Healthofficialsissuedawaringovercommonenergy-savingl一ghtbulbs(灯泡)afterresearchshowedsometypescouldpotentiallyharmtheskinandmayevenraisetheriskofcancer.
AstudybytheHealthProtectionAgency(HPA)foundthatsomeeco-friendlylightbuulbsreleaselevelsofultraviolet(UV)(紫外线)radiationthatareaboverecognizedsafetylimits.Theagencyurgedpeoplewhoworkwithlampsnearbytoavoidspendingmorethanonehourwithinafootoftheeco-friendlybulbs.Thewarningwasdirectedatthoseusingdesklampsforlongperiodssuchasjewellerymakersandotherswhomighthavelightsclosetotheirfacessuchascarmechanics.
JohnO’HaganascientistattheHPA’scentreforradiationchemicalandenvironmentaldangersbegantestsontheligthbulbsafterpatientgroupsraisedconcernaboutthem.Amongthegroupswerepatientswithaskindiseasecalledlupuswhichmakespeoplehighlysensitivetolight.
ThetestsmeasuredUVlightfromthelampsandfoundthehighestlevelsofUVradiationmeasured2cmfromthelightbulbswereequivalenttobeingoutsideindirectsunlightinthesummer.Themostimmediateriskfromthelightbulbsisareddeningoftheskinsimilartosunburnbutthereisalsoasmallincreasedriskofskincancerassociatedwiththisagainsimilartothatofsunburn.
Theriskofhealthproblemsfromthelightbulbswasnotsohighthatpeopleshouldremovethemfromtheirhomes.Peopleareadvisedtoavoidusingopenlightbulbsforlongcloseworkuntiltheproblemissortedout.Ithasconfirmedthatthegovernmentwillnotbereviewingitsstrategyonintroducingenergyefficientlightbulbs.
【小题1】Theunderlinedword“equivalent”inparagraph4 mostprobablymeans______.