Can Fluorescent Lights Cause Cataracts?
August 29, 2009
Fluorescent lighting has been the primary type used in businesses, schools and other buildings for decades (plus now in many homes). Can there be a connection between this "cool lighting" and cataract development since their use became so prevalent?
Cataracts occur when the eye's lens, normally clear, becomes opaque and thickened, impeding entry of light. This eventually increases, resulting in loss of vision since light cannot reach the retina. Once the lens has been obstructed it is normally removed surgically and replaced by a plastic lens.
The signs and symptoms of cataracts can be so gradual as to be barely noticeable at first. It may seem at the onset your vision is just a tad blurry; colors may appear less vivid; night vision can be reduced. Viewing a bright light in the dark may give it the corona effect (rays seeming to shoot out from the source). The protein in the lens coagulates, resulting in vision becoming out-of-focus. This thickening eventually gives the eye that characteristic "milky" appearance.
Granted, there are numerous factors involved in cataract formation: diabetes, smoking, smog, heredity. Ultraviolet radiation, however, has been found to play a significant role. Fluorescent light is created by electrical current exciting mercury vapor in either neon or argon gas, in turn producing plasma, which emits ultraviolet radiation. Both UVA and UVB waves are given off in this process, neither of which are safe. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology (1992), fluorescent lights were found to produce more than ten to thirty times the amount of UVB radiation than the sun. UVB rays, the shorter of the two, are far more damaging than UVA, having been linked to numerous health problems, including cancer. Both UVA and UVB, however, have been found to cause eye damage resulting in cataracts. Since the human eye's sensitivity to ultraviolet peaks at approximately 210 - 320 nm, obviously such emissions can have damaging effects. This range encompasses two of the three forms of ultraviolet radiation: UVA (315 - 400 nm), the long-wave; and UVB (280 - 315 nm), the medium wave. When so much radiation hits the eye, can anyone doubt its potential harmfulness?
Protecting your eyes against these harmful rays while outdoors is normally achieved with polarized sunglasses. Indoors, unfortunately, there is little one can do. In your own home you can choose non-fluorescent lighting, but elsewhere, you're at risk. Perhaps once more businesses and school boards are aware of the potential damage of fluorescent lighting, we'll see this hazard replaced with safer lighting sources.