Is the level of ultraviolet (UV) light emitted by compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) a cause for concern?
While it is true that some CFLs do emit slightly more UV light than incandescent light bulbs, these emissions are not significant if the CFLs are installed more than 25cm away from people, such as in ceiling fittings. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) conducted a study into a range of CFLs, incandescent light bulbs and halogen lamps – Ultraviolet Radiation Emissions from Compact Fluorescent Lights Of the tested lamps, those with the highest UV levels, measured at a distance of 10cm over a period of 8 hours was equivalent to spending approximately 6 minutes in the midday summer sunshine in Brisbane and 7 minutes in Melbourne. The study found that UV emissions from all lamps decreased rapidly with distance. If people are concerned about UV exposure they should minimise the time spent closer than 25cm from these lamps or use ‘double envelope’ or ‘covered’ CFLs (these types of lamps look similar to ‘pearl’ incandescents). The Australian Government will
