Garcia-Saenz, A., Sánchez de Miguel, A., Espinosa, A., Valentin, A., Aragonés, N., Llorca, J., et al. (2018). Evaluating the Association between Artificial Light-at-Night Exposure and Breast and Prostate Cancer Risk in Spain (MCC-Spain Study). Environmental Health Perspectives, 126(04).
Abstract: Background: Night shift work, exposure to light at night (ALAN) and circadian disruption may increase the risk of hormone-dependent cancers.
Objectives: We evaluated the association of exposure to ALAN during sleeping time with breast and prostate cancer in a population based multicase–control study (MCC-Spain), among subjects who had never worked at night. We evaluated chronotype, a characteristic that may relate to adaptation to light at night.
Methods: We enrolled 1,219 breast cancer cases, 1,385 female controls, 623 prostate cancer cases, and 879 male controls from 11 Spanish regions in 2008–2013. Indoor ALAN information was obtained through questionnaires. Outdoor ALAN was analyzed using images from the International Space Station (ISS) available for Barcelona and Madrid for 2012–2013, including data of remotely sensed upward light intensity and blue light spectrum information for each geocoded longest residence of each MCC-Spain subject.
Results: Among Barcelona and Madrid participants with information on both indoor and outdoor ALAN, exposure to outdoor ALAN in the blue light spectrum was associated with breast cancer [adjusted odds ratio (OR) for highest vs. lowest tertile, OR=1.47; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.17] and prostate cancer (OR=2.05; 95% CI: 1.38, 3.03). In contrast, those exposed to the highest versus lowest intensity of outdoor ALAN were more likely to be controls than cases, particularly for prostate cancer. Compared with those who reported sleeping in total darkness, men who slept in “quite illuminated” bedrooms had a higher risk of prostate cancer (OR=2.79; 95% CI: 1.55, 5.04), whereas women had a slightly lower risk of breast cancer (OR=0.77; 95% CI: 0.39, 1.51).
Conclusion: Both prostate and breast cancer were associated with high estimated exposure to outdoor ALAN in the blue-enriched light spectrum.
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Garcia-Saenz, A., Sanchez de Miguel, A., Espinosa, A., Valentin, A., Aragones, N., Llorca, J., et al. (2018). Evaluating the Association between Artificial Light-at-Night Exposure and Breast and Prostate Cancer Risk in Spain (MCC-Spain Study). Environ Health Perspect, 126(4), 047011.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Night shift work, exposure to light at night (ALAN) and circadian disruption may increase the risk of hormone-dependent cancers. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association of exposure to ALAN during sleeping time with breast and prostate cancer in a population based multicase-control study (MCC-Spain), among subjects who had never worked at night. We evaluated chronotype, a characteristic that may relate to adaptation to light at night. METHODS: We enrolled 1,219 breast cancer cases, 1,385 female controls, 623 prostate cancer cases, and 879 male controls from 11 Spanish regions in 2008-2013. Indoor ALAN information was obtained through questionnaires. Outdoor ALAN was analyzed using images from the International Space Station (ISS) available for Barcelona and Madrid for 2012-2013, including data of remotely sensed upward light intensity and blue light spectrum information for each geocoded longest residence of each MCC-Spain subject. RESULTS: Among Barcelona and Madrid participants with information on both indoor and outdoor ALAN, exposure to outdoor ALAN in the blue light spectrum was associated with breast cancer [adjusted odds ratio (OR) for highest vs. lowest tertile, OR=1.47; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.17] and prostate cancer (OR=2.05; 95% CI: 1.38, 3.03). In contrast, those exposed to the highest versus lowest intensity of outdoor ALAN were more likely to be controls than cases, particularly for prostate cancer. Compared with those who reported sleeping in total darkness, men who slept in “quite illuminated” bedrooms had a higher risk of prostate cancer (OR=2.79; 95% CI: 1.55, 5.04), whereas women had a slightly lower risk of breast cancer (OR=0.77; 95% CI: 0.39, 1.51). CONCLUSION: Both prostate and breast cancer were associated with high estimated exposure to outdoor ALAN in the blue-enriched light spectrum. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1837.
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Fotios, S., Monteiro, A. L., & Uttley, J. (2018). Evaluation of pedestrian reassurance gained by higher illuminances in residential streets using the day–dark approach. Lighting Research & Technology, in press.
Abstract: A field study was conducted to investigate how changes in the illuminance affect pedestrian reassurance when walking after dark in an urban location. The field study was conducted in daytime and after dark in order to employ the day–dark approach to analysis of optimal lighting. The results suggest that minimum illuminance is a better predictor of reassurance than is mean illuminance. For a day–dark difference of 0.5 units on a 6-point response scale, the results suggest a minimum horizontal illuminance of approximately 2.0 lux.
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Gago-Calderón, A., Hermoso-Orzáez, M., De Andres-Diaz, J., & Redrado-Salvatierra, G. (2018). Evaluation of Uniformity and Glare Improvement with Low Energy Efficiency Losses in Street Lighting LED Luminaires Using Laser-Sintered Polyamide-Based Diffuse Covers. Energies, 11(4), 816.
Abstract: Energy saving in street lighting is garnering more interest and has become a priority in municipal management. Therefore, LED luminaires are gradually becoming prevalent in our cities. Beyond their energy/economic saving potential, quality in public lighting installations concerns aspects such as uniformity and glare which must be maintained if not improved in any installation renewal project using this technology. The high light intensity generated in a discrete point in LED packages and its directional nature result in significant deficiencies in these last two parameters. To soften these effects, translucent covers are being used as one of the most common solutions with the drawback of significant light intensity losses. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the behavior of LED luminaire’s polyamide-based optical covers manufactured with a laser-sintered process. These are designed to improve glare and uniformity output, to minimize light output reductions, and to be industrially manufactured with no increment of cost for their lighting equipment compared to conventional transparent polycarbonate solutions. A laboratory and field lighting test study has been applied to different covers with the same LED lamp and luminaire to compare the performance of three different solutions built with different polymeric materials and with different light transmission surface textures. The photometric results have been observed and discussed to demonstrate the ability to significantly improve the lighting performance of LED luminaires—illuminance and uniformity levels and discomfort and disability glare indexes— using an improved optic cover.
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Azam, C., Le Viol, I., Bas, Y., Zissis, G., Vernet, A., Julien, J. - F., et al. (2018). Evidence for distance and illuminance thresholds in the effects of artificial lighting on bat activity. Landscape and Urban Planning, 175, 123–135.
Abstract: Light pollution is a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. There is a crucial need to elaborate artificial lighting recommendations to mitigate its impact on wildlife. In the present study, we investigated how streetlight spatial position and light trespass impacted the use of ecological corridors by transiting bats in anthropogenic landscapes. Through a paired, in situ experiment, we estimated how streetlight distance of impact and vertical and horizontal illuminance influenced the transiting activity of 6 species and 2 genera of bats. We selected 27 pairs composed of 1 lit site and 1 control unlit site in areas practicing either part-night or full-night lighting. We recorded bat activity at 0, 10, 25, 50 and 100 m, and measured vertical and horizontal light illuminance at the 5 distance steps (range = 0.1–30.2 lx). While streetlight attraction effect was mostly limited to a 10 m radius for Pipistrellus sp. and Nyctalus sp., streetlight avoidance was detected at up to 25 and 50 m for Myotis sp. and Eptesicus serotinus, respectively. Streetlight effects on Myotis sp. and Nyctalus sp. remained after lamps were turned-off. Illuminance had a negative effect on Myotis sp. below 1 lx, a mixed effect on E. serotinus, and a positive effect on the other species, although a peak of activity was observed between 1 and 5 lx for P. pipistrellus and N. leisleri. We recommend separating streetlights from ecological corridors by at least 50 m and avoiding vertical light trespass beyond 0.1 lx to ensure their use by light-sensitive bats.
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