Artificial light: traditional and new sources, their potential impact on health and coping strategies. Preliminary spectral analysis

Based on technological achievements artificial lighting is changing all over the world. The involved changes, mainly driven by minimizing electric energy consumption, imply the replacement of almost every traditional light source by light- emitting diodes (LEDs) in almost every level of human activities. An incipient rapid transition is being carried out on a massive scale since a decade; this fact is still cause of concern and controversies from some researchers, experts, professionals, associations and the public in general. Several characteristics of the new lighting sources including LED screens have been proven to affect individual visual and non-visual health (i.e., digital eye syndrome and disruption of circadian rhythms) as well as general well- being (threats to ecosystems); furthermore, there are claims that regulations should be rethought. This paper provides a panoramic view of several aspects of the problematic posed by new artificial light sources. The main focus of this preliminary work is aimed at presenting and discussing the spectral characteristics of representative cases of commercial domestic lamps (incandescent, fluorescent and LED units) and screens (cold cathode fluorescent and LED units) which are ubiquitous in everyday life of Argentinian society. Given that some sources have important spectral content in the phototoxic region (400-500 nm), palliative often suggested strategies employing transparent and pigmented commercially available filters as well as free software, were evaluated. Results show that the studied strategies perform within a large range of attenuation in the way they block short wavelengths.

Automated summary

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in artificial lighting worldwide, with LED lights replacing traditional sources to minimize energy consumption. However, concerns have been raised regarding the impact of new lighting sources on individual health and well-being, as well as ecosystems. Researchers are calling for a reevaluation of regulations to address these issues.