These portable green laser light may not be as harmless as you thought.A recent study published by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found an alarming trend. Of 122 portable high power laser pointer tested, 44% of red lasers and 90% of green lasers tested did not have federal safety regulations.
The main culprit was overpowered units. The United States Code of Federal Regulations limits commercial class IIIa lasers to 5 milliwatts (mW). And yes, lasers over 5mW are commercially available in the United States, but it is illegal to market them as Class IIIa devices. Some units in the NIST study tested as high as 13 times the legal limit at 66.5 mW. For context, many mounted military grade laser rifles are rated at 50 mW.
“Our results raise many safety questions regarding laser pointer 5000mw and their use,” said NIST laser safety officer in the paper presented at the recent Laser Safety Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Why should astronomers care backyard? Well, since handheld lasers became the first commercially available, they have become a familiar staple to many public star parties. Coming back out of airborne dust particles, a green laser provides a pointer beam allowing the user to trace constellations and faint objects. The 30w lasers can also be mounted on the optical tube assemblies of a telescope to point instead of a viewfinder field.
But these devices are not toys. Even a 5mW Rechargeable Laser Pointer can temporarily blind someone at close range. Additionally eye damage can often linger for days or even permanently and may go unnoticed. This is why researchers who work around lasers at research establishments such as LIGO (the Gravitational Observatory Laser Interferometer WAVE) must undergo routine eye exams.
