Accidents and incidents in the laser entertainment industry Available to Purchase

Accidents that occur in laser shows are generally caused by two reasons: (1) improper or nonexistent procedures, and (2) poor equipment design. Accidents are defined as situations resulting in injury. Incidents are defined as unintentional exposure to laser light in excess of Class I.

The people most likely to have accidents are service personnel. They have immediate access to high power beams, have the safety features removed or defeated, and regularly perform adjustments requiring both eye and skin exposures in excess of Class I. Exacerbating the problem is the lack of cohesive training, particularly in laser safety. I will describe a set of ten accidents and incidents from a variety of show situations, with an analysis of each event.