INO LRMS Guía del usuario

Guidelines for the Safe Use of the LRMS,

LRIS, and LCMS Laser Products (Rev. 3)

February 2012

I O

2740, Einstein Street

Quebec (Quebec)

Canada, G1P 4S4

Tel.: (418) 657-7006

Fax.: (418) 657-7009

www.ino.ca

Reproduction in whole or part in any way without

written permission from I O is strictly prohibited.

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 2

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................. 3

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 5

1.1

Purpose and scope of this manual ................................................................................................ 5

1.2

Acronyms and symbols used in this manual ................................................................................. 6

1.3

References .................................................................................................................................... 7

1.4

Order of precedence...................................................................................................................... 7

1.5

Important otice ............................................................................................................................ 7

EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LASER EQUIPMENTS ........................................................................ 9

2.1

Basic characteristics of the laser radiation .................................................................................... 9

2.1.1

Overview: The concept of laser line ..................................................................................... 9

2.1.2

Laser safety class and emission wavelength of the equipment ............................................ 9

2.2

General considerations about the laser safety issues ................................................................. 10

2.2.1

Transparency and refractive properties of the main structures of the eye: Some

consequences ..................................................................................................................................... 10

2.2.2

Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) .............................................................................. 11

2.2.3

ominal Hazard Ocular Area ( OHA) ................................................................................. 11

2.3

Typical viewing scenarios and related laser hazards .................................................................. 12

2.4

Emission characteristics and laser safety parameters of each laser equipment ........................ 15

DETAILED SPECIFICATION OF THE NOMINAL OCULAR HA ARD AREAS ..................................................... 18

3.1

OHA for the LRMS .................................................................................................................... 18

3.2

OHA for the LRIS ...................................................................................................................... 22

3.3

OHA for the LCMS .................................................................................................................... 24

RECOMMENDED CONTROL MEASURES AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ......................................................... 27

4.1

Risk assessment ......................................................................................................................... 27

4.2

Case #1: Operation of the laser equipments in a moving inspection vehicle............................. 28

4.3

Case #2: Operation of the laser equipments with the inspection vehicle temporarily stopped .. 29

4.4

Case #3: Operation of the laser equipments when the inspection vehicle is at rest (indoor and

outdoor settings) ...................................................................................................................................... 30

4.4.1

Recommended administrative/procedural control measures and safety precautions ........ 30

4.4.2

Recommended personal protective equipment ................................................................... 34

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Schematic illustration of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that spans from the near

ultraviolet up to the near infrared. The correspondence between the wavelength scale and the

perceived color of the visible light is illustrated. The vertical red arrow locates the 808-nm emission

wavelength of the laser equipments. ................................................................................................... 10

Figure 2: Schematic illustration of four representative viewing scenarios labeled from A to D, with the

associated risks of laser hazards decreasing with increasing order. .................................................. 13

Figure 3: Illustration of the typical setup of the LRMS installed in an inspection vehicle. .......................... 19

Figure 4: Schematic front view of a LRMS laser profiler showing the geometry of the laser beam for its

propagation path from the output window down to the road pavement. The drawing is not to scale

and the inspection vehicle is not shown. ............................................................................................. 20

Figure 5: Schematic side view of a LRMS laser profiler showing the geometry of the laser beam for its

propagation path from the output window down to the road pavement. The drawing is not to scale.

The inspection vehicle is not shown. ................................................................................................... 21

Figure 6: Illustration of the laser controlled area as recommended for a LRMS installed in an inspection

vehicle. The drawing is not to scale. .................................................................................................. 22

Figure 7: Illustration of the typical setup of the LRIS installed on an inspection vehicle. A photograph of a

free laser sensor unit is also shown to locate the output windows for the camera and laser line

projector. .............................................................................................................................................. 23

Figure 8: Schematic front view and side view of a LRIS mounted on an inspection vehicle, showing the

geometry of the laser beam during its propagation path from the output window of a laser sensor

down to the road pavement. The drawing is not to scale. .................................................................. 24

Figure 9: Photograph of the rear view of an inspection vehicle on which both laser sensor units of a

LCMS have been installed. A photograph of a free laser sensor unit is also shown to locate the

output windows of the camera and laser line projector. ...................................................................... 25

Figure 10: Schematic front view and side view of a laser sensor unit of a LCMS as it would be mounted

on an inspection vehicle. The geometry of the laser beam during its propagation path from the

output window of a laser sensor down to the road pavement is illustrated. The drawing is not to scale

and the inspection vehicle is not shown. ............................................................................................. 26

Figure 11: Two examples of area warning signs that convey rapid visual hazard-alerting messages. ..... 31

Figure 12: Photographs showing an IR viewer (left) and IR viewing cards (right). The photographs have

been reprinted from the ewport Corp. and Melles Griot online catalogs. ......................................... 33

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summary of the key emission characteristics and laser safety parameters of the LRMS, LRIS,

and LCMS products. ............................................................................................................................ 16

Table 2: Summary of the results of a risk assessment of the potential laser hazards that could occur for

the three dominant use cases involving the use of the LRMS, LRIS and LCMS equipments. ........... 28

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose and scope of this manual

This manual is intended to provide in-depth information and reasonable guidance about the various laser

safety issues related to the operation of three laser equipments manufactured by I O (Québec city,

Canada) for the inspection or road pavements. These equipments include:

1. The Laser Rut Measurement System (LRMS),

2. The Laser Road Imaging System (LRIS), and

3. The Laser Crack Measurement System (LCMS).

A large part of this manual is inspired from the content of four relevant laser safety standard documents,

these documents being the international standard IEC 60825-1 Edition 2.0 2007-03 [1], the technical

report IEC/TR 60825-14 First edition 2004-02 [2], and both American national standard documents A SI

Z136.1-2007 [3] and A SI Z136.6-2005 [4]. Section 1.3 gives the complete reference to each of these

documents. These standard documents are very detailed and they must have a broad coverage in order

to account for the characteristics of nearly all types of laser sources made available on the market. As a

result, it can be difficult for the inexperienced user to readily find in these documents the laser safety

information relevant to its own laser product. In addition, a rigorous laser safety assessment for any given

laser product requires that some emission parameters be calculated, which is not at the reach of many

individuals that do not possess a minimum technical background in this field. The present manual then

aims at providing laser safety information and data to the user so that the three laser systems can be

safely used and maintained without having to browse through the laser safety standards mentioned above

and without the need to perform complicated and lengthy calculations.

Because the three laser equipments covered by this manual are Class 3B laser products, Section 3.3 of

Ref. [2] recommends that a laser safety officer (LSO) be appointed in organizations that make use of

these laser products. The LSO should take responsibility, on behalf of its organization, for the

administration of day-to-day matters that relate to laser safety. The present manual is then intended to

serve as a sourcebook for the LSO that will have the responsibility to enforce adequate laser safety

practices and to set up the appropriate control measures for the safe use of either of the LRMS, LRIS or

LCMS laser equipments owned and/or used by its organization. The LSO may rely on the content of the

present manual, particularly in the absence of national or local laser safety regulations.

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

The exposure to laser radiation emitted from Class 3B laser equipments such as the LRMS, LRIS, and

LCMS can be hazardous to the eyes, particularly if the exposure duration exceeds a few seconds while

the viewer’s eyes are at close proximity of the aperture from which the laser radiation is emitted (worst-

case viewing scenario). In addition, the level of laser radiation emitted by both LRIS and LCMS

equipments is sufficient to be considered unsafe for skin exposure. Fortunately, a short laser safety

training of the laser personnel along with the application of a few control measures that do not require

costly equipment will reduce the risks of laser hazards to an acceptable level. The specification of the

control measures is adapted to the specific laser emission characteristics of the equipments discussed in

this manual, and some of these characteristics help greatly in reducing the risks of laser hazards. It is our

opinion that the knowledge of these laser emission characteristics for the laser personnel will largely

contribute to decrease the general level of anxiety that is normally felt by any individual present in a

workplace that poses some health hazards.

1.2 Acronyms and symbols used in this manual

A SI American ational Standards Institute

CW Continuous wave

IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

IR Infrared

LCMS Laser Crack Measurement System

LED Light-emitting diode

LRIS Laser Road Imaging System

LRMS Laser Rut Measurement System

LSO Laser Safety Officer

MPE Maximum permissible exposure

/A ot Applicable

IR ear-infrared

OHA ominal Ocular Hazard Area

OHD ominal Ocular Hazard Distance

Hz Hertz (a unit of frequency)

J Joules (a unit of energy) Related units

: mJ (1 mJ = 10

−3

Only the related units used in the manual are listed.

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

m Meters. Related units: nm (1 nm = 10

−9

m), µm (1 µm = 10

−6

m), mm

(1 mm = 0.001 m), and cm (1 cm = 0.01 m)

W Watts (a unit of power) Related units: mW (1 mW = 10

−3

s Seconds. Related units: µs (1 µs = 10

−6

1.3 References

The documents listed below form part of the present manual to the extent specified herein. Each

document is referenced throughout the text of the present manual by its reference number enclosed in

brackets.

1. IEC 60825-1, Safety of laser products – Part 1: Equipment classification and requirements,

International Electrotechnical Commission, Edition 2.0, 2007-03.

2. IEC/TR 60825-14, Safety of laser products – Part 14: A user’s guide, International

Electrotechnical Commission, First Edition, 2004-02.

3. American ational Standards Institute, ANSI Z1 6.1-2007 American National Standard for Safe

Use of Lasers (Laser Institute of America, Orlando, FL, 2007).

4. American ational Standards Institute, ANSI Z1 6.6-2005 American National Standard for Safe

Use of Lasers Outdoors (Laser Institute of America, Orlando, FL, 2005).

5. Laser Rut Measurement System Installation Manual Rev. 2 , I O, Sept. 2008.

6. Laser Road Imaging System Installation Manual Rev. 1 , I O, Oct. 2007.

7. Laser Crack Measurement System – Installation Manual Rev. 4, I O, Dec. 2009.

8. R. Mannix, “Human behavioral factors in laser safety”, J. Laser Appl., vol. 14, pp. 128-133, May

2002.

1.4 Order of precedence

In the event of conflict between the content of this manual and any of the reference documents listed in

Section 1.3, the reference documents take precedence.

1.5 Important Notice

This laser safety manual addresses hazards associated only to laser radiation emitted from the LRMS,

LRIS, and LCMS Class 3B laser equipments manufactured by I O. Other types of health hazards may

occur when using these laser equipments, and the reader is then invited to review the page entitled

GE ERAL SAFETY WAR I G in the installation manuals of the LRMS and LCMS equipments. At the

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

time of drafting the present version of this laser safety manual, the page cited above is still missing in the

installation manual of the LRIS. The present manual is provided for the sole convenience of the users and

appointed LSO. I O expressly disclaims liability for any injury to a person or damages of any nature

resulting from the use of or reliance on the content of this manual. In addition, I O makes no guarantee

as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this manual.

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

2 Emission Characteristics of the Laser Equipments

2.1 Basic characteristics of the laser radiation

2.1.1 Overview: The concept of laser line

The LRMS, LRIS and LCMS laser equipments manufactured by I O acquire transverse profiles of the

surface of the road pavement by illuminating it with laser radiation emitted from devices referred to as

either laser profiler units or laser sensor units, depending on the specific equipment. Each equipment

includes two identical laser profiler (or sensor) units, each unit enclosing a specific type of high-speed

camera and an emission module referred to as a laser line projector. The primary component of each

laser line projector is a high-power semiconductor laser diode rated for emission of about 7 watts (W) to

10 W of average output power. Prior to exiting from the output window of the laser line projector, the laser

beam emitted by the semiconductor laser diode passes through a properly designed optical system that

shapes the laser beam and then projects it in the form of an elongated thin line. The “laser line” has a

thickness (shortest dimension) of about 7 mm at the output window while its length (longest dimension) is

in the range of 4 cm (LRIS) to about 7 cm (LRMS and LCMS). The laser line spreads rapidly along its

length as it propagates away from the output window, so that it gets more and more elongated.

Depending on the specific mounting of the laser equipment, the laser line hits the road pavement after

propagation over a distance of about 2 m in the air. At the surface of the road pavement the laser line is

about 2-m long while its thickness gets reduced to a minimum of approximately 1 mm (LRMS and LCMS)

to 10 mm (LRIS). The laser lines projected from both laser profiler units superpose in such a way that

they illuminate a zone of about 4-m long on the road pavement.

2.1.2 Laser safety class and emission wavelength of the equipment

Depending on the specific laser equipment, each projected laser line carries a total average output power

that may vary from about 0.4 W to 7.5 W. This means that each laser profiler/sensor unit is a Class 3B

laser product, as determined by the manufacturer from the application of the laser classification

procedures detailed in either of the laser safety standards documents [1] or [3]. The classification of a

laser system gives a gross indication of its potential hazard resulting from exposure (both ocular and skin)

to the emitted laser beam. For instance, the level of laser radiation emitted by a Class 3B laser product is

such that incidental direct exposure of the eyes can be hazardous when left unprotected, even when the

exposure is brief. The risks of eye injury resulting form inadvertent ocular exposure are increased by the

fact that the emitted laser radiation is invisible when observed with the unaided eye. As a result, a viewer

LRMS, LRIS, and LCMS Laser Safety Manual (Rev. 2)

may be unaware that laser radiation is reaching his eyes, at least during a certain moment. The laser

profiler/sensor units emit laser radiation having a very narrow spectrum that peaks at a wavelength of 808

nanometers (nm). This emission wavelength is located in the near-infrared ( IR) spectral region, as seen

in the rightmost portion of the electromagnetic spectrum depicted in Figure 1 below. The figure also

shows that the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum spans roughly from 400 nm (perceived as a

dark blue color) to 700 nm, this latter wavelength being perceived as a dark red color. The vertical red

arrow in the figure indicates the location in the electromagnetic spectrum of the 808-nm emission

wavelength of the laser profiler/sensor units. Although the 808-nm wavelength lies in close proximity of

the red boundary of the visible region of the spectrum, the spectral sensitivity of the human eye at this

wavelength drops by a factor of more than 100 000 as compared to its maximum sensitivity, which occurs

for yellow-green light at the 550-nm wavelength in daylight conditions (photopic vision). This explains why

the 808-nm laser light is not generally detectable by the unaided human eye.

Figure 1: Schematic illustration of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that spans

from the near ultraviolet up to the near infrared. The correspondence between the

wavelength scale and the perceived color of the visible light is illustrated. The vertical red

arrow locates the 808-nm emission wavelength of the laser equipments.

2.2 General considerations about the laser safety issues

2.2.1 Transparency and refractive properties of the main structures of the eye: Some

consequences

Similarly to visible laser radiation, a large part of the ocular safety issues posed by IR laser radiation at

the 808-nm wavelength comes from the high transparency of the major structures of the human eye

(cornea, aqueous body, lens, and vitreous body) at this wavelength. The laser light entering into the eye’s

pupil is then free to propagate without attenuation throughout the eye to possibly inflict damage to the

retina. In fact, the main structures of the eye transmit electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range

from 400 nm to about 1400 nm without significant attenuation, defining the so-called Retinal Hazard

Region, as illustrated in Figure 1. Moreover, the risk of damages to the retina increases dramatically due

800

Visible

Near Infrared

Ultraviolet

808 nm

Retinal azard Region 1400 nm

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