Exposure to Artificial Light at Night and the Consequences for Flora, Fauna, and Ecosystems.

The present review draws together wide-ranging studies performed over the last decades that catalogue the effects of artificial-light-at-night (ALAN) upon living species and their environment. We provide an overview of the tremendous variety of light-detection strategies which have evolved in living organisms - unicellular, plants and animals, covering chloroplasts (plants), and the plethora of ocular and extra-ocular organs (animals). We describe the visual pigments which permit photo-detection, paying attention to their spectral characteristics, which extend from the ultraviolet into infrared.

Retinal phototoxicity and the evaluation of the blue light hazard of a new solid-state lighting technology.

Exposure Limit Values (ELV) for artificial lighting were defined in order to prevent light-induced damage to the retina. The evaluation of the lighting devices include the correction of their spectra by the B(λ) function or blue light hazard function, representing the relative spectral sensitivity of the human eye to the blue light. This weighting function peaks between 435 and 440 nm.

Assessment of Personal Occupational Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields in Libraries and Media Libraries, Using Calibrated On-Body Exposimeters.

Background And Objectives: With the spread of Wifi networks, safety concerns have arisen, with complaints of somatic disorders, notably in traditional libraries and media libraries. The aim of the present study was to describe the conditions and levels of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the real-life occupational conditions of those working in traditional libraries and media libraries.

Methods: Dynamic measurements, using an exposimeter, were taken in 20 radiofrequency bands from 88 to 5850 MHz.

Effects of white light-emitting diode (LED) exposure on retinal pigment epithelium in vivo.

Ageing and alteration of the functions of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are at the origin of lost of vision seen in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The RPE is known to be vulnerable to high-energy blue light. The white light-emitting diodes (LED) commercially available have relatively high content of blue light, a feature that suggest that they could be deleterious for this retinal cell layer.

Retinal damage induced by commercial light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Spectra of "white LEDs" are characterized by an intense emission in the blue region of the visible spectrum, absent in daylight spectra. This blue component and the high intensity of emission are the main sources of concern about the health risks of LEDs with respect to their toxicity to the eye and the retina. The aim of our study was to elucidate the role of blue light from LEDs in retinal damage.