Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Dangers of Fluorescent lighting (was New Bulbs)

[nathan schomber (wanderlustbus]

I don't want to diverge to much, but came across some startling information I 
felt the need to share with you on the subject. It bears further research.
   
  From:
   http://www.daylighting.com/Article-HealthHazardsofFluorescentLighting.htm
   
  Health Hazards of Fluorescent Lighting
  Known effects and their likely causes
    The following is a list of symptoms and diseases known to be linked to 
exposure to fluorescent lighting:
    
     Headache, eyestrain, eye irritation, fatigue, difficulty in concentration, 
increased rate of ?misjudgments? and accidents, malaise and irritability can be 
caused by noise, glare and flicker from fluorescent lighting.

    
     Increased stress (which may in turn lead to heart disease) can arise from 
increasing the intensity of artificial light with fluorescent tubes. It has 
been shown that increased use of artificial light (rather than natural light) 
affects the levels of hormones in the body, particularly the hormones 
associated with stress, such as cortisol.

    
     Variation in brightness, as provided by daylight, is necessary for the 
normal functioning of the body?s rhythms. The monotonous illumination of 
fluorescent lighting may also add to the changes in hormone production.

    
     Allergic skin reactions and dermatitis can be caused by exposure to 
fluorescent lights. An unknown number of people suffer from ?cutaneous light 
sensitivity? due to fluorescent lights. This means that not only can they 
become allergic to fluorescent lighting but they can become more sensitive to 
ordinary sunlight.

    
     Certain long-term, mild skin diseases can become worse if the sufferer is 
exposed to fluorescent light. Some medical drugs (including some tranquilizers, 
antibiotics, heart drugs and diuretics) can make you particularly sensitive to 
UV radiation (photosensitivity). Skin eruptions then occur even with the small 
doses of UV (in the 300-320nm wavelength range) emitted by white fluorescent 
lights.

    
     Hyperactivity has been linked to the flickering produced by fluorescent 
lighting. Microwave emissions from fluorescent lighting are also suspected of 
contributing to these behavioral disorders. Other mild behavioral disorders in 
children may be made worse by working at school under fluorescent lighting.

  Suspected effects
    There is also some evidence that the following effects may be caused by 
exposure to fluorescent lights:
    
     Increased risk of seizure in epilepsy sufferers

    
     Higher incidence of miscarriage

    
     Speeding up the aging of the retina.

   
  For an very well written, extensive article with many references see:
   
  http://www.creative-minds.info/Lorelei/Light.htm
  

Jenny Williams <jlgw [at] cableone.net> wrote:
  It's not the light level, it's the color of light, and I can still see the
flicker..

jenny


 
---------------------------------
Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate
in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A.