Fixit: Fluorescent lights give off only small amount of UV radiation

Q In a recent column about the effects of compact fluorescent lights, you mentioned that fluorescent light, like sunlight, is a source of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Are all of us who are replacing our incandescent household bulbs putting ourselves at risk for skin cancer from sitting under fluorescent reading lamps for hours on end, in addition to working all day under fluorescent lights?

By Karen Youso, Star Tribune

Last update: August 27, 2007 - 5:34 PM

A No. Although fluorescent lights give off ultraviolet (UV) light, the amounts are not harmful.

According to the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the amount of UV radiation from fluorescent lamps is very small relative to the amount of UV one could get from the sun. An eight-hour exposure to UV from fluorescent lamps is equal to about one minute in the noonday sun. This is a very trivial risk for most people.

Some individuals are genetically very susceptible to ultraviolet light, however, and get skin cancers at a very young age (xeroderma pigmentosum). These people should avoid all exposures to UV radiation, including sunlight. A second group of people sensitive to UV are those with lupus.

If you are concerned about UV radiation from fluorescent lamps, you can buy lamps that have acrylic UV filters, or add a filter to those lamps without.

Karen Riley, public affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Send questions to Fixit in care of the Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488, or call 612-673-9033, or e-mail fixit@startribune.com. Past columns are available at www.startribune.com/fixit. Sorry, Fixit cannot supply individual replies.