The Effects of UV Radiation

It is important to understand how a fluorescent light bulb works.

1.      A hollow glass tube is coated on the inside with different colored phosphors

2.      At either end of the tube is an electrode (anode and cathode)

3.      Sealed in the center of the glass tube is a small amount of mercury vapor

4.      As an electric arc travels through the mercury vapor, it causes a reaction that creates UV radiation

5.      The UV rays strike the phosphors coating the inside of the lamp tube

6.      The phosphors then fluoresce, producing fluorescent visible light

When an electrical current passes through the mercury vapor and inert gases, a mercury vapor arc is created. This arc releases ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The phosphor coating converts the UV radiation into visible light by absorbing the UV energy, and then radiating it outwards in longer, visible light waves.

Of the electricity used to light a fluorescent lamp, approximately 60% is required to produce UV radiation. 20% of that UV radiation is used to produce visible light. The remaining 80% is either emitted as UVA and UVB radiation, or is radiated as heat.

The UV radiation found in fluorescent lighting is present in two forms: UVA (320 to 400 nanometers [nm]), and UVB (280-320 nm). UVB rays pose a much greater risk of causing skin cancer than UVA.

UV radiation has long been known to cause a myriad of health problems. Some sources indicate that fluorescent lights emit more UVB than the sun. In the 1992 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology, it was found that fluorescent lights emit "10-30 times" more UVB radiation than the sun does. UVB radiation has been found to be carcinogenic (cancer causing).

The study further goes on to report that "Case reports have documented skin sensitivity of patients to fluorescent light, some of which were specific to energy in the ultraviolet B domain, with no reaction to ultraviolet A exposures. In general populations, ultraviolet B is perhaps 1,000 times more effective in producing erythema than ultraviolet A, leading to ultraviolet B sometimes being referred to as the [sunburn] energy range. There are also animal and human data indicating that non-melanoma skin cancer is more clearly related to ultraviolet B exposure than to ultraviolet A".

It stands to reason that we should all have some sort of UV protection under them. UV exposure is known to form non-melanoma and melanoma cancers, premature aging (freckling, fine wrinkling, and dilatation of capillaries), cataract formation, and immune system damage. UV radiation from fluorescent lighting is also known to affect the health of patients with lupus erythematosus. Lupus facilitators report that some lupus sufferers, after sitting under fluorescent lighting for just 20-30 minutes, collapse in their chairs.

People who work in the grocery, restaurant, food processing and deli industry know that food that remains under fluorescent lighting for a short time spoils quickly. As a matter of fact, the closer it is to the bulb, the faster the food spoils. In 1997, Cornell University studies found that 50% of vitamin A and riboflavin in milk may be lost after only 24 hours of fluorescent light exposure.

NaturaLux™ Filters absorb 100% of the harmful UV rays up to 380nm. That means all UVB and almost all of the UVA is absorbed as well. 81-99% of the UVA found between 380-390nm is absorbed. From 390-400nm, there is an 50-80% UVA absorption rate. This means that your overall exposure to UV from fluorescent lighting is practically non-existent.

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