LEDs – Groundbreaking Research Results on Health Issues

I can still hear the euphoric outpourings ringing in my ears – people gushing over the LED as the sole light source of the future. Any doubts as to the capability of the LED to fulfil that role, and in particular the question as to what research is being undertaken to understand the effect light emitted by diodes has on us humans has to date been met by waves of the hand that can only denote: “you must be joking” or “not necessary”. References or allusions to experience gained in the past with the sodium vapour lamp and the fluorescent lamp as efficient, energy-saving solutions that nevertheless show defects with regard to their effect on humans have failed to give rise to any signs of scepticism on the part of the lighting industry. Of course, LEDs are different from any other light source we know. But surely this new marvel would not let us down when it came to fulfilling our expectations. Where should there be any problems with it? Doubts were simply not on the agenda, and anyone who expressed them nervously sneered at. And now this!

A number of research teams commissioned by the “Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail”, ANSES in France (the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety) recently issued a report with evidence that proves without a doubt that high-power LEDs can be detrimental to human health. It is the human eye in particular that may suffer serious damage due to the high blue content in white LEDs. Children are the ones who are likely to be hit by this most, since they are the most susceptible. The clear recommendation resulting from the research studies undertaken is, I quote: “Protect your children from exposure to LEDs”. LEDs should only be used by professionals for professional applications. It further states that “…the intense blue-white light exerts “toxic stress” to the retina, with a severe risk of glare. Children are particularly sensitive to this health hazard since their eyes are still developing and the lens is not capable of filtering out the harmful wavelengths”.
This is a shock for the lighting industry, and not the kind of research results we were expecting – hopes were high that the LED would bring substantial energy savings as well as investments into new lighting systems and schemes. And yet this news is a clear indication that we need to proceed with care and take more time over any shifts in the lamp market. Again we are confronted with the fact that light can have a considerable effect on human life and health, and that much, much more research is required before we can dare to embark on yet another irreversible adventure. To read the complete research results, download the PDF here.

The above news is likely to spur sceptics and critics of the phasing out of the incandescent lamp back into action. If this well founded research can certify that state-of-the-art light source technology is a health hazard, as has been likewise proven for energy-saving lamps, the question that now arises is: what light is good for human health. The answer to the million euro question may surprise some of you. It is not “the good old incandescent lamp”, but “daylight”.

Text: Joachim Ritter