Playground duty puts teachers at risk of skin cancer, study finds

To do this, he created a mathematical model to measure average sun exposure for a teacher doing a standard amount of playground duty each week, depending on where they were in the state and the timing of the breaks.

“In the study, we assumed the teachers were outside for one first break and one second break [a week], which is based on the Queensland Teachers’ Union standard of 90 minutes of playground supervision,” he said.

“But in smaller schools, a teacher might spend five days a week outside, not to mention a child who would potentially spend all 10 school breaks in a week outside.”

Complicating the issue is the sheer size of Queensland, which means because the state only has one time zone, the actual UV index at any given time can be…