Lasers have been used in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. In the UK, the use of lasers for entertainment is generally controlled through the issue of Entertainment Licences by the local authority. The enforcing officers are also responsible for ensuring compliance with safety legislation. A survey has been carried out of the number of laser shows assessed by local authorities and the level of laser safety awareness of the enforcing officers, including their familiarity with guidance documents. The results suggest that the level of expertise and awareness is generally low, especially in areas where the number of laser shows per year is small. There was also a general belief that the laser companies must know what they are doing because they have been in business for a number of years.
In order to assist enforcing officers, laser display companies, event promoters and venue management, a systematic approach to assessing the safety aspects of lasers used for entertainment purposes has been developed and will be described. This also allows enforcing officers to appreciate at which point they reach the limit of their expertise. Most of the safety factors involving the non-radiation hazards will be familiar to enforcing officers.
The main problem in assessing the safety of a laser show comes from assessing the widespread practice of scanning laser beams across the faces of the audience. A detection protocol has been established which can be used to assess the scanned effects and compare them with maximum permissible exposure (MPE) levels. To date, all audience scanning effects assessed have been in excess of the MPE.