Tag Archives: ANSI Z136

ANSI Z136

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Your Guide to Selecting the Right Laser Safety Standard

As more and more workplaces in the United States begin to implement laser technology, the need to stay on the leading edge of laser safety updates becomes more important. Laser Safety Officers (LSOs) know that the best way to stay informed about laser safety standards and practices is to become familiar with the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Z136 series of laser safety standards.

Job shops, researchers and medical professionals want to prevent accidents. By following the ANSI standards, you are promoting a safe work environment while avoiding costly accidents and improving your overall safety footprint.

Having the laser safety standard most applicable to your profession is essential to maintaining a successful laser safety program. They are the only laser safety guidelines that are nationally accepted by a variety of organizations, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and The Joint Commission (TJC). And since the Laser Institute of America (LIA) serves as the publisher of the series, you can be confident that you are purchasing the most current laser safety information available.

The Z136 standards are revised after an extensive review process is completed to ensure that all information is correct and up-to-date. This process is led by one main committee, and further composed of an oversight committee, an editorial working group, five technical committees and 10 “standards” committees that are each responsible for a specific standard. Once a subcommittee has completed a standard, the other committees review the document — a process that can take several years.

Before publishing, the American National Standards Institute approves the document. However, ANSI does not approve the content. It approves the process by which the document was revised to “verify that the principles of openness and due process have been followed and that a consensus of all interested stakeholder groups has been reached.” Once ANSI has approved the document, the secretariat makes any necessary formatting and grammatical edits before being sent to print.

The most recent update to the laser safety standards is the ANSI Z136.6 Safe Use of Lasers Outdoors. The 2015 revision expands upon the previous version and hopes to meet the evolving needs of outdoor laser operators. Designed for use by laser-light show operators, scientific and astronomical research, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense, the revised ANSI Z136.6 provides guidance for the safe use of lasers and laser systems (180 nm to 1 mm) that could possibly be hazardous in outdoor environments where open-beam paths are necessary.

There are a number of additional Z136 laser safety standards available that cater to a variety of industries and professionals, not just those that use laser technology outdoors, including:

  • ANSI Z136.1 Safe Use of Lasers
  • ANSI Z136.2 Safe Use of Optical Fiber Communication Systems Utilizing Laser Diode and LED Sources
  • ANSI Z136.3 Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care
  • ANSI Z136.4 Recommended Practice for Laser Safety Measurements for Hazard Evaluation
  • ANSI Z136.5 Safe Use of Lasers in Educational Institutions
  • ANSI Z136.7 Testing and Labeling of Laser Protective Equipment
  • ANSI Z136.8 Safe Use of Lasers in Research, Development, or Testing
  • ANSI Z136.9 Safe Use of Lasers in Manufacturing Environments

As the parent document of the ANSI Z136 standards, Z136.1 is the number one seller and the standard that most laser safety officers purchase, according to Barbara Sams, the Executive Director of the Board of Laser Safety. This tool is essential for any LSO to have on hand.

In addition to this tool, having the laser safety standard that’s most applicable to your industry is another great way to keep your laser safety program current, as it can serve as both a reference tool and a guide for your laser safety initiatives. Because laser safety measures are different for each industry, control measures for one industry can be very different from another. In health care, you would use Z136.3; in manufacturing, you would use Z136.9; and so on. Control measures for one area of practice do not necessarily apply to the other.

If you are just now beginning your journey as a Laser Safety Officer, the Z136 standards are a great tool to have while you complete the necessary training and develop your laser safety program. Thesestandards provide protocols and procedures you can use to create a laser safety program in a facility that may not have had one before. By following the guidelines outlined in the standards, you are protecting your employees and satisfying OSHA requirements that state all employers must provide a safe workplace that meets a national consensus standard, in this case laser safety.

The photonics industry is ever-changing, and LIA is dedicated to helping LIA members and non-members alike get the resources they need to ensure their laser safety programs are safe and up-to-date. If you have purchased one of the Z136 standards in the past, LIA will send you an email notification when the standard is revised — allowing you to stay on the forefront of new laser safety information.

You may purchase any of the Z136 laser safety standards in print or digital format on LIA’s website. If you have any questions about the ANSI standards or LIA laser safety training options, you may contact us online.

Two of a Kind Sale Kicks Off Re-Launch of Electronic ANSI Z136 Standards

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ORLANDO, FL, Nov. 18, 2014 — Back by popular demand, Laser Institute of America (LIA) is excited to announce that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z136 series of laser safety standards are once again available in digital format. No longer bound to only a hard copy, customers can now enjoy the flexibility of owning an electronic version of the same Z136 standard necessary for their particular profession. These standards, available for purchase from LIA directly, are essential tools for anyone using lasers in their business operations. The ANSI Z136 standards provide guidance for the safe use of lasers in the medical, telecommunication, manufacturing, and educational fields.

All nine of the Z136 standards are now available electronically including the parent standard Z136.1 Safe Use of Lasers. Serving as the cornerstone of all Z136 documents, the Z136.1 contains nationwide guidelines for the establishment of laser safety programs in industrial, military, research and development, and educational applications. The Z136.1 was updated and re-released just this year, and contains several updates including new definitions of key terms, all of which are searchable in the electronic format.

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ILSC 2013 to Present Cutting-Edge Content for the Laser Safety Community

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With new ANSI Z136 laser safety standards recently published or on the horizon, the session chairs of the LIA’s biennial International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®) are busy shaping next year’s cutting-edge educational program.

2013 Conference General Chair Ben Rockwell, center, accompanied by LIA Executive Director, Peter Baker, right, and Past President Stephen Capp, left.

Under the oversight of four-time Chair Dr. Ben Rockwell, ILSC 2013 will build on the success of the 2011 Technical and Medical Practical Applications Seminars (PAS). Rockwell, who is also chairman of the subcommittee that produces the ANSI Z136.1 standard, envisions a good deal of instruction to be based on the recently revised Z136.3 standard regarding lasers used in health care settings and the new Z136.8 standard guiding laser use in research, development or testing.

“The laser community is moving toward having one horizontal standard with several vertical standards,” notes Dr. Rockwell, of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Fort Sam Houston, TX. “The laser safety professional needs to understand where his or her program fits into the new standardization. They’ll learn those kinds of things at ILSC.”

While the parent Z136.1 standard is slated to be revised, an updated guideline on safe use of optical fiber communication systems using laser diode and LED sources is likely to be approved in time for ILSC. The conference will be held March 18-21 at the Doubletree by Hilton® at the entrance to Universal Studios© in Orlando.

The primary attraction of ILSC is that the “content is updated with the community,” Dr. Rockwell says. “It brings current and cutting-edge information to the laser safety professional. As the standards change and the criteria for evaluating laser hazards change, ILSC changes. A good example is intense light sources,” one of the many topics addressed at ILSC, along with plume hazards and eye protection, new technologies, operating room procedures, nominal hazard zones and more.

Especially strong have been submissions for the two bioeffects sessions, “which makes me particularly happy because this is where the most science is,” notes Laser Safety Scientific Sessions Chair Dr. Karl Schulmeister of Austria’s Seibersdorf Laboratories. Other highlights, he says, will be presentations on broadband (non-laser) sources and product safety specifics, “for instance on the hot topic of using laser radiation to produce lamp-like emissions as well as on the challenges of home-use devices for skin treatment.”

The highly popular two-day Medical PAS, returning from 2011, will offer contact hours for attendees. Chaired by Vangie Dennis, administrative director for the Spivey Station Surgery Center outside Atlanta, it will feature an overview of the 2011 Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses Recommended Practices for Laser Safety.

“The recommended practices from AORN focus on clinical practice while optimizing laser safety through the essentials of appropriate hazard assessment with a patient focus. New and innovative types of laser systems will be discussed, and new services are continually transitioning. We’ll always have a section on aesthetics because aesthetics changes quicker than anything.”

The companion two-day Technical PAS will “provide laser safety professionals with a set of ready-to-use tools designed to immediately improve their laser safety program,” says chair Ben Edwards, assistant director of the Radiation Safety Section at Vanderbilt Environmental Health and Safety in Nashville, TN. It will emphasize “high-impact approaches that maximize their return on time and effort invested,” explains Edwards.

ILSC’s Sponsor Reception is a great networking and learning opportunity.

As with LIA’s other highly focused workshops and conferences, ILSC 2013 will give professionals with shared interests and unmatched networking opportunities through ancillary meetings, the poster presentation gallery, awards and hot topic luncheons and receptions. Experts from around the world will share their insights at the event; laser safety officers will be able to compare notes with their peers, as well as with other attendees including everyone from physicists, military personnel and environmental specialists to medical technicians, biomedical researchers and industrial hygienists.

For more information about registering to attend ILSC or for updates regarding certification maintenance points, visit www.lia.org/ilsc.

Developing a Laser Safety Culture

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By: Ken Barat

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California

While we have come a long way with laser technology, laser safety has lagged in one important area. Still today the most common laser incident is an individual (usually student) performing some type of beam manipulation and not wearing proper protective eyewear and being struck by a stray or direct beam. The answer is not better eyewear, which would help, nor remote viewing, which would greatly enhances safety,  but rather the LSO and their institution and Senior laser users  need to spend more time working on changing user’s safety culture, in order to make a significant impact on the number of laser accidents. Laser Safety is an achievable goal. It is a goal that is extremely important in all laser use settings, but in particular in the research setting where the laser user manipulate beams and in doing so put themselves and others at risk. A one-time fix without user buy-in will fade away as soon as the next crisis occurs or next project deadline arises. The only way to maintain laser safety in a research setting is through a cultural change that will be passed down from one user to the next. Once established, it can be sustained from one user to another. The paper presented reviewed what the author believes to be the essential steps/components in establishing a robust laser safety culture. Those elements are: Management Tone (it must start from the top and not just lip service), Institutional Training (required per ANSI Z136),  Lessons Learned Class (the value of learning from one’s peers cannot be over-estimated), On the Job Training or mentoring (this is what really keeps one safe at the work place and is misunderstood by most), Administrative Controls (most important controls in research, while Engineering Controls are the most important in Industry), Institutional Assurance (Compliance and applicability of controls needs to be confirmed) and User Actions (self assessment, stepping and seeing if one can improve their set up , housekeeping cannot be stressed enough). The only way to maintain laser is through a cultural change that will be passed down from one user to the next and becomes part of the work process, aka culture.