By Julien-Mathieu Audet on April 18, 2018
Laser Safety
When integrating high-power laser on production floors some concerns regarding the safety of workers will surely arise. In this blog, we suggest a series of resources that you might find useful to answer many of these concerns. You will find links to technical standards for laser safety, government regulations for selected countries, books and websites about laser safety.
Technical Standards
Browsing through standards is one of the best ways to deeply understand laser safety, since major players in the industry have come together to agree on the best ways to safely use lasers of all sorts. Following these guidelines will ensure minimal risk for laser systems users.
- ANSI Z136.1 - American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers is a standard that have been approved by the American National Standards Institute and is produced and published by the Laser Institute of America. It is an excellent resource to have handy.
- ANSI Z136.9 American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Manufacturing Environments is also approved by the ANSI but is specifically intended for manufacturers.
- IEC 60825-1 Safety of laser products - Part 1: Equipment classification and requirements is the European version of ANSI Z136 standard. It is used in Canada, Europe and other countries. The standard covers a lot of topics including: laser classification, laser product labelling, accessible emission limits and other topics related to laser safety.
Government Regulations
It might be important to understand what kind of regulations are in effect in your country because in most countries the employer is responsible for the safety of their employees.
United States of America
- FDA Title 21 part 1040 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR LIGHT-EMITTING PRODUCTS
Canada
- Labour code Occupational Health & Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)
- Nuclear Safety and Control Act Radiation Protection Regulations (SOR/2000-203)
Radiation Emitting Devices Act
Europe
Books and Publications
Books are timeless. If standards and regulations seem boring to you, then these books are great for you since they refer to standards in a more casual way.
- Laser Safety by Roy Henderson and Karl Schulmeister
- Laser Safety Management by Ken Barat
- Many publications about laser safety are available from the Laser Institute of America, a good choice would be Laser Safety Guide by Benjamin Rockwell.
Useful Websites
Below is a compilation of laser safety equipment suppliers.
Laser Safety Classes
Laser Safety Facts does a good job of explaining the laser classification as mentioned in the ANSI Z136.1 standard. The Rockwell Laser industries' website is also excellent.
Laser Hazards Labels
Labelling laser systems with an appropriate warning is mandatory. Her is two companies that provide laser safety labels:
- Clarion Safety sells different laser labels that comply with IEC 60825-1 standard.
- Rockwell Laser Industries also provide labels for ANSI and IEC standards.
Engineering Control Measures
Extensive engineering control measures for a laser system can be found in the McGill University laser safety manual (section 9).
Laser Safety Equipment Suppliers
Laser Safety Glasses
The Laser Safety company provides a filter selection table for laser protection that can be used for selecting laser safety goggles and laser shield for windows or other apertures. Kentek and Thorlabs are also good places for eyewear.
Laser Safety Barriers
For laser safety barriers, Laser safety company and Kentek have a wide range of protection available.
Laser Safety Cabins
Lasermet provides interesting products such as this laser safety cabin that can be used when a laser is used without an enclosure. The device is tested for IEC 60825-4 Safety of Laser Products Part 4 - Laser Guards.
Conclusion
Laserax has developed an extensive expertise in the safe use of high-power laser in industrial settings. In order to get a broader picture of the laser safety landscape read our blog post titled The Basics of Laser safety.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact one of Laserax's dedicated laser safety experts.