Laboratory investigations of ultraviolet radiation of selected energy-saving light sources

W artykule przedstawiono problem związany z zastępowaniem źródeł żarowych przez źródła energooszczędne, głównie lampy fluorescencyjne, zgodnie z rozporządzeniem Komisji (WE) NR 244/2009. Promieniowanie ultrafioletowe emitowane przez źródła wyładowcze może stanowić zagrożenie dla użytkowników. Przeprowadzono badania sondażowe wybranych źródeł światła, które wykazały, że świetlówki dostępne na rynku nie stanowią istotnego zagrożenia ze względu na emisję UV, a produkty azjatyckie nie wykazują zwiększonego poziomu emisji w porównaniu do produktów europejskich.In this paper there is presented the problem of replacing incandescent light sources by energy saving sources, especially by compact fluorescent lamps, in accordance with European Commission Regulation No 244/2009 [1]. Section 2 describes the principle of operation of a fluorescent lamp (Fig. 1). This lamp is a source of ultraviolet radiation (Tab. 1) [3] which can be a health threat for users. The UV spectrum has many effects, both beneficial and damaging, to human health. Section 3 characterizes these effects such as the production of vitamin D, the treatment of skin conditions, but also acute and chronic effects especially on the skin and eyes. Section 4 describes normative conditions of UV emission level and functionality conditions of compact fluorescent lamps according to the European Commission Regulation. Section 5 presents the detailed research method and results. There were measured two parameters: ultraviolet irradiance and illuminance, which were used to calculate the UV radiation emission level. For research there were used 20 W power compact fluorescent lamps with about 1200 lm luminous flux. The characteristics of UV emission depending on the radiating angle, the source distance and the voltage (Figs. 4-8) were obtained. There was performed a comparison of emission of different lamps, according to the producer, construction and color temperature (Figs. 9, 10). The research shows that the lamps offered in the market are not a crucial health threat for users, because their emission level is lower than that specified in regulations. Also the emission level of Asian products is not much higher than that of European products