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Volume 3.1 For the University of Maryland Campus April 2000
As many of you may or may not know, lasers play an important role in our daily lives. The number of uses of lasers has grown significantly in the last few years, with the first laser being operated only 40 years ago. The market value alone in the medical field is in the billions of dollars and will more than double in the next two years.
How does this concern our campus? The university has a number of researchers who utilize lasers on campus. From the smallest lasers used as pointers to extremely powerful lasers reaching terawatts of power in less than a nano-second, lasers are both developed and used as research tools. How safe are these lasers?
According to records kept by Rockwell Lasers over 27% of incidents with lasers have occurred to students and scientists. What are the causes of these incidents? Incorrect eyewear, not wearing available eyewear, malfunctions in laser devices, unanticipated eye exposure, and improper handling of high voltage equipment.
The safe use of lasers at the University of Maryland is governed by campus policy through the Laser Safety Plan. This document follows closely the recommendations of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z.136 Safe Use of Lasers. Values for safe exposure, engineering and personnel controls are detailed in this text, as well as inspection criteria. The University has a Laser Safety Officer (LSO) to coordinate activities involving lasers on campus. The Plan is available form the Radiation Safety Office and can be found online at
http://www.des.umd.edu. If you or your lab is utilizing lasers, contact the LSO for a visit by email or call (301) 405-3985.
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