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Why eye-protection?

The eye is our most important sensory organ. Roughly 90% of our sensory impressions are perceived by the eye; no other sense organ supplies us with so much information. Light enables man to recognize and orient himself to his environment.

The essential parts of the human eye are:

• Cornea
• Conjunctiva
• Iris
• Lens
• Vitreous body
• Retina with the fovea, the place where sight is most highly focussed
• Choroid membrane
• Sclera

Light and/or radiation has positive physiological and psychological effects on the human organism; light and light radiation are indispensable for the health and well-being of us all. The positive effects of light occur only within a closely restricted range of the power of light radiation – too much light and radiation damage the eye. Therefore, it is important to protect the skin and the eyes from all forms of harmful influences.

Causes of Damage to the Eyes

Damage to the eyes may occur as a result of a variety of extraneous causes. In the case of mechanical and chemical exposure, these are obvious. It is a different matter, however, when it comes to damage caused by optical radiation. This can arise from natural sources (the sun) or artificial sources (hot objects, welding and cutting with burners, when handling laser equipment, when working on electrical installations).

Especially in the case of optical radiation, its intensity in our environment is so high because of the sun that it can already lead to damage to the eyes. Every skier knows the itchy feeling round the eyes when skiing without proper sun glasses or skiing goggles. In contrast to other harmful influences through radiation, such as ionising radiation ( radioactive radiation), one has therefore not been able to allow for large safety margins when setting the exposure limit values.

The effects of optical radiation on the eyes

The penetration depth of optical radiation depends on the wavelength. Whilst shortwave radiation (UV radiation) and longwave IR radiation are already absorbed on the surface of the skin or the eye, the visible radiation and radiation in the vicinity of the infrared range of the spectrum penetrates deep into the tissue or skin. The type and seriousness of the effects caused by optical radiation also depend on the intensity of the radiation and the long-term dosage.

Standort

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