International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research
Table 2 Nature of hazards and precautions for various classes of lasers
From: The use of laser in garment manufacturing: an overview
Laser class | Nature of hazard (ANSI and OSHA) | Precautions |
|---|---|---|
Class 1 | Low power, safe to view | No potential hazard |
Class 1M | Low power, hazardous when viewed directly for longer than 1000 s | Do not view directly with optical instruments |
Class 2 | Low power, hazardous when viewed directly for longer than 0.25 s | Do not stare into the beam |
Class 2M | Medium power, nonhazardous when viewed directly for less than 0.25 s | Do not stare into the beam, do not view directly with optical instruments |
Class 3A | Medium power (0.5 W), are hazardous when viewed directly | Avoid direct eye exposure |
Class 3B | Medium power (0.5 W), are hazardous when viewed directly | Avoid direct eye exposure |
Class 4 | High power (>0.5 W), produce ocular, skin and fire hazards | Avoid eye or skin exposure to direct or scattered radiation |