Product Code: ILSC2011_C103

Building a Laser Safety Culture (Closing Plenary, 30 minutes)
Authors:
Ken Barat, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley CA USA
Presented at ILSC 2011

This past year we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the invention of the laser. While we have come a long way with technology safety has lagged in one important area. Still today the most common laser incident is an individual (usually student) performing some type of beam manipulation and not wearing proper protective eyewear and being struck by a stray or direct beam. The LSO and their institution need to spend more time working on changing users safety culture, in order to make a significant impact on the number of laser accidents. This presentation will highlight some ways to change ones laser safety culture.