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IEC 60825-1 is applicable to safety of laser products emitting laser radiation in the wavelength range 180 nm to 1 mm. A laser product may consist of a single laser with or without a separate power supply or may incorporate one or more lasers in a complex optical, electrical, or mechanical system.

Typically, laser products are used for demonstration of physical and optical phenomena, materials processing, data reading and storage, transmission and display of information, etc. Such systems have found use in industry, business, entertainment, research, education, medicine and consumer products. Laser products that are sold to other manufacturers for use as components of any system for subsequent sale are not subject to IEC 60825-1, since the final product will itself be subject to this standard. However, if the laser system within the laser product is operable when removed from the equipment, the requirements of this Part 1 apply to the removable unit. Any laser product is exempt from all further requirements of this Part 1 if classification by the manufacturer of that product according to Clauses 3, 8 and 9 shows that the emission level does not exceed the AEL (accessible emission limit) of Class 1 under all conditions of operation, maintenance, service and failure. In addition to the hazards resulting from laser radiation, laser equipment may also give rise to other hazards such as fire and electric shock. This Part 1 describes the minimum requirements.

Compliance with this Part 1 may not be sufficient to achieve the required level of product safety. Laser products must conform to the applicable performance and testing requirements of the applicable product safety standards. Where a laser system forms a part of equipment which is subject to another IEC product safety standard (e.g. for medical equipment (IEC 60601-2-22), IT equipment (IEC 60950), audio and video equipment (IEC 60065), equipment for use in hazardous atmospheres (IEC 60079), or electric toys (IEC 62115)), this Part 1 will apply in accordance with the provisions of IEC Guide 104 ) for hazards resulting from laser radiation. If no product safety standard is applicable, then IEC 61010-1 applies. In previous editions, LEDs were included in the scope of IEC 60825-1, and they may be still included in other parts of the IEC 60825 series. However, with the development of lamp safety standards, optical radiation safety of LEDs in general can be more appropriately addressed by lamp safety standards. The removal of LEDs from the scope of this Part 1 does not preclude other standards from including LEDs whenever they refer to lasers. CIE S009 may be applied to determine the risk group class of an LED or product incorporating one or more LEDs. The MPE (maximum permissible exposure) values of this Part 1 were developed for laser radiation and do not apply to collateral radiation. However, if a concern exists that accessible collateral radiation might be hazardous, the laser MPE values may be applied to conservatively evaluate this potential hazard. The MPE values are not applicable to intentional human exposure to laser radiation for the purpose of medical or cosmetic/aesthetic treatment.

The objectives of this part of IEC 60825 are the following: - to introduce a system of classification of lasers and laser products according to their degree of optical radiation hazard in order to aid hazard evaluation and to aid the determination of user control measures; - to establish requirements for the manufacturer to supply information so that proper precautions can be adopted; - to ensure, through labels and instructions, adequate warning to individuals of hazards associated with accessible radiation from laser products; - to reduce the possibility of injury by minimizing unnecessary accessible radiation and to give improved control of the laser radiation hazards through protective features. This second edition of IEC 60825-1 cancels and replaces the first edition.