New lasers laws

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Could be of interest to quite a few members on here.

Later this month important new legislation comes into force in the UK that relates to how lasers and other potentially hazardous light sources are used in the workplace. The new regulations are known as the Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010, and will become active from the 27th April 2010 onwards. They are derived from the EU Artificial Optical Radiation Directive (AORD), which is intended to set a minimum level of health and safety for workers across all EU member states.

The UK’s implementation of the directive can be downloaded from http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/pdf...0101140_en.pdf

The legislation is designed to protect workers from both laser light and non-coherent light sources, and as such sets legally binding exposure limits that must not be exceeded. For laser users the new Exposure Limit Values (ELVs) are virtually the same as the traditional Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) values. The critical difference however is that as the limits are mandatory levels, and to exceed them is to commit a regulatory offence, which could lead to a Magistrate’s Court fine of up to £20,000.

The other key aspect from the legislation is that it requires a specific risk assessment relating to the use of hazardous light sources is carried out and appropriate control measures are put in place to prevent anyone being exposed to excessive emissions.

What impact does this have on laser show providers? HSE’s HS(G)95 guidance document, “The Radiation Safety of Lasers used for Display Purposes”, is a good starting point to helping you make sure you are able to comply with the new regulations. Now too, is the time to review your current systems of work, and ensure that you have suitable engineering and procedural controls in place to ensure safety and compliance.

Does this make it illegal to audience scan or point laser effects at guests? Not necessarily. What the legislation is saying is that an assessment of the risk of any exposure to laser radiation must be carried out and any emissions must be kept below the ELVs.

But members of the audience are not workers, so does it mean that they are exempt from the exposure limits? It is true that the new regulations are designed to protect workers only. However there is a strong chance that workers, such as security, bar staff and stewards, will be present in the display area too. Additionally under general H&S legislation there is specific regulation that states members of the public must not be harmed by any work carried out by a supplier.

[Chris1984]

Interesting reading - will do some research into it but i doubt it will have any effect on the low power lasers used in the mobile disco environment.

might be wrong though as i say will do some digging.

[OllieJames]

Interesting reading - will do some research into it but i doubt it will have any effect on the low power lasers used in the mobile disco environment.

might be wrong though as i say will do some digging.

Hope not!

Mine is only 50mw Green...

Interested reading, Darren - as Chris as said.

[mikeee]

This also covers "high power" LEDs which are also AORD. Lasers and LEDs have been covered by BS EN 60825 - 1, BS EN 60825 - 2 (2004 +A1) and BS EN 62471. None of these actually specify the entertainment industry. When I was looking in to this I did find a paper written as a guide to possible damage caused to retina's by LEDs, but this was a prelimanary paper and is still being researched.

Just to add that the SI states a frequency of 100nm to 1mm, LEDs dependent on colour operate around the 470nm to 1400nm frequency.

[simonp]

I got the same email Darren seems to have got this morning as well, which ends with the opportunity to go on a one day Laser Safety Training Course for only £245 + VAT - You can then take the optional exam at additional £35 + VAT.

[Mark Wild]

I got the same email Darren seems to have got this morning as well, which ends with the opportunity to go on a one day Laser Safety Training Course for only £245 + VAT - You can then take the optional exam at additional £35 + VAT.

Bargain !

[sleah]

Interesting reading - will do some research into it but i doubt it will have any effect on the low power lasers used in the mobile disco environment.

might be wrong though as i say will do some digging.

It certainlt does! A laser is a laser, don't forget a laser pointer can potentially do harm, and they are often no more than 5~10mw.


This new legislation is similar to the law about mobile phones while driving. It isn't anything new, anyone using a laser has ALWAYS been liable to ensure it is safe and can be prosecuted if they cause injury.

If we all worked by the letter of the law, we would be doing RA's for every gig, which would cover everything including use of lasers, strobes, smoke machines and so on.
The legislation is really just clarifying things to make it more understandable and create a specific offence if someone uses a laser in an irresponsible manner, which I bet is very large percentage of discos that use lasers, even the ickle ones.

Check the HSE guidlines on the use of display lasers, if you are not familiar with them, then it is highly likely you could fall foul of the law, which means your PLI is invalid (if it even covers use of lasers, which it probably doesn't unless you mentioned it on you proposal form) because you are operating your laser in an unsafe manner.

How many lasers have we seen where the centre of the projection area is down towards the crowd?
Imagine an HSE officer does a spot check at your gig....
If there's a chance of a single beam going in to the crowd, then HSE will force you to shut down and/or reposition the laser, and if they are not happy that you can or will comply then they can confiscate it.