Optical hazards posed by high-intensity LED flashlights Available to Purchase

High-intensity light-emitting diodes (LED) flashlights using single-chip emitters (often marketed as “tactical” flashlights) have seen large market growth over the past several years. These single-chip LED emitters provide significant advantages over their incandescent bulb counterparts in energy efficiency, directionality, and reliability. As their pervasiveness increases, there are growing consumer concerns over the eye safety of such devices. LEDs continue to advance with respect to optical power density and the conventional wisdom that they are safe with respect to retinal radiation hazard may no longer hold. Here, we survey a selection of six commercially available flashlights and analyze their retinal hazard rating with respect to the international standard on photobiological safety of lamps: IEC 62471:2006.