North Tyneside Sunbeds 'Too Strong'
24 March 2014, 10:30 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
20 out of 26 tanning salons across North Tyneside have been found to have sun beds which emit rays which are too strong.
During February and March, North Tyneside Council’s trading standards and environmental health teams jointly visited all premises in the borough that are known to operate sunbeds.
A total of 33 out of the 50 sunbeds tested were emitting rays higher than European safety limits.
These pose an increased health risk when used over a prolonged period. In some cases UV emissions were almost four times the allowed level.
The council has instructed the 21 premises to replace their sunbed’s tubes with those of a lower strength.
It intends to carry out further visits to ensure that the all the premises have complied.
Cllr John Harrison, cabinet member for Housing the Environment, said:
“Ensuring the safety of our residents is a top priority for the council.
The work of our trading standards team has identified a serious issue concerning the strength of sunbeds in most of North Tyneside’s tanning salons.
I’m pleased that action is being taken and that these checks will be repeated to ensure the sunbeds are compliant.”
A solar meter was used to test whether the sunbeds were emitting rays within the European safety standard of UV of 0.3 watts/m2 - equivalent to the midday sun in the Mediterranean.
The average level of emissions was 0.49 watts/m2 and the maximum was 1.18 watts/m2.
