Skin Cancer Risk from Lightbulbs

By Hklbrries

How to avoid this deskside danger

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Think you’re safe from skin cancer inside your cubicle? Maybe not. Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)—the energy-saving bulbs found in most offices that look like coiled springs—may exceed your daily dose of UV radiation in as little as 5 hours if you sit within a foot of them, according to new research from Stony Brook University.

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Researchers grew samples of human skin cells and placed them an inch away from two CFL bulbs for up to 4 days to see how they’d react. The results: The skin cells stopped growing and changed shape, which are both warning signs for developing skin cancer.

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What’s going on? Unlike your old-fashioned incandescent bulbs, CFLs release UV radiation like the sun, says study co-author Miriam Rafailovich, Ph.D., a professor at Sony Brook. And just like what happens when you sit outside on a long day at the beach, that radiation damages the DNA in your cells, making them susceptible to mutation and cancer.

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CFLs come with a coating to prevent radiation from escaping, but because of their curved shape, the protective layer often chips off, leaving you exposed. However, older tube-shaped fluorescents pose no problem, since they’re not prone to the cracking that plagues CFLs.

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So is it time to slather on the sunscreen at work? Not yet, says Rafailovich. Your radiation exposure from CFLs decreases exponentially as you move away from the bulbs. Your fix: Take a peek under the lampshade. If the bulb looks like a giant slinky, move it at least 2 feet away from you, Rafailovich says. In a tight space and can’t move your lamp? Swap out your paper shade for a glass design—it’ll block enough radiation to keep you safe, she says.

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