Tag Archives: lso

Support Your LSO & Choose the Right Eyewear

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By Tom MacMullin

Wear your eyewear when working with your laser!  How many times have you heard that?  Your Laser Safety Officer (LSO) can, and should be, your best friend and advocate.  Your LSO can base selection of LEP on OD and wavelength, with a further understanding of the unique environments and individuals – to make better choices that are safer and user-friendly as well.  (Reference ANSI Z136.1-2014 4.4.4.2.2 Factors in Selecting Full Protection Eyewear.)  Are you and your LSO working together?  Remember, your eyes are in their hands. Continue reading →

Newly Revised ANSI Z136.1 Standard Fosters a Safe Facility

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By Geoff Giordano

With the rollout of the updated ANSI Z136.1 parent standard for laser safety, the Laser Institute of America is updating its training courses to reflect the new guidelines, revised for the first time since 2007.

The new ANSI Z136.1 American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers is a must-have for several reasons, says Barbara Sams, executive director of the Board of Laser Safety (BLS®).

“If you have the 2007 version, you need the 2014 to take advantage of the substantial changes” such as new maximum permissible exposure limits (MPEs) and new definitions of key terms. Some sections and appendices have also been dramatically retooled to make them easier to use. Continue reading →

Laser Safety Training Vital for Your Facility’s Success

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By Geoff Giordano

After 15 years with LIA, Education Director Gus Anibarro has plenty of stories to tell from his experiences teaching hundreds of laser safety officers (LSOs) and laser users how to safely use these powerful tools.

He can tell you about the retinal damage and painful skin burns — and worse. He can tell you about the non-beam hazards, like compressed gas cylinders that have exploded and blasted through concrete walls. He can tell you how, while auditing laser equipment at a particular facility, he’s found lasers that hadn’t been accounted for in inventory.

“The most notable skin injuries are holes through fingers and third-degree burns,” he said during his safety presentation at the inaugural Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) in 2011. “I have heard of amputations when people have accidentally put their hand in the path of a beam. I have heard of people (who have) gotten a best-buy date marked right into their forearm.”

Preventing such dire events is the job of a proper laser safety program. Continue reading →

LIA Releases Revised ANSI Z136.1 Standard to Promote Safer Facilities

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Updated for the first time in the last seven years, the new American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers will be available through the Laser Institute of America, secretariat of the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) Z136, which develops the laser safety standards. The ANSI Z136.1 standard guides the safe use of lasers and laser systems by defining control measures for the seven laser hazard classifications.

“There have been extensive changes to the ANSI Z136.1 standard with a focus on increasing usability,” explained Ben Rockwell, chairman of ASC Z136 Standards Subcommittee 1 (SSC-1). “Significant increases in the MPE in the near-infrared will enable a plethora of new laser applications. Several sections were rewritten to reorganize, update and improve technical content to allow for easier access to information necessary for everyday laser safety implementation.”

Continue reading →