cloth hats. The only requirement is that children cover their heads against a midday sun that in this equatorial region can burn human skin in minutes, especially at high altitudes.

The school hat rule arises from increasing awareness of the problem across the region as local scientists better track the data and officials alert the public when levels rise.

More:
http://www.foxreno.com/health/27344887/detail.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. The article explains that their location in relation to the equator, and the extreme altitude

present a dangerous combination. From the article:

Ultraviolet radiation levels above 11 on an international scale are considered especially dangerous and it is not uncommon for them to surpass 14 in Arequipa and Cuzco, where the provincial capital is 11,166 feet (3,399 meters) above sea level.

Bolivia, whose capital of La Paz approximates Cuzco in elevation, has begun broadcasting UV alerts to the public, sometimes advising people in the highlands to avoid more than eight minutes of exposure to the midday sun.