Laser Accidents and Accountability through OSHA and ANSI Compliance
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About the Webinar
Organizations such as industrial, manufacturing, university, research and testing, using hazardous lasers must comply with the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regulations for laser safety. Not only is such compliance the law, but doing so significantly decreases the risk of harm to laser facility users, keeps liability exposure to a minimum, and contributes to more affordable insurance rates for such facilities.
OSHA and many state governments invoke ANSI Z136.1 and Z136.8 to provide guidance for the qualitative and quantitative hazard evaluation, classification, and control measures for the safe use of lasers:
ANSI Z136.1, “American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers,” establishes a concise summary of engineering and administrative safety controls for different hazard classes of lasers. OSHA states, “A comprehensive evaluation of a laser system must include “Compliance with ANSI Z136.1…”
ANSI Z136.8, “American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers in Research, Development, and Testing,” addresses real-world situations and provides recommendations for the safe use of lasers and laser systems that are used in research, development, testing and Universities.
These standards, as mandatory OSHA compliance, have the force of law. Unfortunately, some organizations having facilities utilizing powerful and potentially dangerous laser technology do not follow the OSHA and State laser safety laws.
Invariably, many university laser labs, industrial and manufacturing plants – which employ lasers, and other research facilities housing powerful lasers are not aware of these standards, let alone follow them. For some reason, proper, responsible, and legally required laser safety training, supervision, laser set-up (alignment), and use is simply overlooked or underappreciated by both the facilities as well as the insurance carriers that provide liability coverage to them.
This webinar will explore the fundamental safety provisions and protocols (OSHA, Z136.1, and Z136.8) that should be followed by laser facilities including university research labs. Invoking the requirements will greatly reduce the risk of harm from laser energy to the body and property that can be avoidable and preventable – serious acute and chronic injury to the eye and skin (blindness, skin lesions, burns, etc.) from intra-beam viewing, specular and diffuse beam reflections. Safe use of lasers will further benefit and help to keep liability risk and associated cost to a minimum.
The webinar will cover the principle sections of Z136.1 and Z136.8, including:
- OSHA and State compliance
- Important definitions
- Laser safety control measures – engineering and administrative to reduce the probability of exposure to harmful laser radiation
- Personal Protective Equipment (laser eyewear)
- Required training
- Laser Safety Officer (LSO) responsibilities
- The importance of the Laser Safety Officer and the employer’s obligation to provide proper and adequate Laser Safety Officer training
- Laser use locations and the Laser Controlled Area
- Laser safety program
We look forward to introducing you to our vast laser safety knowledge. This way, when it is your turn to use or encounter a laser, you will have a basic understanding regarding the applicable safety requirements to implement and mitigate the hazards of lasers energy in said facilities, thereby reducing the risk to liability.
Who will Benefit
- University professors, graduate and undergraduate students and researchers
- Laser facility managers, directors, LSOs, safety specialists
- EH&S departments
- Supervisors of laser facilities
- Carriers who insure such facilities.
The Presenter
Peter Boden: Mr. Boden is an Executive Technical Consultant and Director of Training & Safety for Laser Product Safety, LLC located near Research Triangle Park, NC. He holds a MS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. He has 32 years of experience in R&D, Engineering Project Management, and is recognized as a U.S. and global laser and photo-biological optical radiation safety expert regarding FDA CDRH, OSHA, IEC, ANSI, and UL Safety Standard compliance, regulation, testing, training, and laser facilities safety assessment. Mr. Boden presently serves on the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to IEC Technical Committee 76 – Optical Radiation Safety and Laser Equipment, and is active on many other U.S. and global technical committees on laser and photo-biological safety including ANSI Safety Standards Committee Z136.1, “Safe Use of Lasers,” and ANSI Subcommittee SSC-8, “Safe Use of Lasers in R&D and Testing,” as applied to laser facilities and university research labs. Mr. Boden was the catalyst for the formation of the IEC Committee of Testing Laboratories Working Group 6 for Photo-biological Safety. He has assessed laser testing laboratories around the globe, and has directed the building of laser testing laboratories in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. His expertise is acknowledged by many awards and publications.
Guest Commentator
J.B. Dilsheimer, will serve as the webinar’s guest commentator. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1993 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1994. He was also admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has very strong experience regarding cases involving defective products, accidents, FELA, premises liability, commercial litigation, and laser accidents pertaining to university research laboratories. Mr. Dilsheimer is a graduate of Bowdoin College where he received his B.A. in English with honors in 1988 (magna cum laude). He received his law degree from Temple University School of Law in 1992 (magna cum laude). He has received numerous honors and awards including but not limited to being listed on Pennsylvania Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters based on peer review ratings in 2014, and the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review AV®-rated lawyer, and included in The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers™ in the United States for 2011, published by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell®.
In cooperation with Laser Product Safety LLC