Don’t be Blinded by the Light | Laser Safety

Laser – Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation; it’s that word ‘radiation’ that tells you why lasers can cause eye damage. Direct, reflected, scattered radiation from a laser can cause damage to the retina, the cornea or the lens of your eyes.

Laser Radiation Damage

Direct laser radiation is when your eye is in contact with the beam coming directly from the laser – without protection, damage is a near certainty. While a reflected laser beam may only carry a fraction of the strength of the main beam, it can still be enough to do serious damage to your eyes. Scattered laser radiation is similar to reflected radiation except it is diffuse. The effect is like pointing a torch at a ceiling in a dark room and the torchlight ”scattering” to light up the room. Some lasers are quite capable of causing permanent eye damage or blindness even with scattered radiation. So imagine how we felt when we saw an exhibitor using a laser on their stand at a trade show with absolutely no eye protection for themselves or the stand’s visitors!

The Importance of Protection

Due to the technology behind industrial laser machinery, with some lasers, it only takes a few nanoseconds of exposure to cause blindness. Too short of a timespan to reasonably move away in time, especially given the effective distance that some lasers can output up to, which is why at TLM we always try and highlight to our customers the importance of keeping themselves and others as safe as possible.

It’s not just the danger of injury you need to worry about. If you use hazardous sources of light in your workplace, you have a legal requirement to have adequate controls in place to manage the risks. Issuing personal protection equipment (PPE) such as safety eyewear is one such control measure.

Get it Right

Just putting on a pair of tinted goggles is not going to protect your eyes. Obviously you need to see while operating your laser. So what your laser safety eyewear needs to do is absorb or block the invisible but damaging wavelengths your laser generates, whilst keeping enough of the visible light spectrum to see with.

To choose the right eyewear you need to know your laser’s specification with regard to its minimum and maximum  wavelength, the laser type e.g. continuous wave or pulse, maximum laser power and maximum pulse power (if applicable). You also need to consider whether you need the eyewear for operator safety or alignment. If it’s required for alignment, the eyewear must be able to take a direct hit from the laser and provide protection for at least 5 seconds or 50 pulses.

Eyewear Safety Benchmark

If your eyewear meets EN207 standard for operator safety or EN 208 for alignment you can be sure your eyewear provides the necessary protection and meets the most comprehensive and highest standards in the world.

Univet Eyewear

Univet laser safety eyewear from TLM meets EN protection standards. Each pair of safety glasses is marked with the appropriate protection level so if you use more than one type of laser you can double check you are wearing the right protection. If you’re still unsure on the correct safety measures you need for your machine or system then contact our team, and we’ll use our experience and expertise to ensure you stay laser safe. sales@tlm-laser.com