Artificial optical radiation safety

In accordance with the Health and Safety Policy, employees and students are required to comply with the AOR standard.

Managers, principal investigators and academic supervisors will be referred to as responsible persons in this standard. Refer to non-ionising radiation for general roles and responsibilities.

The responsible person must ensure a suitable and sufficient risk assessment is undertaken for the AOR work before it starts and it should be reviewed periodically and updated as the nature of the work changes. The risk assessment outcomes should be communicated to the people at risk. The Association of University Radiation Protection Officers (AURPO) provides guidance notes on use of non-ionising radiations in research and teaching (.pdf) (Essex users only).

An adequate risk assessment will cover the lifecycle of the work:

• source installation
• normal operations, including testing
• maintenance and servicing
• emergency and unforeseen circumstance
• relocation and transportation
• decommissioning
• disposal

If your risk assessment indicates that there is a risk of adverse health effects to the skin as a result of exposure to artificial optical radiation you will need to contact Occupational Health and ensure at risk people are placed under suitable health surveillance.  

Guidance for Employers on the Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations (AOR) 2010 – for information on hazardous sources

The responsible person will identify potential AOR users in the risk assessment and ensure they are registered with the department. All people intending to work with any high-risk sources should be registered. A laser user registration form is available in the guidance on the safe use of lasers in education and research (.pdf), appendix 2, which can be modified for AOR users.

The department will maintain an up-to-date record of departmental AOR users and have it available to the UNIRPA. The laser user register and training record template (.xlsx) can be modified for AOR users.

The majority of light sources are safe, but you need to identify users whose health is at particular risk. For example, for those with pre-existing medical conditions made worse by light, using chemicals that react with light could make effects worse due to multiple exposures to light sources.

The head of department should ensure appropriate training arrangements are in place for all AOR users and others who may be affected by the work. It is the responsibility of the responsible person to ensure AOR users receive appropriate training before work starts.

The basic training should cover the AOR hazard, the possible harm to skin and eyes and the risk controls in place to protect AOR users, including emergency procedures and, where appropriate, the need for health surveillance. The responsible person ensures appropriate refresher training is given at regular intervals to AOR users and when there are significant changes in the risk assessment. Additional training specific to the work process and source should supplement the basic training when necessary.

Other people at risk who are not directly associated with the work but could be affected by the source (for example cleaners, maintenance users, serving contractors, other employees or students etc.) identified in the risk assessment require training that covers their risk of exposure. Again, the training should identify the AOR hazards, the potential harm and risk controls in place to protect them whilst carrying out their work.

The department will maintain an up-to-date training record for departmental AOR users and have it available to the UNIRPA. A record of attendance should be made and a training record template is available in AURPO’s guidance on the safe use of lasers in education and research, appendix 13, and a laser user register and training record template (.xlx), both of which can be modified for AOR users.

If you believe your eyes and skin may have been over exposed to AOR you should seek medical assistance immediately. You should know your emergency details because they are part of the departmental controls. Health and safety incidents should be reported as soon as possible to the DNIRPA and the UNIRPA using the health and safety incident reporting procedure and forms. Health surveillance advice must be sought from the Occupational Health as appropriate.

Servicing and maintenance of AOR sources by external contractors needs to be managed by the department. Advanced planning and communication with the contractor is required from the responsible person and the DNIRPA to ensure adequate risk assessments for proposed work takes place. The contractor must submit a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and method statement to the DNIRPA and responsible person for approval. This should be done in reasonable time before the work commences.

High-risk sources must be identified by the responsible person and recorded on the departmental inventory. Updated copies of the inventory are kept by the department and available to the UNIRPA. The AURPO's guidance notes on the safe use of lasers in education and research (.pdf), appendix 1, has a template, that can be modified for AOR sources.

The responsible person should identify high risk sources with the appropriate hazard warning label, according to the risk they present. Guidance is available on what labels are required in the notes on use of non-ionising radiations in research and teaching (.pdf) (Essex users only), section 1.3.8.

The responsible person must follow the laser safetylaser safetylaser safety procedure for using high risk AOR sources off University premises.