High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide lights are incredibly strong and have worked wonders for modern growers. They allow growers to get quantity and quality out of their indoor growth harvests. However, the damage these lights do to human eyes is permanent so the proper safety precautions must be observed if you want to keep your eyes healthy.

The sun emits radiation and so do high-powered grow lights. There are three kinds UVA, UVB, and UVC rays. Our atmosphere filters out almost all UVC rays so consumer sun glasses manufacturers do not bother making lenses that filter these rays out. So, if you were thinking you would just grab a pair of your sunglasses and you would also be protected from high sodium lights, you are wrong. You need a specific type of lens.

High pressure sodium lights and other strong grow lights also emit these radiation waves UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVC rays are great for plant growth, but they are terrible for your eyes. Research has shown that prolonged exposure to UVC rays leads to loss of color perception, the development of cataracts, and the inability to see at night-time. All of these conditions are permanent! If you care about your eyes, you need to make sure that you properly protect them while you are working around these high-powered lights.

The good news is that there is a viable solution for protecting your eyes while still being able to work around high pressure sodium and metal halide lights. The solution is safety glasses that are specifically designed to filter out the frequencies that cause serious eye damage.

We are excited to share with you some of the great safety glasses that we make here at Philips Safety. We are industry leaders in occupational safety products and work with a number of clients from Space-X and NASA to MIT and Caltech. Let’s take a look at some of these incredible glasses!