Fluorescent tubes in offices, and also spiral CFL bulbs, work by passing an electric discharge through mercury vapor, causing it to emit UV radiation. This UV radiation hits phosphors coating the inside of the tube, causing it to glow. But a small portion of the UV is able to leak through the glass and phosphor coating. Acrylic light diffusor panels are commonly used covering many fluorescent ceiling fixtures, and absorb more than half of the UV radiation given off by the fluorescent tubes. Not all office spaces have these panel coverings. Office workers have one more vision killer to worry about: overhead lighting. Working all day long under bright fluorescent bulbs may cause permanent damage to your eyesight, according to a recent study from researchers at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia. The researchers found that working under the bright fluorescent lights usually used in office buildings, schools, and other commercial spaces for 40 or more hours a week increases the risk of cataracts and another eye disease known as pterygia, in which a non-cancerous tissue grows on the white portion of the eye and may eventually block your vision. The culprit? UV radiation. "Cool" or "bright white" fluorescents the kind that are often described as resembling daylight and emit a slightly bluish hue emit UV light equal to or stronger than that from sunlight, and that type of light can, as noted in the study, cause "irreparable damage to the eye." More than half of Americans have cataracts by the time they're 80 years old, while just 17 percent do so at age 40. The condition becomes more common with age, but continuous, lifetime exposure to cool white fluorescent lights could cause cataracts to develop earlier. Study coauthor Helen Walls, PhD, research fellow at the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, notes that "exposure to 'cool white' fluorescents for 45 hours per week throughout your working life may increase your risk of getting cataracts at age 50 by between 2 and 12 percent." "Such an effect is relatively small at an individual level," Walls says, "but if you put this risk across the population, there is an significant increase in the cases of eye diseases." http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/stories/want-to-save-your-eyes-change-your-light-bulbs UV radiation can also cause short term eye irritation or aching. Ever forget to wear goggles for many hours while skiing? Then you have experienced what is often referred to as "snow blindness". If you were wondering, most of the ultraviolet light given off by "black lights" is a different type of lower frequency UV, mostly harmless. Such tubes operate similar to normal fluorescent tubes, but use a different type of phosphor, along with coating to filter out most of the visible light.
I hate fluorescent lighting. When I moved into my current house it had that (*)(*)(*)(*) in both bathrooms, the kitchen and the utility shed. They had six, count em six single tube shop light fixtures in the kitchen and four in each bathroom, all of them hidden with ugly ass drop ceilings. I got rid of all of that crap and put in regular flush mount fixtures that take regular light bulbs. .
Buy these if you work in a place where you can't change the lighting. We used to use these in the photo dept. of a manufacturing facility. http://www.uvps.com/product.asp?code=FILTER+++I
Granny says dat's how dat saleman looked at her when he sold her dem Chinese rickshaw stocks... Chemical clears cataracts in lab experiments with human lens tissue, mice Nov. 6, 2015 - A company is developing the compound into an eye drop treatment for use in humans.
Stem cell cataract surgery helps restore vision in children... Cataract Surgery Helps Stem Cells Restore Vision March 09, 2016 - Congenital cataracts are estimated to be responsible for between 5 and 20 percent of all cases of blindness in children worldwide.
