On 25 October 2010, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) published a report/assessment on the adverse effects on human health of the fastest-growing lighting technology.
As part of the research carried out by the agency’s scientific team, a number of pioneering studies were conducted to assess the risks of the new lighting systems, based on European photobiological safety standards. Some of the products were found to fall into higher risk groups than traditional lighting systems, yet they remain available to the general public.
One of the drawbacks cited is spectral imbalance, with “blue light” predominating to a large degree in white LEDs, which causes visual discomfort and toxic stress to the retina of the eye.
For this reason, children are a particularly sensitive risk group for this phenomenon, since their crystalline lenses are still developing and cannot filter light effectively.
The report also urges manufacturers to design lighting systems that avoid direct visual contact between the source and the eye (through the beam), and to take into account the gradual degradation of the phosphor layers in white LEDs, which raises the photobiological risk to a higher level.
To download the full report as a PDF, click HERE.
