Ultraviolet wavelengths of light are present in sunlight. They are the wavelengths that can cause sunburn. UV lamps produce the same wavelengths of light along with shortwave UV wavelengths that are blocked by the ozone layer of Earth’s atmosphere.
Small UV lamps with just a few watts of power are safe for short periods of use. The user should not look into the lamp, shine the lamp directly onto the skin, or shine the lamp towards the face of a person or pet. Looking into the lamp can cause serious eye injury. Shining a UV lamp onto your skin can cause “sunburn.”
Eye protection should be worn when using any UV lamp. Inexpensive UV blocking glasses, UV blocking safety glasses, or UV blocking prescription glasses provide adequate protection when using a low-voltage ultraviolet lamp for short periods of time for specimen examination.
The safety procedures of UV lamps used for fluorescent mineral studies should not be confused with those provided with the “blacklights” sold at party and novelty stores. “Blacklights” emit low-intensity longwave UV radiation. The shortwave UV radiation produced by a mineral study lamp contains the wavelengths associated with sunburn and eye injury. This is why mineral study lamps should be used with eye protection and handled more carefully than “blacklights.”
UV lamps used to illuminate large mineral displays or used for outdoor field work have much higher voltages than the small UV lamps used for specimen examination by students. Eye protection and clothing that covers the arms, legs, feet and hands should be worn when using a high-voltage lamp.
