Stationery store laser Pointers sold at will doctor: or cause irreversible damage to eyesight
Stationery store laser Pointers sold at will doctor: or cause irreversible damage to eyesight.
Laser irradiation may cause irreversible damage to the eye
"If it's in a child's eye, the consequences are catastrophic." Talking about this experience, Xu Wenjun is still afraid.
I wanted to buy a pen for my eye exam, but it went wrong. On the same day, Xu Wenjun accompanied his daughter to pick up stationery at a stationery store when she saw the product, which looks like a flashlight. When she pressed one of the two buttons, it emitted a diffuse light similar to a flashlight.
As Xu pressed another button, a bright light shone directly into her eyes. "Oops! It's a laser pointer!" It took less than a second for Xu to recover from the laser and see a round dark spot about the size of a pea grain in his right eye.
"The beam was pointing right at the macula under my eye." Fortunately, Xu's vision returned to normal after more than 10 minutes. "The macula is the most sensitive part of the eye vision, the retina is dense pigment, especially vulnerable to laser thermal radiation damage, and laser pointer light is parallel light, high energy per unit area, easy to cause macular burn." "Xu Wenjun said.
Reporters comb through the relevant cases found that in recent years, many places in the country have appeared excessive light pen irradiation resulting in visual impairment cases. "The Tianjin Eye Hospital receives similar patients every year, most of whom are children." Tianjin Eye Hospital chief physician Chu Yanhua introduced that the laser pointer to the eye caused by macular damage, macular hole is irreversible damage, and then affect the child's vision.
"If laser Pointers are so dangerous, why are they sold in stationery stores?" Xu Wenjun can not help but question.
Some products lack a safe use label
Chinese national standard GB7247.1-2012 "Laser Product Safety Part 1: Equipment Classification and Requirements" according to the harm degree from low to high, the laser products are divided into the following grades: 1 class, 1M class, 2 class, 2M class, 3R class, 3B class, 4 class, and each class of laser has the marking requirements. Among them, according to the provisions of the national standard GB19865-2005 "safety of electric toys", the laser in the toy should meet the requirements of class 1 laser radiation power limit.
Zhang Zhiyu, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Law of Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, and other experts believe that laser Pointers belong to laser products and should comply with the above standards.
However, the reporter visited a number of stationery stores in Tianjin and found that at present, most of the laser pointer products on the market in Tianjin are 3R and 3B laser products, the power of which far exceeds the radiation power limit of Class 1 laser. In a stationery store in Nankai District, Tianjin, for a brand laser pointer clearly labeled as "3R laser products", the store's sales staff told reporters: "Most of the teachers to buy for teaching AIDS, students to buy less, more for fun."
For 3R and 3B laser products, Chu Yanhua said, "Generally speaking, the human body can withstand 0.4 milliwatts of laser power, but the power limit of laser Pointers on the market is generally around 5 milliwatts, and some are even higher. Such a light beam into a person's eye can cause macular damage or even a tear in a very short time."
Laser pointer products on a shelf in a stationery store. Photo by Yin Siyuan, Xinhua News Agency
In addition, some stationery stores sell laser pointer products without any product description in Chinese. At a stationery store in Tianjin's Hexi district, a laser pointer with the word "DANGER" printed on it and some instructions in English was on the shelf. "Students often buy it," a salesman told the reporter.
The reporter also found that in a number of online sales platforms, there are 3B laser Pointers for sale. A person in charge of a laser pen production company told reporters that at present, there is no clear safety standards for the use of laser pen products, which has caused some confusion in the laser pen market. "In the sales and use of laser pointer products, there are no clear standards on who can buy, how to use and other issues, and the subject of regulatory responsibility is not clear."
Protecting children from eye damage requires a multi-pronged approach
Tianjin Market Regulatory Commission staff introduced, laser pointer is a demonstration of laser products, with laser device. It is pointed out clearly in the current implementation standard that 3B class or 4 class laser products are not suitable to be used as consumer products. There are no clear requirements for the category of laser radiation of laser pointer. The laser pointer distributor shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 of the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China, "The seller shall establish and implement the purchase acceptance system, and verify the product qualification certificate and other marks." A supervisor frankly, the laser pointer product sales link supervision is still lack of law enforcement basis.
Zhang Yang, a lawyer at Shandong Zeda Law Firm, said different types of radiation contain different amounts of energy and may cause different damage to the body. "It is suggested to clarify the radiation category of laser Pointers from the legal level, and further regulate the market of demonstration civilian products such as laser Pointers."
"Enterprises should set up more prominent Chinese safety warning labels on the packaging of laser products, and focus on clarifying the safety risks of laser pointer products in the product details." Zhang Zhiyu, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Law, Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the production of laser Pointers should be regulated at the legal level to further clarify the use of laser pointer products.
"At the same time, we should strengthen the supervision of laser pointer product sales channels." Zhang Yang suggested that the sale of laser Pointers could be regulated through regular special rectification actions. "We will focus on cracking down on 'three nots' and substandard products, as well as illegal sales of laser Pointers as children's toys."
According to Chu Yanhua, in addition to laws and regulations and supervision by relevant departments, guidance from schools and families is equally important. "Only by the joint efforts of school, family and society can children be better protected."
