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Thread: Change to US rules - how many of you missed this? (I did...)

  1. #1
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    Laser Warning Change to US rules - how many of you missed this? (I did...)

    Remember how we always thought that 21 CFR 1040.10 and 1040.11 were *the* standard for laser products here in the US? Well, guess what? 2 years ago the CDRH issued Laser Notice # 50, which allows *large* sections of 21CFR 1040.10 to be ignored in favor of the International IEC laser standard, IEC 60825-1. This is part of the CDRH's program to bring the US regs into compliance with the international standards. (Makes sense, really...)

    Well, one of the big differences between 21 CFR 1040.10 and IEC 60825-1 is that the International standard doesn't require a mechanical shutter. It also doesn't require an emission delay. To a US laserist, this would seem like heresy, but really, when the whole laser might only be the size of a box of tissues, does it make sense to have an on-off switch *and* a shutter that are separated by less than 6 inches?

    There are other, more subtle differences, but the main point is that there is another whole set of rules that you can use to certify your laser (or your projector) with. And these new rules will allow some very interesting things that were *not* allowed under 21 CFR 1040.

    Personally, I think it's great that the US standards are moving towards something more in line with what the rest of the world uses. I only wish that I had been paying more attention to these Laser Notices coming from the CDRH...

    Now tell the truth. How many of you knew this? (The only way I found out was to ask Casey Stack at Laser Compliance Inc!) I'd like to get Casy to SELEM next year to talk about this and other safety and regulatory topics, assuming there is enough interest...

    Adam

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    Talking

    Of course I knew... duh!
    Love, peace, and grease,

    allthat... aka: aaron@pangolin

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    Sounds good to me so far..

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    Quote Originally Posted by allthatwhichis View Post
    Of course I knew... duh!
    So basically your Kvant is good to go as it is ...

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    I'm glad I found out about this now instead of *after* completing the product reports I'm starting.

    -Jonathan

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    Cool

    Note that in order to certify under the IEC standard, you really need a copy of that standard to go by, and it's going to cost you around $350... This is good news for companies, but I don't think it's going to change the way hobbyists certify their projectors anytime soon. (Plus, even Casey admitted that a shutter is still a good idea when you're talking about a projector as opposed to a hand-held, solid state laser.)

    Adam

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    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    Note that in order to certify under the IEC standard, you really need a copy of that standard to go by, and it's going to cost you around $350...
    Say what? That's complete BS, if they want people to adhere to the standard it should be made freely available, or at least at a reasonable cost. $350 for a copy of a regulation is asinine...

  8. #8
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    Physical shutter seem silly with modulated DPSS.
    Also I don't like having an LED beside my output window. It is too noticeable on stages.
    It really doesn't add any safety.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by DZ View Post
    Say what? That's complete BS, if they want people to adhere to the standard it should be made freely available, or at least at a reasonable cost. $350 for a copy of a regulation is asinine...
    This has always been my gripe. UK law works as follows:

    Any business must "so far as reasonably practicable" follow safety "guidelines"

    The guidelines for the safe construction and operation of lasers are BS60825-parts 1, 2 ,3 etc each costing hundreds of pounds.

    If somebody is injured the HSE will investigate and if the guidelines were not followed; you have not done everything that was reasonably practicable and therefore; go straight to jail.

    Anybody can log on to the HSE website and download guidelines for the safe operation of road drills, compressors, audio equipment, fireworks, power tools, fog machines in fact; just about anything for free.

    BS:EN 60825:1 The safety of laser products cost £200, whats more; the latest edition breaks the previously all encompasing document down in to more and more esoteric sub genres (possibly 12 now?), each costing another £100.

    In summary:

    The law
    "Follow the guidelines or go to jail"

    You
    "what guidelines?"

    The law
    "Sorry pal, you'll have to give us some money first or we're not telling, or alternatively you can take the risk and *then* we'll tell you what guidelines you didn't follow, just before we send you to the big house to have your fudge trumpet reamed by Big Ron and Dave the laughing butcher"
    http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3985/laser.gif

    Doc's website

    The Health and Safety Act 1971

    Recklessly interfering with Darwin’s natural selection process, thereby extending the life cycle of dim-witted ignorami; thus perpetuating and magnifying the danger to us all, by enabling them to breed and walk amongst us, our children and loved ones.





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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed-laserproductions.ca View Post
    Physical shutter seem silly with modulated DPSS.
    Also I don't like having an LED beside my output window. It is too noticeable on stages.
    It really doesn't add any safety.
    Gaffer's Tape to the rescue, to be on subject an emission indicator is a good thing for a laser standard due to UV and IR lasers (but I understand your dislike for visible light). I still think a shutter in a DPSS is a good thing to have DPSS lasers have a warm up time so having the ability to have the lasers on to warm up before a show is nice, rather than having a static beam shot out for 20 minutes... But to be fair one could also put a metal cover over the projection window (which I have seen done in addition to a shutter on ion laser projectors

    -Adam
    Last edited by sugeek; 09-04-2009 at 06:30. Reason: incomplete sentence.
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    Laser (the acronym derived from Light Amplification by Stimulated Emissions of Radiation) is a spectacular manifestation of this process. It is a source which emits a kind of light of unrivaled purity and intensity not found in any of the previously known sources of radiation. - Lasers & Non-Linear Optics, B.B. Laud.

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