The Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010

Citation, commencement and interpretation U.K.

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010 and come into force on 27 April 2010.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the 1999 Regulations” means the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 M1 ;

“artificial optical radiation” means any electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range between 100nm and 1mm which is emitted by non-natural sources;

“the Directive” means Directive 2006/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to risks arising from physical agents (artificial optical radiation) (19^th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC), and references in these Regulations to the Annexes to the Directive are to those Annexes as amended from time to time;

[F1 “enforcing authority” means the Health and Safety Executive, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, local authority or [F2 Office of Rail and Road] determined in accordance with—

(a)

section 18(1A) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974;

(b)

the provisions of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998; and

(c)

the provisions of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority for Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems) Regulations 2006.]

“the exposure limit values” means— for non-coherent radiation, those exposure limit values set out in Annex I to the Directive; and for laser radiation those exposure limit values set out in Annex II to the Directive;

“health surveillance” means assessment of the state of health of an employee, as related to exposure to artificial optical radiation and its effects on the skin;

“irradiance” means the radiant power incident per unit area upon a surface expressed in watts per square metre (W m^-2 );

“laser” (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) means any device which can be made to produce or amplify electromagnetic radiation in the optical radiation wavelength range primarily by the process of controlled stimulated emission;

“laser radiation” means artificial optical radiation from a laser;

“non-coherent radiation” means any artificial optical radiation other than laser radiation;

“radiance” means the radiant flux or power output per unit solid angle per unit area expressed in watts per square metre per steradian ( W m^-2 sr^-1); and

“radiant exposure” means the time integral of the irradiance, expressed in joules per square metre (J m^-2).

(3) Other expressions used in these Regulations which are used in the Directive have the same meaning as they have in the Directive.

(4) A reference to an employee being exposed to artificial optical radiation is a reference to that exposure which arises while the employee is at work, or arises out of, or in connection with, the employee's work.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 1 substituted (1.4.2014) by The Energy Act 2013 (Office for Nuclear Regulation) (Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/469), art. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 144 (with Sch. 4)

F2 Words in reg. 1(2) substituted (16.10.2015) by The Office of Rail Regulation (Change of Name) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1682), reg. 1(2), Sch. para. 10(aa)

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 1999/3242, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.