Laser Safety
Safe laser activities are essential to protect students and staff from radiation, electrical dangers, fire, and chemical hazards.
LASER is an acronym which stands for
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
The laser produces an intense, highly directional beam of light. The most common cause of laser-induced tissue damage is thermal in nature, where the tissue proteins are denatured due to the temperature rise following absorption of laser energy.

The human body is vulnerable to the output of certain lasers, and under certain circumstances, exposure can result in damage to the eye and skin. Research relating to injury thresholds of the eye and skin has been carried out in order to understand the biological hazards of laser radiation.

Class of Laser Hazards
  1. 1 - Eye safe lasers; may not produce hazardous radiation
  2. 2 - Continuous intrabeam viewing can cause eye damage; momentary intrabeam exposure (< 0.25 sec) is not damaging to the eye; visible radiation only
  3. 2a - Continuous intrabeam viewing can cause eye damage; the accessible radiation shall not exceed Class 1 accessible emission limit (AEL) for an exposure duration of 1000 seconds
  4. 3a - Invisible lasers having an output power < 5x the Class 1 AEL or visible laser having an output power < 5 mW; capable of causing damage through intrabeam viewing, with optical instruments or through viewing a specular reflection for < 0.25 sec
  5. 3b - Invisible lasers having output power <500 mW; as with 3a lasers, 3b lasers can cause injury through intrabeam viewing, viewing with optical instruments, or through viewing a specular reflection
  6. 4 - Beam power > 500 mW; intrabeam exposure, exposure to specular- and diffuse reflections capable of causing eye- and skin damage; fire hazard due to their power density.
Beam Hazards

Protect the eyes!
Choose safety goggles with wavelength-specific lenses and opaque non-lens components!
NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY INTO THE LASER BEAM!

Non-Beam Hazards:

Electrical Hazards
Learn rescue procedures for helping victims of apparent electric shock: kill the circuit; have someone call for emergency aid; remove the victim with a non-conductor if s/he is still in contact with the energized circuit; initiate artificial respiration immediately and continue until emergency medical personnel arrive.

Precautions to take:
  1. Install Ground Fault Interrupters (GFI) in laboratories in which lasers are used.
  2. Provide enclosures to prevent accidental contact with terminals, cables, and exposed electrical contacts. Provide a grounded metal enclosure that is locked/interlocked.
  3. Remove nearby flammable/combustible materials to limit fuel in the event of fire.
  4. Never handle electrical equipment when hands, feet, or body are wet or perspiring or when standing on a wet floor.
  5. With high voltages, regard all floors as conductive and grounded unless covered with a well maintained, dry rubber matting of a type suitable for electrical work.
  6. When possible, use only one hand when working on a circuit or control device.
  7. Avoid wearing rings, metallic watchbands, and other metallic objects.


Contacts
Address
53 Kabanbay Batyr St., Astana
Block 1, Room 1177A
Tilda Publishing
Phone
8(7172)70-6219
8(7172)70-6364
Email
osh@nu.edu.kz
hsetraining@nu.edu.kz
Office visits
8:30am-5:30pm
Monday-Friday
Tansholpan Yakhiyayeva – Senior Manager