White Light–Emitting Diodes (LEDs) at Domestic Lighting Levels and Retinal Injury in a Rat Model

This is not a new study, but I just came across it recently and thought I'd share my thoughts on this here with ATS. As we all know, with the recent push to replace the old incandescent light bulb technology, two competing replacements have risen to the top; Compact Fluorescent (CFC) and Light=Emitting Diode (LED). The CFC bulbs went through a recent health scandal regarding the use of mercury vapor in in them and the need to take precautionary measures with any breakage, and even disposal. As a result, the LED bulbs have seemed to become the defacto new standard for energy saving lighting. However, they too seem to have their detrimental health effects as indicated in this 2014 study published here:
Full Article

Background: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) deliver higher levels of blue light to the retina than do conventional domestic light sources. Chronic exposure to high-intensity light (2,000–10,000 lux) has previously been found to result in light-induced retinal injury, but chronic exposure to relatively low-intensity (750 lux) light has not been previously assessed with LEDs in a rodent model.

Conclusion: Our results raise questions about adverse effects on the retina from chronic exposure to LED light compared with other light sources that have less blue light. Thus, we suggest a precautionary approach with regard to the use of blue-rich “white” LEDs for general lighting.

LED (or solid-state) lighting sources are designed to emit all energy within the wavelength range of human vision, making LEDs the most energy-efficient commercially manufactured light. However, many current “white-light” LED designs emit much more blue light than conventional lamps, which has a number of health implications, including disruption of circadian rhythms (Holzman 2010). The most popular LED lighting product, a phosphor-conversion (PC) LED, is an LED chip that emits blue light, which passes through a yellow phosphor-coating layer to generate the ultimate white light (Spivey 2011). Although the white light generated from LEDs appears normal to human vision, a strong peak of blue light ranging from 460 to 500 nm is also emitted within the white light spectrum; this blue light corresponds to a known spectrum for retinal hazards (Behar-Cohen et al. 2011). Some epidemiological studies have suggested that short-wavelength light exposure is a predisposing cause for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (Wu et al. 2006).

Now this and related studies were done using (as far as I can discern) fixed luminosity LED bulbs. I never saw this reported or even discussed at the same level of the issues with the CFC technology. I, like many others, have adopted the practice of replacing failing incandescent bulbs in my home with LED based bulbs. Now I wonder if I have begun to do irreparable harm to myself and family by making this choice.

This silence of the effects also makes me wonder if the study was conveniently suppressed to serve the agenda of the LED manufacturers. Especially, since there is a new breed to bulb on the market today that allows the user to modify both the luminosity and color/hue. I wonder if these new LED bulbs would fare better than the original fixed luminosity ones of the past that were used in this and related studies.

Well ATS, anyone else know about this or have we all been duped, AGAIN.

Shoot, I just installed 8 x 390 lumin bulbs in my kitchen

a reply to: Krakatoa

True... but really depends of the amounts of bundled emitters...

I used to own some expensive phosphorus lights for video production. You had to slide a panel into place to adjust the color temperature but it also had a safety mechanism so that the light couldnt be turned on unless a panels was in place.
Reason being that if you looked into the pure emitters you eyes would fry due to the extreme amounts of blue light which the eyes dont register as well.

Pretty crazy.

But I wouldnt be too afraid of household leds... if you are sitting stairing into a light of any kind you are an idiot

originally posted by: flice
a reply to: Krakatoa

True... but really depends of the amounts of bundled emitters...

I used to own some expensive phosphorus lights for video production. You had to slide a panel into place to adjust the color temperature but it also had a safety mechanism so that the light couldnt be turned on unless a panels was in place.
Reason being that if you looked into the pure emitters you eyes would fry due to the extreme amounts of blue light which the eyes dont register as well.

Pretty crazy.

But I wouldnt be too afraid of household leds... if you are sitting stairing into a light of any kind you are an idiot

IT's not about staring into them at all. If you read the study, you would see it used a protocol of 12hrs on & 12hrs off (simulating natural lighting home lighting conditions) located above the subjects and NOT directly into their eyes. This 12/12 cycle allowed natural rest of the retina during the dark period. Please do not try to simplify it without reading the study itself. That would be ingenious and akin to spreading false information.

Yeah, the new monitors are hard on the eyes. We still have mostly regular light bulbs in most of our house because of the light being hard on our eyes. There are articles that state that these bulbs will cause eye damage when a person is older, they have been out for a while. They do not say maybe, they say definitely. I think that the government is trying to blind us in more than one way. Increase blindness in old people and you boost nursing home jobs. I guess we are not allowed to let our kids inherit anything anymore.

No if's ands or buts, evidence show damage in everyone's eyes, it is just that the young have more regenerative powers yet. The ability of the eyes to heal is not indefinite, it deteriorates over exposure time.

I've got LED lighting it's diffused though and I love it.... I find it very easy on my eyes less strain but i don;t focus as often as I likely should so macular degeneration may increase. I don't care for the fluorescent type because of the htz flicker.

P.S. you can change the htz on most monitors in the settings if you have issues from using them... changing the color profile also is a good thing that many people typically ignore in their computer settings.

Blue light is also known to produce feelings of wakefulness...

The white LED is stressful to the eye, the latest Warmlight is very easy on the eye, and akin to the Halogen though far superior in efficiency and lifespan. Most are based on a 15 to 25 years or a thousand hours per year forecast. Halogens are a PITA, and most inefficient and seriously short lasting. However, for some reason as I switched over to LED warmlights any remaining Halogen doubled it's life, I've no idea, perhaps something to do with differences in modulation in the different lamps, I just don't know..but it is a real effect I have noted.
The biggest problem is, I think in TV screens that use the white LED light, and are far too bright, that will take a while for those screens to get phased out, which I'm sure they will be.
I notice other problems with LEDS in vehicles, some newer cars have rear LED lights that incorporate the yellow indicators in with brake light pods, and the indicator lights are almost invisible when the brakes are being used in even a moderately sunny day, style over substance but dangerous, the VW Passat is one that comes to mind.
The warmlight for the home lighting though, is safe enough and pretty much ideal...took them a while though.
One caveat should probably be the manufacturer, and where they are made, just the same as we used to be able buy the incandesent bulb anywhere, while the quality could be something else.
Just to add LED home lighting is not a focus beam like a LASER, that's why those handy little LED torches are so crappy, so you do need to plan the resource for what you need. So if you are a 100 watt old bulb fanatic a ten watt LED equivalent will keep you lit up well for selfies. 4 watt warmlight equivalent for LEDS should be okay for most people, in most rooms. Not much doubt though that LED's will save a heap of money in both efficiency and life span.

Luckily, they are incredibly easy to manufacture to avoid such things, if certain wavelengths do indeed result in damage.

Would be helpful if they had tested the standard different types of colors. In my installations, I frequently use different ones in different areas to highlight or minimize different ambient effects. The end result can be truly impressive, though I tend to avoid "cool white" in general. IIRC, 2500k-3000k is the most popular. I don't know much about the direct bulb replacements though.

Also, 14 days in darkness? Yikes..

a reply to: Krakatoa

Yeah... You know about those super bright blue led headlights I'm sure. Those things are blinding, and have almost caused accidents in multiple cases that I've seen, and almost been part of! Why in the world did DOT approve them? I guess they weren't having enough accidents? They should be banned, and all product(s) of this type recalled. Just my humble opinion!

a reply to: Serdgiam

The new blue headlights that I'm talking about are in the 6500+ K lighting range. I've seen them so bright that they are almost blinding. I am thinking that some of the manufacturers are making them in too high of a color temperature. I will freely say that I dislike driving at night, only much more than I did in the past!

Edit: It used to be that headlights were made in a much warmer color temperature. The "brighter" yellow ones were in the 2500-2600 K color temperature range, which is tolerable for me at night. The dimmer yellow ones were in the 2100-2200 K color temperature range. In my personal belief, the ~2100 K range ones are not bright enough. 2500 to 2600 K is almost perfect for night driving. Headlamp manufacturers: Take note of this thread headlight manufacturers! I will not support any of your products, and when they are proven to cause harm, I'm sure the lawsuits will be plentiful!

Doesn't the wavelength spectrum of the newer LEDs emulate sunlight?

Would rats experience the same problems if exposed to 12 hours off/on of sunlight?

The intensity of sunlight blows a couple of light bulbs out of the water in terms of lumen output.

a reply to: Krakatoa

This is useful information and a notable warning of the possible danger's so thank you for sharing this, I shall be avoiding LED base light bulb replacement's now that I have read your account and shall also think twice about buying a new LED flat panel though those are probably much weaker sources of light.

a reply to: InFriNiTee

Rather than the color wavelengths involved, it sounds like its the sheer intensity that troubles you. I'd almost guarantee that any color at that brightness would give you the same issues.

I share that discomfort with driving at night, for what its worth. Its a bit of a balancing act between properly illuminating for the driver without blinding other drivers. Many vehicle headlights are not properly aligned either, further compounding the problem.

This study, from my quick browsing of it, is more focused on continued and long-term exposure to low intensity LED sources. They didn't seem to perform an exhaustive, comprehensive study into too many color "temps," but it seems we can avoid the damaging effects simply by selecting the right product.

I, for one, will continue lighting my entire home with 43watts'o'justice.

a reply to: Greggers

It completely depends on the product. The LED sources that simulate sunlight tend to be used in agriculture. Light sources for the home tend to be everything from single color to full 24-bit color.

I would also be interested in seeing how it all compared with natural sunlight, but this "blue light" thing seems to be picking up momentum as of late. I believe there are even phone apps that are supposed to filter them out from the screen.


a reply to: LABTECH767

I would strongly suggest avoiding the bulb replacements anyway.

It may be a bit more work, but switching your lighting fully over to 12v has many benefits, cost being one. You can get the parts and equipment for an entire house for $100-$200, or even less if you shop around and look for deals. Or buy in bulk, of course.

a reply to: Greggers

When you're driving, headlights can fall into your direct path of vision. Those blue ones I'm talking about have killed MANY people on turns in Montana. The last I checked it was 188 deaths this year on Montana highways. The statistic is up by now, I'm sure. I just wonder from time to time how many of those accidents were caused by the blinding blue lights at night? I am sure that if a person was to delve deep into the statistics, they would find that nighttime accidents have risen since the release of these new super bright blue to white spectrum LED headlamps! The vehicles that are manufactured with them by default (most 2015-newer) could be examined for statistics with accidents, where the vehicle with the newer brighter lamps causes an accident, whether they are "directly" involved or not.

I say that they are pure dangerous. Just try sticking any of the newer brighter LED's directly in your retina for 20 seconds or more, and tell me how the vision fares after that! (don't do it please!). As I said before, I believe these things are a risk.

I saw a band's tour bus one night (that I happen to really like!) who had these blinding blue headlamps behind us. They reflected into the rear-view mirror of our vehicle (I was passenger) and blinded the driver so badly, that they had to pull off to the side of the road for almost 2 minutes to recover from it. The bus had standard headlights in the front portion, but had these fold-up headlamps that should be illegal. They were so bright that they LIT UP the other side of Interstate 90, and people in the right lane on the other side of the road were flashing this bus, when it was in the right lane on our side! Almost like the bus was rigged with aircraft headlamps or something like that!

a reply to: LABTECH767

I won't look it up right now, but it has been proven that certain digital LED based devices (smartphones, other led based devices) have caused permanent vision damage in some cases. The problem is that they are making these things so bright now, that they can negatively affect the human eye.

A perfect example: The OLED Sony PS VIta (the 1st version) is something that I couldn't use. The OLED screen would give me cross-eyed vision, and worse symptoms if I used it after that happened. I believe that there are people that are super sensitive to the newer wavelengths of light that are being released on the "fancy new things". I believe that people with Brown or Green eyes would not have near as much of a problem with the brighter light spectrums as the people with Blue or Blue/Grey/Silver colored eyes.

What I've said here today should stand as a prediction that people with "lighter" colored eyes may have an enhanced medical sensitivity to the "new lights". I am sure that I will be proven right.

I've considered looking into a country where 2600+ K light temperature and ABOVE is BANNED! I don't know if such a thing exists, but it would be good for the people more sensitive to it.

My entire house is LED now.

The one thing this article does not make clear is whether there is a difference between cool white (bluish hue) and warm white (yellowish hue) bulbs. I had heard about blue light disrupting bio-rythms so I went for the warm white option. I also read somewhere they highly recommend diffusers to cut down blue light emission. All mine are the milky bulb type, not the clear type.

After two years living with them, still not wearing glasses or feeling like my eyesight is degenerating - and I am 43.

a reply to: Serdgiam

In this case I think that certain people are more sensitive to the brighter lights. The place where I live always had the "golden" colored street lamps . They started putting the bright blue lights in the parking lots near the malls. At first, at one of those places, the lights were so bright to me that I wanted to completely avoid the place after 5 PM!

Then they started putting the brighter blue lights on certain roads that connect the sides of the town together. I noticed that I started avoiding the roads with the brighter blue street lamps, even if I had to take a slower side road!

My prediction is that eventually when enough evidence comes out, it will be that "certain wavelengths for public lighting" - "will be banned". If it doesn't happen, I hope I am the inventor of the "night driving blue lights - LED Protection goggles"!

Easy solution: buy "soft white" bulbs.

Modern LED household bulbs are manufactured using a red, green, and blue LED on the same substrate, so the combined output appears white. In true white light, there is a substantial amount of blue light, but in natural light, the atmosphere refracts and scatters much of the blue. Soft white bulbs use smaller amounts of blue light to more accurately emulate natural light. The diffusing coating helps too.

I knew that the eyes are highly sensitive to blue light, but I wasn't aware of studies showing ocular damage. That makes me think: those bluish headlights that others have mentioned... should the owners be forced to change to lower color temperatures? Should manufacturers be fined for producing hazardous products? Should the police be required to switch to a different color for those hyper-bright flashing signals, and should they be held financially culpable for blinding drivers with hazardous lights? Those things are pure blue!

That is the way things are supposed to work nowadays, right? Right?

TheRedneck

a reply to: InFriNiTee

I have no doubt some individuals are more sensitive. I happen to be one of them! If I remember correctly, and I may not, there is a correlation to eye color too.

I think its important to make a distinction here though, because its an easy one to confuse. The color temperature (cool white, warm white, 6500k, 2500k) is a different aspect than the intensity (lux, lumens).

A high enough intensity of any wavelengths/temperature can and will cause damage. But, you will know it right from the get-go.

With something like car headlights, its the intensity that is initially problematic. I also have some 100w LED chips that can cause considerable discomfort in a variety of wavelengths! Luckily, it is commonly a short exposure in these cases. The interesting part of this study, and others like it, is that the research is suggesting that damage can also occur at low intensity if exposed to certain wavelengths for extended periods.

The idea has been around for a bit now. Its tricky though because intensity causes immediate discomfort, and even pain, while the specific blue wavelengths may not be noticed at all even though they are causing damage.

I wouldn't be surprised if some were more sensitive to that as well though. I know that a typical cool white LED fatigues me more quickly, as well as just appearing "harsh."