Risks related to AOR

by admin

An assessment of the risk caused by the optical radiation is useful to know the peculiarities of this particular form of pollution.
Also the light (always considered a clean source, renewable and the origin of all natural process of life) if not carefully treated, could be a risk for human health.

SCANTEC’s task, using new technologies, assesses what might happen if the light is exploited or it is used incorrectly.

Pollution caused by an excessive use of light causes damage both psychologically, one just may think about the light pollution in our cities and mutations of the biorhythm of plants, animals and even human; and physically, headaches, eyes burn , glare and many other damages caused by the exposure to artificial light sources, we will focus on this second point.

The danger of the sources ROA is related to the energy emitted by the source, radiation exposure received by the worker, time of exposure, wavelength, manner of use, and the effects on the skin, even the photosensitivity of the exposed individual.

Risks in this case are indirect:

  • Over-exposure to visible light: temporary visual disorders such as glare, disorientation and temporary blinding;
  • Risk of fire and explosion triggered by the sources themselves and or the radiation beam;
  • Additional risks associated with devices and processes that use AOR such as heat stress, contact with hot surfaces, electrical hazards, explosions or fire as in the case of the use of high-power laser etc.

Main effects of AOR on human body:

Spectral bands Eyes Skin
Ultraviolet C (100 ųm to 280 ųm) Photokeratitis Photoconjunctivitis Erythema
Ultraviolet B (280 ųm to 315 nm) Photokeratitis Photoconjunctivitis Erythema
Ultraviolet A (315 ųm to 400 ųm) Photochemistry Cataract Photosensitivity reaction
Visible (400 ųm to 780 ųm) Thermal and photochemical injury of the retina Photosensitivity reaction
Infrared A (780 ųm to 1400 ųm) Cataract Burning of the retina Burning of the skin
Infrared B (1400 to 3000 ųm) Cataract Burning of the retina Burning of the skin
Infrared C (3000 ųm to 1 mm) Burning of the cornea Burning of the skin

The effects can be divided according to spectral bands that cause them, and also to the time of exposure. The division may be:

  • Short-term effects or of acute exposure with latency times within hours, days; in this case it is possible to establish the “threshold dose” below that any effects do not occur;
  • Long-term effects or from chronic exposure with latency time over months or years; these are due to phenomena of different origin from the causes of the acute effects and the probability of encountering them is higher along with increasing dose accumulation
The previous table describes the effects of optical radiation on eyes and skin.

We briefly describe the effects on them:

Effects on eyes

Eyes are always exposed to light and they depend on it to see. But not all radiations emitted are positive and useful to see, there are some radiation that can cause risks to the eyes, for example infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

The eye can be defined as a set of filters that can absorb and filter certain wavelength.

The damage produced depends on:

  • From the absorbed dose;
  • From the characteristics and the absorption capacity of the affected tissues;
  • The ability to repair the damage.

We summarize the most relevant harmful effects on eyes structure without defences:

  • Photokeratitis Photoconjunctivitis (180÷330 nm);
  • Damage to the crystalline lens that can accelerate the onset of cataracts (290 ÷ 340 nm);
  • Damage to the retina on highly sensitive people (300÷550nm).

Effects on skin

Acute or chronic exposure to optical radiation can cause the following effects:

  • Effect associated with photo-aging of the skin (220÷440 nm);
  • Cutaneous photo-carcinogenesis (270÷400 nm);
  • Erythema (200÷400 nm);
  • Phototoxic and photo allergic reactions (280÷400 nm);
  • Immunosuppression (250÷400 nm);
  • True adaptive pigmentation (tanning) (200÷400 nm).

 

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