Chapter 5: Facilities, Supplies, Equipment, and Environmental Health
5.2 Quality of the Outdoor and Indoor Environment
5.2.2 Lighting
5.2.2.3: High Intensity Discharge Lamps, Multi-Vapor, and Mercury Lamps
High intensity discharge lamps, multi-vapor, and mercury lamps should not be used for lighting the interior of buildings unless provided with special bulbs that self-extinguish if the outer glass envelope is broken.
RATIONALE
Multi-vapor and mercury lamps can be harmful when the outer bulb envelope is broken, causing serious skin burns and eye inflammation (1).COMMENTS
High intensity lamps are not appropriate for internal illumination of child care facilities since the level of lighting generated is generally too strong for the size of a typical room and/or generates too much glare.TYPE OF FACILITY
Center, Early Head Start, Head Start, Large Family Child Care Home, Small Family Child Care HomeRELATED STANDARDS
5.2.2.1 Levels of IlluminationREFERENCES
- Balk, S. J., S. S. Aronson. 2003. Mercury in the environment: A danger to children. Child Care Info Exch (July/Aug): 58-60.