Blue Light Special

Bill RippAMA Raised Questions About Outdoor Lighting . . .Here are the Answers

By Bill Ripp, Chairman of the OAAA Digital Billboard Committee.  At Lamar Advertising Company Ripp is vice president of digital development

Six months ago, the American Medical Association (AMA) generated headlines by issuing health warnings about outdoor lighting, specifically LED street lights.

Relying on classic non sequitur — an argument whose conclusion does not follow from its premises – anti-billboard critics seek to use this AMA report to attack digital billboards.

The bottom line: LED lighting from digital billboards is not a health issue.

I will address three key questions:

  • What did the AMA say?
  • Why is digital billboard light safe?
  • Can I get tools to make our case?

What Did the AMA Say?

On June 14, the AMA warned that high-intensity LED (light-emitting diodes) lighting produces a large amount of “blue light” that appears white to the naked eye and can cause nighttime glare.

The AMA is not anti-LED. In fact, they are big supporters of the conversion to this energy saving technology. However, blue-rich LED streetlights, the doctors’ group said, could compromise safety and disrupt human sleep.

Some 10 percent of US street lighting has been converted to solid-state LED technology, which cuts costs and energy consumption. With more LED street lights on the way, the AMA urged communities to minimize glare.

The AMA guidance focused on street lighting, not billboards. However, media reports linked the AMA to “outdoor lighting.”

Why is digital billboard light safe?

First, street lights and digital billboard lights are different. Compared to street lights, digital billboards produce much less of the type of light that concerned the AMA. To add perspective: for every digital billboard, there are nearly 4,000 street lights.

Second, light produced by digital billboards – including blue light – is well within the limits prescribed by the AMA guidelines.

The AMA report refers to melatonin. Its job in the human body is to regulate night and day cycles. Darkness causes the body to produce more melatonin, which signals to the body to prepare for sleep. Light decreases melatonin production.

Digital billboards do not measurably affect melatonin, according to a leading independent lighting engineer.

Extreme exposure could be a problem: “Staring at an LED sign for an hour or more” would suppress melatonin by 10 percent or more, said Ed Stokes, Ph.D., professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of North Carolina/Charlotte.

Can I Get Tools to Make Our Case?

OAAA has produced a clearly written report with a summary, illustrations, and footnotes.

For more detail, click here for Dr. Stokes eight-page report that describes LED lighting, sleep cycles, and luminance. His scientific analysis, an excellent “leave behind,” will assist policymakers and regulators who are curious about “blue light.”


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