Exposure to the scenic lighting devices: risk for the health of the entertainment professionals

The European directive 2006/25/EC on minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from the optical radiation provides for risk assessment at workplaces. This is particularly important in entertainment where intentional exposure to spotlights may be required for periods of 8 hours per working day. The aim of the study was to give to the lighting engineer of the information, relative to the risks associated to spotlights, to help them to estimate the risks a priori of a light plan. This study consisted in determining the risks associated to 63 different spotlights then in distributing them in 4 groups of risks defined by the standard EN 62471, in calculating their permissible minimal exposure distance, corresponding to the use of 1 and 5 spotlights for a daily exposure time of 8 hours. This study highlighted that spotlights may raise health problems for entertainment workers. The classification proposed by the standard EN 62471 is not sufficient to estimate the risks of a light plan. Furthermore, the permissible minimal exposure distance and the permissible maximal exposure time do not constitute relevant parameters to reduce the risks to acceptable values.