For a given application, a choice can be made in many cases between the use of a laser, a light-emitting diode (LED) and a conventional light source such as an incandescent lamp. This choice is very often influenced by the differences in the safety rules laid down for these different types of light sources. That this is a problem has been underlined by the fact that LEDs were included in the international laser safety standard IEC 825-11. Most of the measurement and classification procedures of this standard were originally drafted for well-collimated laser beams and scarcely applicable to LED sources which usually have much larger apparent source dimensions. This has led to an overclassification and overestimation of the risk. These problems were in part the reason why IEC established a working group (IEC/TC76/WG 9) and entrusted it with the task to draw up a document specifying maximum permissible exposure (MPE) values for incoherent optical radiation as well as reasonable measurement procedures to check compliance with these limit values. A first draft will be distributed for comments in the near future. The MPE values of the future draft document of IEC/TC76/WG 92 are compared with the laser limits and the differences are discussed.
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ILSC '97: Proceedings of the International Laser Safety Conference
March 17–20, 1997
Orlando, Florida, USA
ISBN:
978-0-912035-13-0
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Differences in risk perception between the fields of laser radiation and conventional incoherent radiation
Ernst W. Sutter
Ernst W. Sutter
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig
D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany
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Published Online:
March 01 1997
Citation
Ernst W. Sutter; March 17–20, 1997. "Differences in risk perception between the fields of laser radiation and conventional incoherent radiation." Proceedings of the ILSC '97: Proceedings of the International Laser Safety Conference. ILSC '97: Proceedings of the International Laser Safety Conference. Orlando, Florida, USA. (pp. pp. 550-559). ASME. https://doi.org/10.2351/1.5056449
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