REVISION MILITARY

LAZRBLOC™ LASER EYE PROTECTION WHITEPAPER

BACKGROUND
Lasers or LASER is Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Lasers are generated in a variety of wavelengths of light, most commonly in the visible and near infrared (NIR) sections of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible and NIR lasers present a unique hazard to the human eye. Since the human eye is composed of tissues that are vulnerable to lasers. Even low levels of laser of laser energy in the visible or NIR spectra can cause permanent eye injury or loss of sight. The danger, however, is often hidden – lasers in the NIR spectrum cannot be seen by the human eye, and without proper protection, the eyes can be severely damaged (burned). The retina of the eye can be permanently damaged and a severe burn of the cornea may produce a loss of vision even after healing.

Laser technology has expanded to use by military and law enforcement personnel worldwide, where devices have become commonplace in many operational environments and forces. Lasers have also been used maliciously; targeting civilian and military aircraft. The number of illegal laser incidents reported to the FAA has risen by nearly 100% from 3,894 reported incidents in 2014 to 7,703 incidents reported in 2015. The risk of injury to military, law enforcement, aviators, and civilians is historically high. Revision Military has developed the following whitepaper to educate military, law enforcement, and aviators about the dangers that lasers present, types and classes of laser equipment, current and future laser protective options, and finally, Revision’s technologies and capabilities to combat the growing need for advanced laser eye protection (LEP) solutions.

LASER USAGE AND INCIDENCES
Military forces around the world use lasers for a wide variety of purposes. Range finders, target designators, target illuminators, anti-missile systems, guided munitions, and weapon system neutralizing technology all use lasers to function. Increasingly, hand-held lasers are used at check-points for crowd control and to temporarily blind or disorient those exhibiting aggressive behavior. Additionally, large, multi-national companies such as Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Boeing are currently developing and expecting to field the next generation laser systems – 100kW laser weapons which have enough power to knock mortars and rockets out of the sky.

There are also a growing number of accounts relating to the criminal misuse of lasers. A former commercial pilot was quoted as saying, “Laser attacks had been a concern to airlines for almost 10 years, and attacks “seemed to be on the increase”.2 The FAA is concerned about the risk to pilots, aircraft, and civilians. They have maintained data of reported laser illuminations of aircraft since 2004. In just ten years, the number of laser illuminations reported daily has increased by over 1900%. In 2015 the number of reported laser illuminations increased to 21.1 per day, up from 10.7 per day in 2014. The sinister use of lasers even extends and has been reported in the sports world. In 2008, a well known British soccer player was the victim of a laser attack during a highly publicized soccer match, resulting in fines to the opposing team. Additionally, lasers have been used against law enforcement. Violent use of lasers has been reported at riots all over the world, including in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Thailand, Greece, Egypt, and Italy, among others. 3 In many documented cases, laser accidents are often the result of the “friendly” misuse of a laser weapon. The U.S. Army’s Medical Research Detachment at Brooks Air Force Base tracks the circumstances, laser system and injury related to injuries sustained with soldiers operating in a military capacity. Many documented cases result from lack of training, experience or knowledge about the laser producing equipment or the dangers that lasers present. In fact, the U.S. military disclosed that as recently as March 30, 2009, an American soldier was blinded in one eye and three others required medical evacuation out of Iraq in a series of laser “friendly fire” incidents.4 Military forces around the world are increasingly aware of the growing threat and dangers that lasers pose and the need for effective force protection. Specifically, Revision is currently under contract or has provided laser protective lenses to the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Canadian Department of National Defence (DND), the German Bundeswehr, Belgium Ministry of Defence (MoD), and several other military forces, Based on the growing use and incidence of laser injuries, the U.S. Army published a laser lens technical bulletin in January 2006 entitled “Control of Hazards to Health From Laser Radiation” which provided a detailed study on laser producing equipment, hazard evaluations, accident reporting and logistics and safety support.5 The bulletin is a comprehensive resource and is published for public use with unlimited distribution.

There are also a growing number of accounts relating to the criminal misuse of lasers. A former commercial pilot was quoted as saying, “Laser attacks had been a concern to airlines for almost 10 years, and attacks “seemed to be on the increase”.2 The FAA is concerned about the risk to pilots, aircraft, and civilians. They have maintained data of reported laser illuminations of aircraft since 2004. In just ten years, the number of laser illuminations reported daily has increased by over 1900%. In 2015 the number of reported laser illuminations increased to 21.1 per day, up from 10.7 per day in 2014. The sinister use of lasers even extends and has been reported in the sports world. In 2008, a well known British soccer player was the victim of a laser attack during a highly publicized soccer match, resulting in fines to the opposing team. Additionally, lasers have been used against law enforcement. Violent use of lasers has been reported at riots all over the world, including in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Thailand, Greece, Egypt, and Italy, among others.

In many documented cases, laser accidents are often the result of the “friendly” misuse of a laser weapon. The
U.S. Army’s Medical Research Detachment at Brooks Air Force Base tracks the circumstances, laser system and injury related to injuries sustained with soldiers operating in a military capacity. Many documented cases result from lack of training, experience or knowledge about the laser producing equipment or the dangers that lasers present. In fact, the U.S. military disclosed that as recently as March 30, 2009, an American soldier was blinded in one eye and three others required medical evacuation out of Iraq in a series of laser “friendly fire” incidents.4

Military forces around the world are increasingly aware of the growing threat and dangers that lasers pose and the need for effective force protection. Specifically, Revision is currently under contract or has provided laser protective lenses to the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Canadian Department of National Defence (DND), the German Bundeswehr, Belgium Ministry of Defence (MoD), and several other military forces, Based on the growing use and incidence of laser injuries, the U.S. Army published a laser lens technical bulletin in January 2006 entitled “Control of Hazards to Health From Laser Radiation” which provided a detailed study on laser producing equipment, hazard evaluations, accident reporting and logistics and safety support.5 The bulletin is a comprehensive resource and is published for public use with unlimited distribution.

TYPES AND CLASSES OF LASER EQUIPMENT
The various types of commercial, industrial, and military lasers are divided by class to describe the capabilities of a laser system to produce injury. The various types of lasers are classified as the following:

Class 1 – This class is eye-safe under all operating conditions.

Class 1M – This class is safe for viewing directly with the naked eye, but may be hazardous to view with the aid of optical instruments. In general, the use of magnifying glasses increases the hazard from a widely-diverging beam (eg LEDs and bare laser diodes), and binoculars or telescopes increase the hazard from a wide, collimated beam (such as those used in open-beam telecommunications systems).

Class 2 – These are visible lasers. This class is safe for accidental viewing under all operating conditions. However, it may not be safe for a person who deliberately stares into the laser beam for longer than 0.25 s, by overcoming their natural aversion response to the very bright light.

Class 2M – These are visible lasers. This class is safe for accidental viewing with the naked eye, as long as the natural aversion response is not overcome as with Class 2, but may be hazardous (even for accidental viewing) when viewed with the aid of optical instruments, as with class 1M. Radiation in classes 2 and 2M is visible, but can also contain an invisible element, subject to certain conditions.

Classes 1M and 2M broadly replace the old class 3A under IEC and EN classification. Prior to the 2001 amendment there were also lasers which were Class 3B but were eye-safe when viewed without optical instruments. These lasers are Class 1M or 2M under the current Classification system.

Class 3R – Radiation in this class is considered low risk, but potentially hazardous. The class limit for 3R is 5x the applicable class limit for Class 1 (for invisible radiation) or class 2 (for visible radiation). Hence CW visible lasers emitting between 1 and 5 mW are normally Class 3R. Visible class 3R is similar to class IIIA in the US regulations.

Class 3B – Radiation in this class is very likely to be dangerous. For a continuous wave laser the maximum output into the eye must not exceed 500mW. The radiation can be a hazard to the eye or skin. However, viewing of the diffuse reflection is safe.

Class 4 – This is the highest class of laser radiation. Radiation in this class is very dangerous, and viewing of the diffuse reflection may be dangerous. Class 4 laser beams are capable of setting fire to materials onto which they are projected.

Any laser product of a given Class may contain ’embedded’ lasers which are greater than the Class assigned to the product, but in these cases engineering controls (protective housings and interlocks) ensure that human access to radiation in excess of product Class is not possible. Notable examples of this are CD and DVD players which are Class 1 laser products while containing Class 3R or Class 3B lasers and laser printers which are Class 1 laser products but contain Class 4 embedded lasers.⁶

Another comprehensive laser resource is the Medical NBC Battlebook published by the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM). Developed to address operational health concerns in environments where Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) threats exist, the Medical NBC Battlebook includes information regarding the use and hazards of laser weapons and equipment as well as recognition and prevention of laser injuries. ⁷

Based upon the requests that Revision receives from its international customer base, the following information from the Medical NBC Battlebook is not specific to the United States. While this information is published by the U.S. Military, Revision’s international customer’s often request laser protective solutions which protect against the same or similar laser threats and wavelengths as published in the Medical NBC Battlebook detailed in the following tables.