Hand Pointer

Product Information

Examples of Class 3R laser products include some laser pointers and some alignment products used for home improvement work. 5.7 Class 3B

Laser pointers emitting light with the laser wavelength which is closer to the eye’s peak response are therefore capable of producing the adequate visual stimulus, such as aversion response, at lower radiant powers. The optical radiation produced for lighting is said to be highly divergent, that is the light spreads out rapidly as the observer moves away from the bulb. It is this property which allows the illumination of large areas using a single light bulb. In contrast a laser produces optical radiation over a very narrow wavelength band, so narrow that the laser is referred to as a monochromatic or single wavelength source. When the radiation emitted by a source can be detected by the eye and produces a sensation of vision, it is referred to as light. Lighting devices such as the compact fluorescent, LED or incandescent electric light bulbs produce optical radiation comprising of many different wavelengths. Their light is perceived as white light, and the bulb emits fairly equally in all directions.Class 1 laser products are safe under reasonably foreseeable conditions of operation, including long-term direct intrabeam viewing, even when using optical viewing instruments, for example eye loupes or binoculars. For Class 1 laser products the radiant power of the accessible laser beam (the accessible emission) is always below or equal to the Maximum Permissible Exposure value. Therefore, for Class 1 laser products the output power is below the level at which it is believed eye damage will occur. Exposure to the beam of a Class 1 laser will not result in eye injury. Class 1 lasers may therefore be considered safe. A user’s guide to the Standard also contains advice to the user of laser products in terms of procedural controls and class-specific training requirements [footnote 2]. In the USA, there is a Federal Performance Standard for Laser Products [footnote 3] which has similar requirements, but there are differences between these 2 documents. Laser pointers come in all shapes and sizes today, although most are pen shaped. Originally marketed for professional use, today this style is often marketed as ‘toy’ laser pens and they often come with interchangeable effects heads. Lasers are now widely used during the course of our daily lives. They can be found at home, in the workplace and they are used for many different applications. Lasers are a valuable scientific tool in material, pharmaceutical and forensic research.They play an important role in the areas of medicine and industry, as well being used for entertainment purposes since the mid-1960s. The British Standard provides advice on the use of lasers for demonstrations, displays and exhibition and states that only Class 1 or Class 2 devices should be used in unsupervised areas unless under the control of experienced well-trained operators.

The advice from PHE takes account of the current British Standard for laser safety, and the technically equivalent European and International Standards. If product mislabelling is suspected, or there is doubt over the classification of a product then measurements should be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the British Standard to determine the actual laser class to which the device should be assigned. There is no simple test available to the general public to determine the radiant power of a laser product. A visual inspection of the laser product or its laser output will not provide any indication of the appropriate class for the device. PHE advises that the sale of laser products to the general public for use as laser pointers should be restricted to Class 1 or Class 2 devices which should be classified in accordance with the requirements of the current British Standard and should be sold with sufficient accompanying information to enable the user to operate the product in a safe manner. Toys should be Class 1 or of such low output that they do not need to be classified. PHE advice to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ( BEIS) for Trading Standards authorities is that if consumer products containing lasers are restricted to Class 1 or Class 2, eye injuries are unlikely to occur. Class 1M, Class 2M and Class 3R laser products may be acceptable for use by consumers where the manufacturer has concluded that the accessible laser beam is necessary for the intended application and has assessed that the risk of eye injury is very low.The time taken to recover from these effects will vary for different individuals and will also be dependent on the ambient light level at the time of exposure. Medical attention should only be sought if afterimages persist for hours, or if a disturbance in reading vision is apparent. 8. PHE advice Class 4 laser products have an output power greater than 500 mW (half a watt). There is no upper restriction on output power. Class 4 laser products are capable of causing injury to both the eye and skin from direct exposure and reflections also may be hazardous. Class 4 laser beams also present a fire hazard. Lasers used for many laser displays, laser surgery and cutting metals may be Class 4 products. PHE considers the professional use of a Class 1 or Class 2 laser pointer as a training aid in the workplace to be justified, and regards these classes of laser product as being generally adequate for such use. The use of Class 3R laser pointers up to 5 mW may be justified for some applications in the workplace where the user has received adequate training. Class 2 lasers are limited to a maximum output power of 1 milliwatt or one-thousandth of a watt (abbreviated to mW) and the beam must have a wavelength between 400 and 700 nm. A person receiving an eye exposure from a Class 2 laser beam, either accidentally or as a result of someone else’s deliberate action (misuse) will be protected from injury by their own natural aversion response. This is a natural involuntary response which causes the individual to blink and avert their head thereby terminating the eye exposure. Repeated, deliberate exposure to the laser beam may not be safe. Some laser pointers and barcode scanners are Class 2 laser products. 5.5 Class 2M A laser is assigned to a particular class when the measured emission level exceeds the AEL for all lower laser classes but does not exceed the AEL for the class assigned. For example, a laser will be assigned as a Class 3R laser product when the maximum measured accessible emission level exceeds Class 1, Class 1M, Class 2 and Class 2M AEL values but does not exceed the Class 3R AEL.

Incorrectly labelled laser pointers are common. Examples include laser pointers that are marked Class 2 (or output power is marked as less than 1 mW), but are actually Class 3B or even Class 4. A number of eye injuries, especially to children, have occurred from the use of Class 3B and Class 4 laser ‘pointers’. The majority of these lasers are bought from the internet rather than on the high street, while some were bought on overseas holidays. The AEL values are in turn based on Maximum Permissible Exposure ( MPE) levels. An MPE is a level of laser exposure which it is believed an individual could be exposed to without incurring an injury. An MPE may therefore be considered as a maximum safe level of exposure. MPE levels are specified for both the eye and skin as a function of the wavelength of the laser radiation and the duration of exposure. These MPE values are internationally agreed. Laser pointers used by, for example, professional lecturers in the workplace are considered to fall under this category. Minimum training requirements are specified for operators using lasers of a higher class for these purposes due to the risk of eye injury. Such training should include guidance to the user on the risks from the laser beam and advice not to point the beam at anyone. 7. Laser pointers currently available on the market Lasers produce radiation with unique properties. It is these properties that distinguish laser radiation from the optical radiation produced by more familiar sources such as the sun or the common household electric light bulb.Class 3B laser products which approach the upper limit for the Class may produce minor skin injuries or even pose a risk of igniting flammable materials. Examples of Class 3B products include lasers used for physiotherapy treatments and many research lasers. Laser pointers sold in the UK should be classified in accordance with the current British Standard [footnote 1] on laser safety. This document specifies requirements for the manufacturers of laser products to ensure that the risk of accidental exposure is minimised through the use of engineering control features and product labelling, and by specifying minimum requirements for the supply of product information to allow for their safe use. A comma separated list of URLs to custom cursors. Note: Always specify a generic cursor at the end of the list, in case none of the URL-defined cursors can be used