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A Risk Assessment Methodology For The use of Lasers in the Entertainment Industry
By John O'Hagen

ABSTRACT

    Lasers have been used in the entertainment industry since 1964, when they were used in the film Goldfinger. Laser display shows commenced in about 1973. It would be reasonable to expect laser safety to have been adequately addressed over the last twenty-five years. This research showed that the industry was not able to assess the risks from its work. A national survey of the competence of enforcing officers showed that they rarely had the necessary expertise to judge the safety of shows.
    Therefore, there was often a wide gulf between the laser companies and those responsible for enforcing entertainment and health and safety legislation. A hazard assessment methodology has been developed which considers any laser show as a series of modules which may have different hazards associated with them at different stages of the life cycle, and different people would potentially be exposed to these hazards.

    This PhD thesis is provided as a series of .PDF files which will open in a new browser window. Click on the links below to access the relevant chapters.

Contents

• i. Abstract, acknowledgements and contents
• 1. General Introduction
• 2. Literature Review
• 3. Background for the Research
• 4. Surveys
• 5. Quantifying the Laser Radiation Hazard
• 6. Laser Hazard Assessment Model
• 7. Risk Assessment
• 8. Relevance of the Risk Assessment Methodology to Other Laser Industries
• 9. Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Work
• 10. Publications
• 11. References