Laser class safety info
Lasers are divided into classifications -- from 1 to 4 -- based on their eye and skin hazards. Click for more details about the laser class system.
All lasers should be marked with their Class. Click the links below to find information on the hazards of a specific class:
- Class 2 or II (up to 1 milliwatt - typical laser pointer in most countries)
- Class 3R or IIIa (up to 5 milliwatts - maximum power for a legal laser pointer in the U.S.)
- Class 3B or IIIb (up to 500 milliwatts - moderate to serious eye hazard)
- Class 4 or IV (500 milliwatts or more - eye and skin hazard)
Click for a chart comparing the hazard distances of lasers with various powers, divergences and colors
Click this link for an online laser hazard distance calculator (on a different website).