LightAware Response: LightAware welcomes the publication of the long-awaited report from Public Health England: Human Responses to Lighting based on LED lighting Solutions.
The charity shares the view that LED lighting poses risks to human health, flowing from flicker problems and disruption to circadian rhythms. We also believe there may be other factors which also trigger symptoms.
LightAware has been contacted by a number of people who have attempted to use various types of LED lighting and in doing so have experienced extreme discomfort, with symptoms including headache and eye strain.
In our experience there is an unknown percentage of the population for whom no existing form of LED lighting is tolerable, and another who react badly to some but not all LEDs.
Light-sensitive people, across the United Kingdom have visited clinicians in relation to LED induced disorders. However, it appears that some clinicians are unsure how to react to this relatively new condition, so the issue may go unreported.
Adverse reaction to LED lighting appears to be a growing problem which is set to worsen as LEDs replace other forms of lighting. In particular the charity is worried that several councils have introduced powerful LED street lighting.
LightAware believe that it is important to collect information on the scale and severity of this problem before LED lighting becomes so common as to make many peoples lives a misery.
The charity would like to work with Public Health England to develop a methodology to get a better idea of the size of the ‘unknown’ section of the population suffering adverse reactions to LED lighting in its different forms. Developing a system to measure the prevalence of light triggered disorders is essential, in order for PHE to properly evaluate the scale of this problem.To this end, LightAware would like to make the following suggestions:
To this end, LightAware would like to make the following suggestions:
That PHE work with LightAware to develop a methodology to establish the scale and nature of the problem of adverse reactions to LED lighting. The charity is in contact with a variety of people who would be prepared to volunteer to be tested to monitor their reactions to LED lighting to help with this process.
We would work with PHE to develop and pilot a survey to collect information from Neurology, Opthalmic and related departments to collect information on the number of patients complaining of reactions to LED exposure.
Depending on the results of the survey we would examine options for establishing a central point of contact for clinicians and people suffering from light sensitivity to register adverse reactions to LED lights with a view to suggesting the best way forward.