A series of international documents relating to the safety of lasers is issued by IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission). These include safety standards that define requirements for laser products, such as IEC 60825-1 and guidance documents (called Technical Reports) that provide recommendations for the safe use of laser equipment. The key document in the latter category is IEC TR 60825-14 (Safety of Laser Products, Part 14: A User’s Guide).
There is sometimes confusion, particular amongst those who have no need to use these international documents, about their status and applicability. This paper will consider the role of IEC standards and Technical Reports, particularly with regard to Europe, and will then present a brief review of the international User’s Guide (IEC TR 60825-14). This document’ s recommendations with regard to non-beam hazards will be reviewed and the importance within Europe of using risk assessment as an aid to hazard mitigation will be discussed. The detailed requirements for non-beam hazards defined in the US standard ANSI Z.136.1 and the approach adopted by IEC TR 60825-14 will be compared.