A recent article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (JOEH) provides further evidence that many lab workers are overexposed to ultraviolet light in less than 35 seconds during the routine use of transilluminators.

Proper protective equipment such as gloves, faceshields, safety glasses and lab coats must be worn when working with transilluminators. See EHRS’s Ultraviolet Radiation Laboratory Safety Fact Sheet for more information on how to safety work with devices that produce UV radiation. The October 2005 JOEH article, Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure from UV-Transilluminators, is available in the Biomedical Library.