For anyone who thought the lack of any talk in the past couple of years about the Artificial Optical Radiation Directive (which basically covers protection from lasers) meant it had gone away, perhaps kicked into the long grass like its sister law on electro-magnetic fields...think again.
We have nine months and counting to bring in UK regulations protecting workers from thin beams of light. The hazards are pretty well covered here by the Management Regs and UK users of powerful lasers used in medicine, welding and glass making and are working to guidelines from the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection which set the same exposure limits as the Directive.
But we can't get out of the requirement to transpose it, anymore than we could with the other "physical agents" Directives on noise and vibration. So the HSE has to run round and draft a set of low-impact regs and try and get them into statute by next April.
Louis
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