Flourescent Lights & Headaches

According to the Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS), fluorescent lights have, since their inception, been blamed for causing eye problems, migraines and headaches by workers in office buildings equipped with fluorescent lighting.

History

• The claims made about fluorescent lighting causing headaches date back to the inception of the fluorescent light. The city of Seattle (CityofSeattle.net) explains that early versions of the fluorescent light in the 1940s had a primitive white coating on the inside of the bulb that gave off a glare causing squinting that resulted in headaches.

Theory

• According to the city of Seattle, early fluorescent light bulbs and fixtures used magnetic ballasts to control light flicker, which produced a flicker rate of 60 flickers per second. This flicker is visible to some people who claim it causes eye and headache problems, but the link between fluorescent lighting and headaches has yet to be proved.

Flicker

• Light flicker refers to the fast, separate changes in light intensity that Environment, Health and Safety Online (EHSO) claims gives the appearance of an unsteady source of light. Humans usually cannot pick up on light flickers in fluorescent lighting as it occurs too quickly with around 50 Hz or flickers per second becoming visible to the human eye.

Voltage

• Light flicker is caused by fluctuations in the voltage of electricity passing through a fluorescent light bulb, according to CCOHS. Flicker is not apparent in incandescent lighting, however, as the glowing wire filament does not turn on and off as the electrical voltage fluctuates.

Workplace

• Despite there being no positive link between fluorescent lighting and headaches, the CCOHS reports that at the beginning of the 21st century the most common complaint about headaches and eye problems in the workplace refers to fluorescent lighting.