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Eyewear for neon
Well, here is what I got from some of the posts in the Compuserve Glass forum.
>> I just got your message and Mike Firth's answer. Mike has it essentially
right: we just don't know what kind of UV is coming off small torch work. The
best study of glass blowing and glory holes by NIOSH in 1988 (published HETA
88-299-2028 in 1990) showed barely detectible UV, but IR in excess of ACGIH's
guideline of 10 milliwater per square centimeter. The NIOSH study recommended
welding shades # 3 of # 4 for glass blowing.
Didymium blocks visible (~ 600 micron wavelength) But IR radiation goes
right through. How I wish I could get people to stop using those damn things.
Since the bright yellow light is blocked, the user feels protected and is even
more likely to get a dose.
If I were forced to guess how much UV comes off torch work, I'd guess that
it's not that much. Where we see the heavy UV production is in welding, and
torch work isn't that hot. The phosphor excitation could produce some UV, but
again, I'd bet not that much. A # 3 or # 4 probably will do it for torch work
nicely.
The nice thing about the welding shades is they block UV and IR so either way
you will probably be OK with them.
When you get to the "high maintenance" stage of life (and I should know), you
will find out you pay for all those little insults to your body that you
*thought* you were getting away with at the time.
Put on your goggles! <<
The splash from the flame tends to dry my eyes as I have a habit of leaning
over my work. Still trying to break the habit, though, because it also makes
my shoulders tight. Looking for a "designer" wrap-around protection system
similar to bicycle glasses. Maybe one will block IR as well. I'm going to
check my local welding shop too. They fill my CO2 and Oxygen tanks for me.
(The CO2 is for my "beermeister").
E-mail from: Tom Biebel, 13-Nov-1995
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