High-pressure mercury vapor lamps, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

A radiation protection special study on a bank of 320 high-pressure mercury vapor lamps was performed at White Sands Missile Range. Measurements revealed that actinic ultraviolet radiation exposure was the limiting factor in determining exposure of the skin and eyes of personnel working beneath the array of lamps. Hazardous exposure conditions would be encountered when personnel remained in the chamber for periods in excess of approximately four minutes.