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The advice from the Health Protection Agency stated that prolonged exposure to compact fluorescent (energy saving) light bulbs could cause damage to the skin due to ultraviolet light emissions.
Click here to see the HPA press release.
Prof Brian Diffey, Emeritus Professor of Photobiology at Newcastle University, said:
“To put this in context, the ultraviolet exposure limit that has been used to trigger this warning is equivalent to no more than a few minutes of summer sun exposure around the middle of the day – appreciably less than the exposure time necessary to cause sunburn. Consequently to link the use of these lamps to a warning about an increased risk of skin cancer would be irresponsible and alarmist. If the very simple precautions advised by the HPA are followed (and there is no practical reason not to), then there really is no risk of any significance whatsoever to health. Certainly there is no reason not to use these types of lamps as there are very real energy-saving benefits in doing so.”
Prof Will Stewart, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:
“These lamps only simulate summer sunlight at very close range, and in order to do this one would need to be ‘very close’ (2 cm, less than 1 inch) to the bulb. This kind of exposure would indeed require a limit of 1 hour/day. But the moment you move further away to 30 cm, similar to winter sunshine, the exposure time should not exceed 225 hours per day – indeed hardly a concern.
“I struggle to imagine circumstances where one would be 5cm (2″) from any bulb for > 6hours/day but people do strange things. Still, at this range I would worry more about accidental exposure to the 240V AC supply – close enough to spill a cup of coffee? I also note that being less than 5cm from an equivalent (say 60W) incandescent lightbulb (if that is what CRCE prefers) would be far below guidelines and carry a risk of burning.”
Prof Harry Moseley, Consultant Clinical Scientist at the University of Dundee, said:
“We are concerned about risks to patients who have severe light-sensitive skin disorders. The small levels of ultra-violet emitted by some low energy light bulbs could be harmful to these patients. I recommend use of lights with a protective shield to absorb the UV.”