After a serious accident with a laser pointer, the Ministry of Social Affairs warns in a press release of powerful devices wrongly declared: "Laser pointers are no toys and may lead to irreversible damage to the eyes!"

The scientific basics were provided by studies conducted by the laser expert of Seibersdorf Labor GmbH, Dr. Karl Schulmeister. By using computer model calculations he was able to show that at higher laser power, the retina can be irreversibly damaged in less than a millisecond.

Laser pointer class 1 or 2 (ie a power less than 1 milliwatt) are considered to be safe. Unfortunately the product declarations are not always correct. If devices are advertised by using terms such as "strong performance" or "bright beam" it is often an indication for higher performance. There exists a risk, that the retina will be permanently damaged by accidental irradiation, so the The Ministry of Social Affairs.

More informations (in german):
http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20141222_OTS0036/sozialministerium-warnt-vor-leistungsstarken-und-falsch-deklarierten-laserpointern

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