Revealed: the danger of office lights

The little-known dangers of some forms of office lighting will be revealed in a major government report today.

The review, by the National Radiological Protection Board, analyses research into the hazards of exposure to real and artificial light, including fluorescent lighting and sunlamps.

It is well known that too much exposure to ultra-violet rays from the sun can cause cancer. But fluorescent lighting used in workplaces also emit a significant amount of UV radiation.

New US research shows sunbeds can more than double the chance of getting one of the milder forms of skin cancer and increase the risk of another type of skin cancer 1.5 times.

Fluorescent lights are not thought to pose a short-term cancer risk, but some experts believe they can increase susceptibility to the disease over long periods of 10 years or more.