Protective Clothing and Eyewear
The most prominent safety concern with lasers is the possibility of bodily damage from exposure to the laser beam, primarily the eyes and skin.
Protective Clothing
The hazards associated with skin exposure are of less importance than eye hazards. However, with the expanding use of higher power laser systems, the unprotected skin of personnel may be exposed to extremely hazardous levels of the beam power (beam hazard) if used in an unenclosed system design. There are also non-beam hazards that should be considered in order to protect the skin and eye.
• Remove personal jewelry. Watches, rings etc. act as reflectors. When entering a laser lab, remove anything that may pose a reflection hazard. This is to protect you and your co-workers.
• Gloves, lab coats, eye protection should be worn when preparing dyes and solvent for laser.
• It is recommended that any solution preparation must be done inside a chemistry fume hood.
• For hazardous gases and cryogenic materials, some may require special ventilation. When handling cryogenic materials it is appropriate to wear protective clothing and face shields.
Protective Eyewear
Engineering controls and administrative controls are the best way to control hazards. In terms of protection, protective eyewear is considered your last line of defense against laser hazards. Therefore, appropriate laser protective eyewear must be worn within the nominal hazard zone (NHZ) at all times when working with Class 3b and/or Class 4 lasers or laser systems and whenever there is a reasonable likelihood of exposure to a harmful level of laser radiation.
Laser protective eyewear is wavelength specific and proper selection is important, especially for optical density (OD). OD measures how much the lens of the laser safety glasses blocks the light that is transmitted from a particular wavelength. The higher the OD, the more laser light from that particular wavelength range is blocked. While a higher OD provides a greater level of protection, one of the drawbacks of a high OD lens is the decrease in visibility. Wearers tend to be discouraged and be not inclined to wear their protective eyewear with high OD. It is therefore necessary to determine the best-suited eyewear while working in the laser lab and not just buy the higher OD lens. Keep in mind that several companies have developed lens that is clear, but still provides a high OD. Complete the Laser Safety Hazard Evaluation form and return it to LSO for assistance in selecting protective eyewear and determining the optical density (OD) needed for adequate protection. In general, laser eyewear must be selected on the basis of protecting against reflections especially diffuse reflections, and provide protection to a level where the natural aversion reflex will prevent eye injuries.
Eyewear must be maintained in good condition. Inspect your eyewear before each use, clean periodically and replace if necessary.
Vendor recommendations for eyewear selections and customer service can be found under Vendor Resources. They supply standard laser eyewear and certified M-rated eyewear and they give discounts on eyewear to educational institutions like Auburn University.
Common Causes of Laser Eye Injuries
• Unanticipated eye exposure during beam alignment
• Fatigue, carelessness, inappropriate shortcuts, or horseplay
• Upwardly-directed beam, beam at eye-level, or beam crossing walkways
• Eye protection not worn or the wrong eyewear worn
• Overconfidence; feeling of complacency or invincibility
• Beam not sufficiently enclosed or isolated
• Laser operator not sufficiently trained
• Laser use area not optically isolated from other lab areas and entryways
• Failure to follow SOP due to hurrying, impatience, etc.
• Manufacturer and laser user installed safety features removed or bypassed.
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