ABSTRACT
Knowledge and continued interest in laser safety are necessary to develop applications of lasers. Safety experts are well aware that it takes time and continued effort to educate people on the idea and practice of safety. Protective clothing such as gloves may be used especially for the prevention of reflection from the impact of high output lasers from the target areas. In brief, with planned programs of laser safety, the laser is safe for the operator and the patient. The protection must include the possibility of the worst case exposure, but must recognize that most of the exposures will not be the worst case but the usual cases. The requirements for the military differ, obviously, from those in industry and for consumer use. David H. Sliney has emphasized that laser hazards for the military are much more difficult to define in the field than in the laboratory.
