Print
E-mail
Comment
Illuminating the hazards of powerful laser products
Lecturers use laser pointers to draw attention to information on charts and slides. Construction workers use lasers to level and align pipes. Entertainers use laser projectors to create dazzling light shows. These are legitimate uses of lasers.
When used responsibly, lasers are safe. However, a powerful laser, used irresponsibly, is unsafe, particularly when misused as a toy or directed at people, vehicles or aircraft.
What makes lasers potentially dangerous?
The light energy from a laser aimed into the eye can be hazardous, perhaps even more so than staring directly into the sun.
The startling effect of a bright beam of light can cause serious accidents when aimed at a driver in a car, a pilot in a plane or even a person holding a cup of hot coffee.
The Food and Drug Administration is concerned about the increased availability in stores and on the Internet of certain types of laser products — some of which are being sold illegally because they are powered above 5 milliwatts, which is a standard for certain types of lasers and laser projectors.
Manufacturers of some types of laser products that are powered above 5 mW must obtain permission from FDA before they are sold to the public. This power limit applies to lasers sold to the public for purposes of alignment, surveying or leveling, and includes lasers used for pointing. Laser projectors powered above 5 mW and the laser light shows that they produce must also be manufactured with permission from FDA.
Green lasers are particularly troubling to FDA, says Dan Hewett, a health promotion officer in the Electronic Products Branch of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
“A green laser beam could cause a larger startling or flash-blinding effect compared to a similarly powered red laser because the human eye is especially sensitive to green light,” Hewett said. Flash blindness is a temporary loss of vision that occurs when the eye is suddenly exposed to intense light. The effect can last from several seconds to several minutes.
“As technology has evolved, lasers have increased rapidly in power and decreased in size and power consumption,” Hewett said. “Laser use in consumer products is increasing rapidly, and that demand has pushed the price of powerful lasers lower. As the price goes down, more people may acquire powerful, unsafe lasers, creating more opportunity for misuse and injury.”
Hewett emphasizes the reason for the 5 mW limit.
“A 5 mW laser aimed directly into the eye won’t cause damage instantaneously. A person’s reflexes to look away, blink or make other involuntary movements are protective. But if you keep your eyes open and stare into a 5 mW beam, it will cause damage. A higher-powered laser gives you less time to look away before injury can occur, and as power increases, eye damage may happen in a microsecond, even when looking at a beam reflection.”
Lasers pointed at aircraft on the rise
Laser lights beamed at aircraft also have FDA concerned. Incidents associated with laser lights beamed at aircraft have tripled in a four-year period since December 2004, when the Federal Aviation Administration began tracking reports. In 2008, pilots reported a total of 950 cases of laser light striking an aircraft or illuminating a cockpit.
Eye injuries and flash blindness from laser beams hitting aircraft are also on the rise, with more pilots self-reporting injuries in 2008 than in the previous three years combined. The distraction from flash blindness could cause a serious accident.
Law enforcement agencies have the authority to arrest individuals who threaten the safety of others from laser misuse, and several of these individuals have been prosecuted under federal law.
More information about the dangers of laser pointers is available at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm166649.htm.
When used responsibly, lasers are safe. However, a powerful laser, used irresponsibly, is unsafe, particularly when misused as a toy or directed at people, vehicles or aircraft.
What makes lasers potentially dangerous?
The light energy from a laser aimed into the eye can be hazardous, perhaps even more so than staring directly into the sun.
The startling effect of a bright beam of light can cause serious accidents when aimed at a driver in a car, a pilot in a plane or even a person holding a cup of hot coffee.
The Food and Drug Administration is concerned about the increased availability in stores and on the Internet of certain types of laser products — some of which are being sold illegally because they are powered above 5 milliwatts, which is a standard for certain types of lasers and laser projectors.
Manufacturers of some types of laser products that are powered above 5 mW must obtain permission from FDA before they are sold to the public. This power limit applies to lasers sold to the public for purposes of alignment, surveying or leveling, and includes lasers used for pointing. Laser projectors powered above 5 mW and the laser light shows that they produce must also be manufactured with permission from FDA.
Green lasers are particularly troubling to FDA, says Dan Hewett, a health promotion officer in the Electronic Products Branch of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
“A green laser beam could cause a larger startling or flash-blinding effect compared to a similarly powered red laser because the human eye is especially sensitive to green light,” Hewett said. Flash blindness is a temporary loss of vision that occurs when the eye is suddenly exposed to intense light. The effect can last from several seconds to several minutes.
“As technology has evolved, lasers have increased rapidly in power and decreased in size and power consumption,” Hewett said. “Laser use in consumer products is increasing rapidly, and that demand has pushed the price of powerful lasers lower. As the price goes down, more people may acquire powerful, unsafe lasers, creating more opportunity for misuse and injury.”
Hewett emphasizes the reason for the 5 mW limit.
“A 5 mW laser aimed directly into the eye won’t cause damage instantaneously. A person’s reflexes to look away, blink or make other involuntary movements are protective. But if you keep your eyes open and stare into a 5 mW beam, it will cause damage. A higher-powered laser gives you less time to look away before injury can occur, and as power increases, eye damage may happen in a microsecond, even when looking at a beam reflection.”
Lasers pointed at aircraft on the rise
Laser lights beamed at aircraft also have FDA concerned. Incidents associated with laser lights beamed at aircraft have tripled in a four-year period since December 2004, when the Federal Aviation Administration began tracking reports. In 2008, pilots reported a total of 950 cases of laser light striking an aircraft or illuminating a cockpit.
Eye injuries and flash blindness from laser beams hitting aircraft are also on the rise, with more pilots self-reporting injuries in 2008 than in the previous three years combined. The distraction from flash blindness could cause a serious accident.
Law enforcement agencies have the authority to arrest individuals who threaten the safety of others from laser misuse, and several of these individuals have been prosecuted under federal law.
More information about the dangers of laser pointers is available at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm166649.htm.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. |
