A new standard geared to lasers employed in research takes a “more realistic” approach to guiding safety officers overseeing such work, in which the use of customized laser devices and fiber optics is common.
American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Research, Development, or Testing, the title of the new ANSI Z136.8 standard, also addresses injury prevention in specific areas where experiments are conducted.
“In the research setting, you’re often dealing with lasers that don’t have all the bells and whistles,” explains Ken Barat, chairman of the subcommittee that developed the new standard. “Z136.8 recognizes that many lasers in the research setting are homemade and may not have all these controls, so I do not have to explain why they are missing to auditors. (Z136.8) allows LSOs to accept those things rather than say you’re out of compliance.”