Posted by Larry Hoover on October 14, 2003, at 8:00:45
In reply to fluorescent lights are evil.. UV radiation bad! » Larry Hoover, posted by Wolf Dreamer on October 12, 2003, at 17:05:03
> Wolf Dreamer: "Don't some people get sick from fluorescent lights?"
> Lar: "Do you have more details?"
>
> I checked the net last night, scanning google for fluorescent and harmful.
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=fluorescent+harmful
>
> They have a condition that affects babies called Retinopathy of Prematurity, which only exist in areas where they use blue fluorescent lights in the maternity wards. The UV light causes damage to their eyes, sometimes resulting in blindness.That's not true. Infants with retinopathy must be protected from UV light, but fluorescents don't cause the disorder.
J Trop Pediatr. 1996 Dec;42(6):355-8.
Risk factors associated with retinopathy of prematurity: a study from Oman.
Bassiouny MR.
Department of Pediatrics, Mansoura University, Mansura, Egypt.
In a prospective study at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, out of 73 premature infants screened for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), 25 (34 per cent) developed the disease. Nine significant risk factors were found to be associated with the development of ROP. These factors were lower birth weight, shorter gestational age, apnoea, top-up blood transfusion, mechanical ventilation, receiving sodium bicarbonate for correction of metabolic acidosis, total parenteral nutrition, intraventricular haemorrhage, and sepsis. However, with stepwise logistic regression analysis, only birth weight, gestational age, and total parenteral nutrition were found to be independently associated with the development of ROP. The severity of ROP was significantly inversely proportional to both birth weight and gestational age. The tendency for the association of some risk factors to disappear when subjected to more stringent analysis (logistic regression) suggests that this association is more likely to be due to the length of treatment (particularly oxygen exposure and mechanical ventilation) and the overall severity of initial illness.
> Museems put protective coverings over their fluorescent lights, to keep them from damaging their exibits.
The plastic diffusers commonly seen on fluorescent lights absorb the UV. Believe me, sunshine is a far greater UV risk than fluorescent lights.
> [quote]The ultraviolet rays from sunlight and fluorescent tubes will cause structural damage and oxidative reactions. Limiting light exposure protects paper and pigments from chemical and physical deterioration.
>
> All light, particularly that in the ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) regions of the spectrum, induces chemical changes which age materials by degrading them. The most pernicious photochemical damage is caused by UV rays. IR radiation will cause chemical changes, and it accelerates the destructive effect of both UV light and visible radiation. Although not as profound in its destructive capacity as IR or UV, visible light can cause fading or darkening of some pigments. Photochemical deterioration, which occurs in organic objects such as works on paper and textiles, is cumulative and cannot be reversed.[/quote]All light is electromagnetic radiation. As the frequency varies, so does the effect. We happen to have evolved with electromagnetic radiation sensors that are frequency sensitive (colour vision). The distinction between the different wavelengths is arbitrary (e.g infrared versus ultraviolet). All light causes chemical reactions to occur.
> Here is a great webpage I just found.
> http://www.macular.org/bluelite.html
>
> So its the UV radiation causing problems, nothing else.If you read that page, you'll see that blue light is a problem, too. Bright light of any frequency (i.e. colour) will cause injury. UV light from the sun is a huge influence on health, depending on exposure, because it has higher intensities (it's brighter) in the UV spectrum. To put fluorescent lights in perspective, have you ever heard of anyone getting a suntan from working indoors under fluorescent lights? No. Quite the contrary. The pasty, "don't get out much" look, despite fluorescent lights, eh?
> Various things cause your body to be weaker in dealing with UV radiation, including some medications, thus some people really need protection badly....depending on exposure.
> I'm going to try to find some decent viser to buy.
....for outdoor use.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:268264
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031003/msgs/269241.html