Can Fluorescent Lights Cause Skin Cancer?
There are three types of skin cancer. The first is called Melanoma; the second and third are non-Melanoma cancers.
One non-Melanoma type of cancer is called Basal Cell Carcinoma, also known as BCC. The other is known as Squamous Cell Carcinoma or SCC. All three skin cancers are from similar causes.
Other than hereditary causes, skin cancer can be caused by too much exposure to light. To be exact, the light coming from the sun is the kind of light that causes skin cancer.
But what if you got exposed too long to fluorescent lights? Is it still possible for you to get skin cancer or not?
Can Fluorescent Lights Cause Skin Cancer?
Most likely not. The chances of getting skin cancer from fluorescent light are very, very small. So that means that exposure to fluorescent lights will not necessarily cause skin cancer.
One of the biggest differences between the light emitted by the sun and fluorescent light is that the sun emits a lot of Ultraviolet light, which can cause skin cancer after prolonged exposure. However, Ultraviolet light, also known as UV light, is not always bad.
UV light coming from the sun stimulates the synthesis of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is an important vitamin. It stimulates the growth of teeth and bones and strengthens the immune system. However, too much exposure to UV light can cause skin cancer.
Although fluorescent lights indeed emit UV light, it is not thought that they cause skin cancer like the sun and its Ultraviolet light can. It is also true that fluorescent lights also emit high levels of UV light. However, the way a fluorescent light bulb works does not expose you to enough radiation to cause skin cancer.
How Do Fluorescents Work?
Let us go through how a fluorescent light bulb works to gain a better understanding of how they do not cause skin cancer.
Inside the light bulb, an electrical discharge lets out a gas that emits UV radiation. UV radiation is not visible to human eyes, so it has to be made visible with the help of the light bulb. The light bulb’s interior is coated with a fluorescent coat, which gives it light.
However, because the fluorescent coat absorbs most of the UV radiation, there are not many wavelengths emitted in the visible spectrum.
Although, that is not to say there is no risk to fluorescent lights. UV radiation emitted by the fluorescent light can increase the individual’s exposure to carcinogenic radiation by 10 to 30 percent each year.
This also increases the likelihood of getting squamous cell carcinoma or SCC by 4 percent. However, it is highly unlikely to cause Melanoma through normal usage and exposure.
All in all, fluorescent light will most likely not cause skin cancer as they do not emit enough UV wavelength to cause harm thanks to the fluorescent coating of the light bulb.
