Understanding laser accidents

303 Pages·2019·29.07 MB·English

Electrical Engineering BARAT
Understanding
Understanding Laser Accidents U Laser Accidents
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Understanding Laser Accidents provides a comprehensive reference
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addressing a wide a spectrum of laser accidents. The under-reporting
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and misreporting of laser accidents creates a blind spot for the laser
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management of institutions, laser users and laser safety officers.
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This book attempts to lift that veil by giving details of why laser
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accidents occur, accident preparation, where to find laser accident
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information, elements of laser accident investigation, role of lessons
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learned and regulatory oversight of laser use. Chapters include a look N
at pilot illumination, fiber telecommunication, light show incidents G
and more as well as a detailed and honest review of three laser
events that hold a mirror up to researchers and industrial laser users. L
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(cid:127) Provides a comprehensive, single source devoted to laser S
accidents E
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(cid:127) Covers elements of laser accident preparedness
(cid:127) Provides detailed analysis of some laser accidents that share
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common threads across research and industrial environment
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(cid:127) Contains information on where to find laser accident information
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(cid:127) Extensive information on the illumination of pilots
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(cid:127) Reviews laser regulatory oversight, non-beam hazards and laser D
safety tools E
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E D I T E D B Y
Ken Barat
ISBN-13: 978-1-138-04845-4
90000
9 781138 048454
Understanding
Laser Accidents

Understanding
Laser Accidents
Edited by
Ken Barat
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2019 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Printed on acid-free paper
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-04845-4 (Hardback)
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Book dedications are an opportunity to say thank you. I owe a
great deal of my success and joy of science to the many laser users
I have met over the years. The author Issacs Asimov did a lot to
instill my wonder in science. The Bay Area Laser Safety Officers
Group, which had a 13-year run, was also a major influence.
The tolerance of my wife (Pat) and children (Emily and Leah)
freed me to reach my goals. Now I have a granddaughter to make
proud (Margo). So, thank you all from deep within my heart.

Contents
Editor ........................................................................................................................ix
Contributors ..............................................................................................................xi
Introduction: Short and to the Point .......................................................................xiii
Chapter 1 Why Accidents Happen ........................................................................1
Ken Barat
Chapter 2 Laser Safety Terms ...............................................................................7
Ken Barat
Chapter 3 Safety Culture and Incident Investigation ..........................................21
Karen Kelley
Chapter 4 Accident Preparation ..........................................................................29
Ken Barat
Chapter 5 Lessons Learned Examples ................................................................35
Ken Barat
Chapter 6 The Near Miss ....................................................................................51
Ken Barat
Chapter 7 Where Do I Find Laser Accident Information? .................................67
Ken Barat
Chapter 8 R&D Accident Case ...........................................................................77
Ken Barat
Chapter 9 A Laser Injury Event at the Idaho National Laboratory:
Limitations of Skill-of-the-Craft ........................................................83
Tekla A. Staley
Chapter 10 Laser Eyewear ....................................................................................95
Ken Barat
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viii Contents
Chapter 11 Risk Assessment ...............................................................................113
Randy Paura
Chapter 12 Oversight Regulations and Reported Accidents ...............................171
Ken Barat
Chapter 13 Visual Interference Hazards of Laser Light .....................................185
Patrick Murphy
Chapter 14 The Potential for Eye Injuries from Lasers Aimed at Pilots ............203
Patrick Murphy
Chapter 15 Outdoor Laser Safety .......................................................................209
Ken Barat
Chapter 16 Laser Light Show Accidents.............................................................217
Ken Barat
Chapter 17 Fiber Optics in Telecommunications ................................................225
Larry Johnson
Chapter 18 Accident Investigation ......................................................................235
Ken Barat
Chapter 19 Non-Beam Hazards ..........................................................................245
Ken Barat
Chapter 20 Laser Safety Tools ............................................................................261
Ken Barat
Chapter 21 How Many Wrong Decisions Can One Rationalize Away? .............271
Ken Barat
Index ......................................................................................................................277
Editor
Ken Barat is the former Laser Safety Officer (LSO) for Lawrence Berkeley National
Lab and the National Ignition Facility Directorate. Presently, he is providing laser
safety consulting under the name of Laser Safety Solutions. He is the author of several
texts on laser safety as well as numerous articles and presentations worldwide.
He is an OSA distinguished speaker, Fellow of the Laser Institute of America (LIA),
and a senior member of IEEE and SPIE. He was the chair and organizer of the
first seven LSO workshops and an ANSI committee member and chair. For laser
questions, he is the “Ask the Expert” for the Health Physics Society. He is a former
LIA board member and laser safety instructor for several laser professional societies
and institutions, a Rockwell award winner, and among the first class of Certified
Laser Safety Officers.
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