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August 2010
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BLS News & Review |
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Volume 4, Number 3
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In This Issue - Executive Director's Message BLS Links
Board of Laser Safety Follow the BLS:
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Executive Director's
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| CLSOs |
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| William Brown Jr. | Curtis-Straus | ||||
| CMLSOs | |||||
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| Jamie Clark |
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| Sandy Converse |
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| Ginger Faucher |
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| Gregory Heck |
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| Randall Johnson |
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| Elizabeth Leen | Park Avenue Dermatology | ||||
| Gary Linzy | Rockwell Laser Industries | ||||
| Robert Todd | L.A.S.E.R.S. Inc. |
Go to the BLS website to view complete listings of CLSOs and CMLSOs.
6th Annual Laser Safety Officers Workshop Overview
On Charles Townes:
“Workshop attendees got an extra bonus when Dr. Charles Townes (below) shared his perspective on the importance (laser) research has made to the advancement of our nations science and technology.”
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“Having Charles Townes as the kick-off speaker really set the stage - WOW!”
“I thought it was great that Dr. Townes was the keynote speaker. What an honor to hear him relate his experiences to us!”
“This year was especially memorable since Dr. Charles Townes was the plenary speaker. His talk was interesting not only from a historical aspect but inspirational as well. He recalled when the idea on how to make lasers work came to him. He was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons when the light bulb went on. He immediately got out his pencil and paper and started writing notes. Shortly after that he showed his thoughts to his friend, Niels Bohr (yes The Niels Bohr ) who doubted that it would work at all. Just a great story, he told others as well. Where else would you get a chance to meet such an important figure in the history of lasers?”
Favorite presentations:
“A couple of my favorite presentations this year were ‘The Personal Laser Injury Story’ and ‘Human Performance Improvement’… this presentation was far more powerful than reading an accident report could ever be. The talk on human performance improvement gave a compelling view of how to get and keep workers working safely.”
“A memorable moment for me was when a LBNL researcher shared a personal experience – his laser eye injuries. This account was very impactful for me as a laser safety officer - getting a first-hand perspective on the experience and an injured worker’s take on what went wrong and how to avoid similar events in the future.”
“Some [topics] of interest to me were Terahertz radiation, white light lasers and the personal laser injury story by Nicholas Matlis.”
“Nicholas' talk about his laser eye injuries was interesting because his story is so typical about what really goes on with laser users. Also, I found Thomas' [Fröhlich] presentation about decoding the international markings on laser eyewear informative. I really enjoyed the presentation by the veterinarian who uses lasers for animal surgery.”
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“The presentations that I felt had great value were: accident reviews and testimonials from injured persons; lasers in veterinary medicine presentation detailing operations involving CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers – most LSOs I know are involved in R&D and industrial environments. The opportunity to understand medical uses of lasers in greater detail was compelling. I would actually like to see more medical-style presentations in future workshops (note – come to ILSC and experience the first-ever Medical Practical Applications Seminar); various presentations on laser involvements in breakthrough physics, including NIF, allowed me to better understand how lasers will be vital in development of new power plants and other life sciences; and the FAA presentation revealed startling details on the increasing frequency of laser incidents involving aircraft and what is being done to curtail that activity.”
The Workshop as a Whole:
“The Annual LSO Workshop feels like a reunion – bringing together a bunch of folks with whom you really enjoy hanging out – exchanging worries and solutions and sharing best practices. The networking opportunities abound at the LSO workshop – plenty of time to set aside for visiting with your peers from other national laboratories, from industry and from the universities.”
“The opportunity to renew old acquaintances and make new ones is very important to me. It’s not often us laser safety geeks get a chance to talk with others about issues in our profession we have in common.”
“I really enjoyed the workshop as a whole. Not only was it a wonderful time to catch up with friends and colleagues from near and a far, I thought Ken's line up of speakers was a diverse mix and kept the conference interesting.”
“Overall I thought the 2010 Annual Laser Safety Officer Workshop was a huge success. Every year I am amazed at the many new faces that I see in attendance.”
“The conference gave us a glimpse into our future as Laser Safety Officers, what we could expect in the next 8 or so years. What problems we could face as safety professionals as lasers become more powerful and faster, terawatt lasers, attosecond lasers or complex, white light lasers, desk top linear accelerators. I’m betting that not many if any people at your work place talk laser safety, here at the workshop we all did. It’s a place where people understand what you are talking about, who actually care and have faced the same or similar issues. It’s a place where old friends get together with new friends to talk laser safety like nobody else does at your workplace. A place to meet the vendors who display their wares with finger food and refreshments; a chance to view the latest in laser safety innovations and potentially discuss problems with the experts in the field of eyewear or laser safety gadgets.”
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“Next year I’d say ‘Be there or be left behind in its wake’.”
My appreciation to Bob Carranza, Jamie King, Barb O’Kane, Patrick Patterson, Bob Sarason, Cathi Scogin, and Candy Soles for contributing their thoughts on the workshop. And to Ken Barat (left) for putting the workshop together, from the initial concept six years ago through every step of this year’s event and more – thank you.
55th Annual Health Physics Society and 22nd Biennial Campus Radiation Safety Officers Meeting Overview
At the 2009 Health Physics Society meeting in Minneapolis, Dr. David Sliney received the Distinguished Achievement Award. During his acceptance speech, he noted that “there didn’t seem to be many papers on non-ionizing topics, including laser safety.” His comments inspired several CLSOs to consider ways to increase the number of laser safety presentations at the next HPS meeting.
Fast-forward to June 2010, the BLS mounted a concerted effort to increase the profile of laser safety at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society. CLSOs Myungchul Jo and Dewey Sprague organized and chaired the Board of Laser Safety Special Session, the first ever at an HPS meeting. The session featured the following four invited presentations by CLSOs:
- What Health Physicists should know about Lasers, Laser Safety and Why – Ken Barat
- Radiation Safety across the Electromagnetic Spectrum – the Challenges of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) – Jamie King and Dewey Sprague
- Expected Revision of Laser Maximum Permissible Exposure Limits – David Sliney
- The Board of Laser Safety’s Certified Laser Safety Officer Program – Ben Edwards
CLSOs also conducted three Professional Enrichment Program (PEP) two-hour classes on various aspects of laser safety and optical radiation safety, which were all well attended and reviewed.
In addition, two related laser safety presentations were given in the Accelerator Section Special Session I – Light Sources and FELs.
“The BLS Special Session ranked very well in attendance” stated Ben Edwards, HPS Program Committee member and 2010 Task Force Chair. “We had the largest laser safety footprint in years, in terms of numbers of presentations and short courses.”
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In the last issue of the BLS News & Review, we told you to “mark your calendars” for the 2011 International Laser Safety Conference, March 14-17 in San Jose, Calif. Starting with this issue, conference updates will be provided so you can plan accordingly.
As Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) Z136 members know, ancillary meetings abound at ILSC (more on that below). In addition to the conference, and ASC Z136 and IEC TC76 ancillary meetings, the LIA will hold a medical laser safety officer course the weekend prior to the conference (March 12-13). This will give interested MLSOs the opportunity to attend the course and then stay for the Medical Practical Applications Seminar (March 14-15).
The BLS will offer a “pencil and paper” exam opportunity following the MLSO course (the afternoon of March 13) and will host an appreciation and/or recruitment event sometime during the week. The BLS is proud to be a cooperating society of ILSC 2011 and, as such, all active status CLSOs and CMLSOs will receive LIA membership pricing on program registration.
Don’t forget that one CM point will be given for each day of attendance, in addition to any CM points earned for presenting at the conference.
Connect with ILSC Attendees through the ILSC LinkedIn Group
The 2011 annual meeting of ASC Z136 will be held on Sunday, March 13, 2011 in conjunction with the International Laser Safety Conference in San Jose, Calif. In accordance with ASC Z136 Procedures, this meeting is open to “…all members and others having a direct and material interest” in the activities of the committee. If you would like to attend as an observer, please contact Barbara Sams at the LIA, 407-380-1553 or email bsams@lia.org.
In addition to the annual meeting, ancillary meetings for Z136 subcommittees and IEC TC76 working groups will be scheduled during the week of March 14-18.
- Committee Chairs – if you are interested in securing space during the conference, please contact Barbara.
- CLSOs and CMLSOs – this is a wonderful opportunity to sit in on a scheduled subcommittee meeting to see whether participation would interest you. As you know, CM points are given for active participation on a laser safety standards or regulations committee external of your organization. Many of these committees conduct their business electronically, with in-person meetings occurring sporadically.
A meetings list will be published closer to ILSC for planning purposes.
Special LlA Membership Rate for CLSOs and CMLSOs
The Laser Institute of America would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on obtaining your certification and invite you to become a member of the LIA. Membership in a laser safety related professional or technical organization or society earns valuable certification maintenance (CM) points, with a maximum of 3 CM points total for the term (1 CM point given per year of membership).
Start earning your certification maintenance (CM) points today at the special LIA membership rate for CLSOs and CMLSOs – 3 years for $235!
Maintaining certification is an important and vital part of becoming a CLSO or CMLSO. As the industry and technology changes, so must the knowledge of a CLSO and CMLSO. One way to keep abreast of the current technology is by utilizing these LIA membership benefits, among others:
- Complimentary subscription to the peer reviewed Journal of Laser Applications® including free access to all articles online (an excellent publication forum for your technical work as well)
- Complimentary subscription to LIA TODAY
- Discounts on registration for LIA conferences, such as the International Laser Safety Conference
Sign up now to take advantage of this special membership offer, only available to CLSOs and CMLSOs. Complete and return the provided LIA membership application today.
For a complete listing of CM Points categories, go to www.lasersafety.org and choose certification maintenance or refer to your Certification Maintenance Manual.
Earning CM Points through Journal Reviews
Another resource for approved articles:
PubMed Central (PMC) is a free digital archive of biomedical and life science journals, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
Search for “laser”, Search all articles
Any/all FULL TEXT articles will be accepted. The Journal Article Verification Worksheet may be downloaded from the BLS website.
If you are aware of any articles that you feel would be appropriate for review, please let the BLS know by contacting Barbara Sams or Hydee Cash, or call 407-380-5833.
Remember too that published magazine or newsletter submissions (print or online) will be accepted at a ½ CM point per article. Contributions to the BLS News & Review are welcome!
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