Posted By John Fox I have a client who works in an office block. The landlord has recently placed a reflective film on the windows to reduce the uv light. Obviously this has led to a loss of light in the offices with the increased use of strip lights needed. There has been a sudden surge of people reporting tired eyes and fatigue. Has anyone heard of this before, is there a connection and where can i find out more? Thank you John

Posted By Linda Crossland-Clarke Hi When researching this myself, I was informed that contributory factors to SBS is the lack of control that occupants have over their environment. Undertaking a light survey will establish if there are sufficient lux levels. It will also show that their complaint is being taken seriously. You could also review the DSE risk assessments, maybe some additional task lighting or encouraging people to take their sheduled breaks would aslo assist? Linda

Posted By Chris Packham Not scientific, but purely anecdotal! Many years ago I worked in an office in Germany with no natural light. Lighting was fluorescent strip. After some weeks I started to notice soreness of the eyes, headaches etc. Visiting an optician there, he examined my eyes and immediately asked if I worked by fluorescent light. His comment was that he saw lots of people with this type of sympton. He prescribed lightly tinted spectacles (I am a normal spectacle wearer). These seemed to make an enormous difference. No sore eyes, no headaches. I have also noticed that if you wear reactive spectacles, i.e. the ones that react to UV light by darkening, these tend to take on a slight tint under fluorescent light, but don't under other types of lighting. As I said, not scientific, but it might indicate that this is something worth further investigation.