Ministers to warn: Exposure to fluorescents may cause skin cancer

The inter-ministerial committee on carcinogenic materials has decided to issue a warning on the use of energy-saving fluorescent lamps because of the risk of skin cancer due to the radiation they emit.

The committee, which advises the Health Ministry, prepared a warning that was recently relayed to the Department of Public Health at the ministry. It calls on Israelis to keep reasonable distance from the spiral-shaped compact fluorescent lamps if exposure to them is longer than one hour per day.

The committee explained that its warning is based on the fact that the lightbulbs emit ultraviolet (UV) rays similar to those of the sun, and therefore increase the risk of skin cancer. According to the recommendation, the lamps should be affixed to ceilings at a distance of more than 30 centimeters from the room's occupants, and should not be used as permanent lighting on desks or walls close to a person's body, and in rooms where the residents spend many hours of the day.

Moreover, the recommendation is to install fluorescent lamps with a lampshade. Research has shown that a cover surrounding the lamp absorbs part of the emitted UV.

The warning was adopted following reports from Britain about the risks posed by the lamps. A position paper issued by the British Health Protection Agency a year ago stated that the bulbs may emit UV rays that under certain conditions may expose people to higher amounts of radiation than the recommended level.

The British agency also called on the European Union to consider limiting the distribution of these lamps, whose popularity has increased because of their significantly lower electricity consumption. The same agency did stress, however, that it does not recommend an absolute ban of these bulbs in homes, saying that according to the tests it conducted, the amount of UV radiation emitted from a lamp onto a surface two centimeters away is similar to that emitted by the sun on a hot summer day.

Research carried out in Israel has shown that radiation from the lamps also increases the risk of breast and prostate cancers. Research by the University of Haifa's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, published two years ago, concluded that in Israeli towns whose streets are lit with fluorescent lamps there are more breast cancer cases.

In response to this report the Health Ministry said that the committee's recommendation was presented and is now being discussed.