MLB players have been ordered to wear protective gear to protect themselves from UV radiation in a new initiative that aims to improve the health of players around the world.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that MLB players are required to wear “sensory protection” under a program called “UltraViolet.”
The goal is to reduce UV exposure in players by preventing them from getting sunburns, getting infected with sunburn and losing skin color due to it.
Players can opt out of the program and wear other clothing that isn’t protected by the U.N. treaty on sun protection and health.
The league will continue to evaluate the program’s success, the agency said.
The players, who have been wearing protective clothing since August, have been told to wear a helmet and face shields as well as sun hats, according to the league.
U.K. players will wear helmets and face coverings as well, but will not be required to cover their eyes.
The goal of the UltraViolet initiative is to make the sport safer for players, but the program also aims to reduce sunburn in players who are exposed to UV radiation, said Dr. J. Craig Wilcox, director of the UPMC National Center for Health Research.
It is also aimed at helping protect athletes against the sunburn-causing agents of climate change, including UV radiation.
The team in Los Angeles, for example, has been wearing sunscreen and protective clothing as part of the effort.
The initiative will also help reduce the risk of infection from the sun and the risk that the protective equipment can make players more susceptible to sunburn, said Jeffrey M. Miller, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.
The goal, Miller said, is to keep players healthy in the face of the sun’s harmful rays.
The U. S. has been the most extreme example of the environmental and economic damage that comes with climate change.
The world has warmed by less than 1 degree Celsius over the past century.
In the United States, that translates to about 6 million deaths annually, according the U