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Warning and Guidelines

SAFE USE GUIDANCE – GENERAL

PREVENT EYE EXPOSURE

Class 4 visible-beam lasers are high-powered. A Class 4 laser can cause a significant eye injury if the beam, whether direct or reflected, enters the eye.

Even staring at the diffuse reflection of a laser “dot” on a wall or other surface, may cause an eye injury within a few feet of the dot. Do not stare at the laser “dot” when it is close to you.

To prevent eye exposure, always be aware of the beam location. Keep it away from people’s eyes and heads. Watch out for reflected beams from glass and shiny surfaces.

Use of laser protective eyewear is recommended, as discussed elsewhere on this page.

AVOID SKIN EXPOSURE

Avoid exposure to skin and sensitive materials. A Class 4 laser can burn skin and materials, especially dark and/or lightweight materials at close range.



DO NOT AIM AT AIRCRAFT OR VEHICLES


A Class 4 laser can be a distraction, glare or flash blindness hazard for pilots and drivers. It may also be a potential eye injury hazard for pilots at relatively close range. NEVER aim any laser towards an aircraft or moving vehicle. This is unsafe and is illegal — you could be arrested and jailed.

ONLY ALLOW USE BY RESPONSIBLE PERSONS


This is not a toy. Children should never be permitted to use Class 4 lasers. 

Any teenager using a Class 4 laser should be continuously supervised by a responsible adult. A number of teenagers have caused eye injuries to themselves or others by misusing Class 3B and Class 4 lasers.

DO NOT USE AS A LASER POINTER


Even if this laser looks like a pointer or flashlight, do not use this laser for pointing purposes. Class 4 lasers are too powerful to be used as pointers. Use a Class 2 (less than 1 mW) or Class 3R (less than 5 mW) laser for pointing purposes.

CLASS 4 LASER HAZARDS

SAFETY NOTICE: This website is intended for the educational, instructional and informational purposes of the user and is not to be considered a substitute for a knowledgeable and trained Laser Safety Officer (LSO) with the duties and responsibilities as defined in the ANSI Z136 standard published by the American National Standard Institute.

The hazard distances listed below are intended only as general guidance. This is because 1) your laser may vary from the parameters (power, divergence) listed below, and 2) information on labels or marketing materials may not always be correct. For example, studies have shown that some laser pointers may be falsely labeled to avoid regulations — the actual power may be 10 times or more what the label indicates.

Always err on the side of safety. If your laser has not been measured by a knowledgeable and trained Laser Safety Officer, assume it is more hazardous than the label or marketing materials would indicate.

EYE INJURY HAZARDS

EYE INJURY HAZARD — DIRECT AND REFLECTED BEAM
Class 4 visible-light lasers are significantly hazardous for eye exposure. They can cause burns to the retina. A person cannot turn away or blink fast enough to prevent retinal eye injury from a Class 4 laser.

Prevent all eye exposure to beams from Class 4 lasers. This includes accidental exposures — be careful to keep the beam away from eyes and faces.

Also, remember that reflections off mirrors, glass, and shiny surfaces can be just as hazardous as the direct beam. Avoid reflected Class 4 beams the same way you would avoid the direct beam.

Some Laser Safety Facts labels will list the laser’s specific eye injury hazard distance. If this is not listed, here are some example Class 4 lasers:

  • The Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance (NOHD) for a 1000 milliwatt (1 Watt) visible-beam laser with 1 milliradian divergence is 740 ft (225 m).
  • The NOHD for a 5 Watt laser with a 1 milliradian divergence is 1640 ft (500 m).
  • Additional types of Class 4 lasers are listed in the Laser hazard distance chart.


If you are closer than the NOHD distance to the laser, there is a possibility of retinal damage if the direct or reflected beam enters your eye. The closer you are to the laser and the longer the beam is in the eye, the greater the chance of injury.

Color indicates the relative hazard: Red = potential injury, green = unlikely injury. Beyond the Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance, the chance of injury is “vanishingly small” according to safety experts.

EYE INJURY HAZARD – DIFFUSE REFLECTION
The scattered light from the laser “dot” as viewed on a surface, can be an eye hazard. Avoid looking directly at the laser dot for more than a few seconds. The light is too bright if you see a sustained afterimage, lasting more than about 10 seconds.

The more powerful the laser, and the closer your eye is to the laser dot, the greater the chance of injury. This can occur during certain actions, such as aligning the beam or trying to hold the laser dot on a fixed location in order to burn a material.

Some Laser Safety Facts labels will list the laser’s specific diffuse reflection hazard distance. If this is not listed, here are some example Class 4 lasers:

  • Looking at the laser dot from a 1,000 milliwatt (1 Watt) Class 4 blue (445 nm) laser beam for more than 1 minute is an eye hazard within 1.5 ft (44 cm) of the laser.
  • Looking at the laser dot from a 10,000 milliwatt (10 Watt) Class 4 blue (445 nm) laser beam for more than 1 minute is an eye hazard within 4.5 ft (1.4 m) of the laser. Even just for 10 seconds, viewing the laser dot is a hazard within 1.8 ft (0.6 m).


If you must look at the laser dot for relatively long periods of time within the hazard distances, use laser protective eyewear as discussed elsewhere on this page.

SKIN INJURY (BURN) HAZARD

A Class 4 laser beam can burn skin and some materials. The more powerful the laser, the faster the burn will occur. In some cases, the burn may be almost instantaneous.

Some Laser Safety Facts labels will list the laser’s specific skin injury distance. If this is not listed, here is an example Class 4 laser:

  • A 1000 milliwatt (1 Watt) Class 4 laser beam is a skin injury hazard within 39 in (1 meter) of the laser.


Avoid skin exposure to a Class 4 laser beam, especially at close range. A skin burn can be very painful, can take long to heal, and can leave a permanent scar.

MATERIALS DAMAGE AND BURNING

A Class 4 laser beam can cause materials to smolder or burn, especially at close range. Keep the beam moving to avoid burning materials at close range. Dark materials which absorb heat, and lightweight materials such as paper and fabric, are most easily burned by visible laser beams.

  • A 1000 milliwatt (1 Watt) Class 4 laser beam is considered a burn hazard within 26 inches (67 cm) of the laser.

CLASS 4 SAFE USE GUIDANCE – LASER PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR (GLASSES)

Laser glasses or goggles should be used when working with Class 4 lasers, especially at close range (within a few yards or meters). They should be selected to protect against the laser’s power and wavelength.

The eyewear should not block out all of the laser’s light. This is because it is necessary to see where the laser “dot” is, to safely work with the laser. Because the eyewear is blocking some or perhaps all of the laser’s light (for example, a hazardous reflection) you still should use caution even when using laser protective eyewear.

As you are using the laser, any other persons in the area should also have the same type of laser protective eyewear as you.

DO NOT USE SUNGLASSES FOR LASER PROTECTION

Sunglasses are NOT laser protective eyewear. They are not rated (e.g., with Optical Density) to ensure light-attenuating protection. Most will not block enough laser light to significantly reduce hazardous exposures.

CLASS 4 SAFE USE GUIDANCE – FOCUSING THE BEAM

Some lasers may have built-in lenses or screw-on accessories, in order to make the laser “dot” sharper or fuzzier.

Any device that can focus the dot to be sharper, or the beam to be tighter than its normal width, will increase the hazard range and the risk of injury. Use extra caution when the beam is focused.