title: Interlaboratory Evaluation of Ultraviolet Radiation Emissions from Compact Fluorescent Lamps.
abstract: There have been many recent reports regarding the potential risks of UV emissions from compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). In some of these reports, the robustness of the measurements was difficult to discern. We conducted round-robin measurements, involving three lamp manufacturers and two government research laboratories to gather reliable data on the UV emissions from commercially available CFLs. The initial sample of lamps consisted of 71 spiral-shaped CFLs purchased from local retailers. From the initial sample, 14 "high UV emitting" CFLs were chosen for further evaluation. We compared the UV emissions at a distance of 20 cm with the UV exposure limits (ELs) published by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). We found that the allowable exposure time for measured lamps ranged from 21 to 415 h. This indicates that the emissions would not exceed the short-term ELs that have been established by the ICNIRP for healthy individuals. We also evaluated the potential long-term risk and found it to be insignificant. There was a large variation in the UV emissions found, even for lamps from a single package, indicating that it is impossible to predict the UV output of a CFL based on its physical appearance and model designation.
authors.affiliation: Center for Devices and Radiological Health, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bergman
authors.affiliation: General Electric Lighting, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.affiliation: Osram Sylvania, Beverly, MA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Philips Lighting, Salina, KS.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Center for Devices and Radiological Health, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: General Electric Lighting, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Mihaly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kotrebai
authors.affiliation: Winchester Engineering and Analytical Center, US Food and Drug Administration, Winchester, MA.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lamontagne
authors.affiliation: Edgewood, MD.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lyon
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Heights, OH.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yandek
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sliney