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Safety with Lasers and Other Optical Sources pp 217–260Cite as

Laser Safety Standards: Evolution and Rationale

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Abstract

Laser safety standards may take several forms. The standard may be simply a list of guidelines—the do’s and don’ts of laser operation or of equipment design with no mention of exposure limits. Some standards may simply be a list of personnel exposure limits or product emission limits. Today most safety standards incorporate all of the above aspects to some extent. This chapter will give the history of laser standard development and explain the scientific and philosophical problems encountered in the development of today’s standards. The distinction between occupational exposure standards and equipment performance standards will also be discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, USA

    David Sliney

  2. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Myron Wolbarsht

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  1. David Sliney
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Sliney, D., Wolbarsht, M. (1980). Laser Safety Standards: Evolution and Rationale. In: Safety with Lasers and Other Optical Sources. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3596-0_7

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