Ann. Occup. Hyg., Vol. 55, No. 8, pp.

922–930, 2011
Ó The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press
on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society
doi:10.1093/annhyg/mer016

Modelling Infrared Radiation Exposure by Black

body-Like Sources
RENATA SISTO1*, FRANCESCO FRIGERIO2, ANDREA MILITELLO1,

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MASSIMO BORRA1, DANILO COTTICA2 and ELENA GRIGNANI2
1
Department of Occupational Hygiene, National Research Centre for Occupational Safety and
Prevention, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority, Monte Porzio Catone, Rome 00040, Italy;
2
Environmental Research Center, Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri IRCCS, Scientific Institute of Pavia,
Pavia 27100, Italy
Received 26 November 2010; in final form 11 February 2011; published online 7 April 2011

In this work, a method previously proposed in the literature (Sisto R, Pinto I, Stacchini N et al.
Infrared radiation exposure in traditional glass factories. AIHAJ 2000; 61: 5–10) to evaluate
the exposure to infrared (IR) radiation when the source can be approximated as a black body
is implemented in a mathematical code developed in Matlab. Some practical situations are
discussed. A comparison between the results obtained by a spectroradiometric technique
and that obtained by using a broadband radiometer and the modelling of the source is shown.
The IR radiation exposure evaluations in a cement industry and in a steel forge are shown and
compared to the exposure limit values.
Keywords: black body source; cataract; infrared radiation

INTRODUCTION best technology available for field measurements is

Evaluating worker’s exposure to optical artificial
radiation, following the guidelines of International
Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection
(ICNIRP) requires the calculation of a number of
integrals over the wavelength of the spectrum of
the incident radiation (ICNIRP, 1997). The knowl-
edge of the spectrum can be obtained from the manu-
facturer of the source or, more often, from
measurements.
At the moment, a single instrument designed to
perform the measurements required for optical radi-
ation evaluation in all the wavelength ranges of
hygienistic interest is not available.
For infrared (IR) sources, a serious problem in
measurements is that retinal damage risk must be
evaluated from weighted integrals between 380
or 780 and 1400 nm, depending on the intensity of
the stimulus in the visible range. Unfortunately, the
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Tel: +39 06 94181552; fax: +39 06 9419453;
e-mail: renata.sisto@ispesl.it
based on detectors whose sensitivity does not extend
much .1100 nm. For thermal hazards not involving
the retina, the integration must be extended to 3000
nm but, spectral weighting being not required,
a simple integrated measure instead of a spectral
one is adequate.
The IR radiation exposure is known to cause eye
damage, in particular through thermal cataractogenesis
(Vos and van Norren, 2004). In particular, the damage
mechanisms due to IR-A and IR-B radiation are well
known, reproduced in animal studies and specific expo-
sure limits are given by ICNIRP in these spectral ranges.
As regards IR-C, the role of radiation in
this spectral range is not clarified in the aetiopatho-
genesis of cataract and no specific limits have been
defined for radiation from 3000 nm to 1 mm.
Cataractogenesis in workers who work in proximity
of overheated materials is known to be due to
electromagnetic radiation in a spectral region ran-
ging from the visible to the IR-C band (Okuno, 1994).
The visible and IR-A radiation is absorbed by
the iris and the thermal energy is transmitted by

922
 Modelling IR radiation exposure
conduction to the crystalline lens. The IR-B and IR-
C radiation is absorbed by the cornea and the heat is
transmitted to the lens by thermal conduction from
the nearby tissues. In both cases, visible and IR-A
or IR-B and IR-C radiation, the cataractogenesis is
due to the rise of temperature in the lens.
In an epidemiological study conducted in
Sweden’s iron and steel industries, Lydahl and
Philipson (1984) found some evidence of the correl-
ation between IR radiation exposure and thermal
cataract development. One of the most relevant
causes of IR exposure of workers is the processing
of high temperature materials. Such sources can
be modelled by black body radiation spectrum, as
given by Planck in 1910. Calculations of retinal,
corneal and lens hazards from black body radiation
have been developed since 1980 (Sliney and
Wolbarsht,1980). The use of a black body model to eval-
uate exposure of workers has been already described in
the literature for glass industry (Sisto et al., 2000).
In a 2006 statement, ICNIRP discusses the
applicability of this assumption to a number of
materials showing that assuming black body emission
can lead to an overestimate of the energy emitted;
from the point of view of protection, this is not a big
problem, moreover, increasing the temperature, the
spectrum actually approaches a black body curve.
When the radiation source present in working envi-
ronment can be approximately modelled as a simple
black body, we will show that it is possible to evaluate
the exposure in terms of irradiance in any range of
hygienistic relevance.
To achieve this, knowledge is needed of the
geometrical factor relating the source radiance to
the irradiance measured at the level of the eye of
exposed workers and of the spectral sensitivity of
the detector.
In this work, the physical bases of this method are
discussed and practical application tools for the
calculation are presented.
The simplest one is a spreadsheet developed in MS
Excel; the relative simplicity of the formulas used
makes it usable with most of the available open source
spreadsheets too. The second one is a more versatile
computation code developed in Matlab ((c) 1984–
2007; The MathWorks, Inc.), which allows to modify
the black body curve in order to consider also emis-
sivity corrections, the effect of goggles or other
shielding and even to consider the different IR
weighting factors proposed by American Conference
of Government Industrial Hygienist and ICNIRP.
An application of the method is shown for two
cases in which verification measurements on field in
Italy were possible.
923
METHODS
When the source of radiation is an overheated
material and no screens or other dispersive media
are present between the source and the receiving
surface, the spectrum can be modelled as a black
body.
The flux of energy emitted in a spectral band by
a black body at the absolute temperature T is given
by the Planck’s law (e.g. Greiner, 2000):
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2phc2
MT ðkÞdk 5 5
dk: ð1Þ
k ðehc=kKT
1Þ
The quantity MT (k) is the black body spectral
emittance, representing the spectral flux of energy
emitted per unit surface by the source.
For the emittance to be expressed in watts per
square metre, the following values of the physical
constants must be used
8
< h 5 6:62  10
34 J  s;
c 5 2:99  108 ms
1 ; ð2Þ
:
K 5 1:38  10
23 J  K
1 :
Assuming that no dispersive media are present,
only a geometrical factor defines the proportionality
between the radiance of the source and the measured
irradiance due to source itself at distance r.
Integrating equation (1) gives the Stefan–Boltzmann’s
law, the power emitted per unit area of the surface of
a black body is directly proportional to the fourth power
of its absolute temperature. That is,
j 5 r  T 4; ð3Þ
where r is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant
r 5 5:67  10
8 W  m
2 K
4 :
The total power emitted by the source is given
by the equation (3) times the surface of emission.
In the case in which the emission is isotropic, the
irradiance measured at a distance r from the source
can be easily evaluated as the ratio between the total
power emitted by the source and the area of the
spherical surface of radius r :
r  T4  S
Er 5 : ð4Þ
4p  r2
In special conditions, the evaluation is therefore
possible even without any irradiance measurement;
the temperature, indeed, is one of the best-controlled
parameters of the industrial process.
In many practical situations, the geometrical
factor relating the emittance of the source to the
irradiance measured on a particular surface can be diffi-
cult to evaluate. In addition, the positions occupied by
924 R. Sisto et al.

the worker during the working day and, in particular, the Z 1400
orientation of the surface tangent to the eyes of the ex- 6  106
LR 5 LðkÞRðkÞdk , ðWRðkÞ m
2 sr
1 Þ:
posed worker with respect to the direction orthogonal 780 Ca
to the emitting surface can be highly variable. ð7Þ
It is so necessary to perform direct measurements
of the irradiance at the different positions occupied For extended sources, Ca is the angle subtended by
by the eyes of the exposed worker. the source, expressed in mrad.
As no dispersive media between the source and the R(k) is the dimensionless weighting factor
receiving surface are assumed to be present, the tabulated in the ICNIRP (1997) guidelines and
following equation holds: further on called RICNIRP(k) to avoid any confusion

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with the weighting factor tabulated by the ACGIH

 R ky
Ekx
ky r dk9wðk9ÞMk ðk9Þ for thermal retinal damage risk evaluation. The latter
5 Rkkx 2 : ð5Þ will be called RACGIH(k). A comparison between
Emeas ðrÞ
k1 dk9sðk9ÞMk ðk9Þ RICNIRP(k) and RACGIH(k) is shown in Fig. 1.
The weighting factor w(k) can be the appropriate In the case of corneal burn and cataractogenesis,
weighting factor for the considered biological the physical quantity that defines the exposure limits
damage effect, when a comparison with exposure limit is the irradiance evaluated at the level of the eyes of
values is required, or it can be identically 5 1 in other the exposed workers.
cases; sðkÞ represents the detector sensitivity curve. In In the case of short exposure duration t , 1000 s,
this paper, the exposure limit values, EL’s, for retinal the following limit holds:
damage, stated by the ICNIRP (1997) guidelines and Z 3000  

34
2
transposed into the Commission of the European EIR 5 EðkÞdk , 18 000  t Wm : ð8Þ
Communities (2006) are considered. In particular, the 780

EL’s for thermal retinal hazard in the visible and near In the case of long exposure duration t . 1000 s,
IR or in the near IR only, if the visual stimulus is weak, the exposure limit is independent from t:
are kept into account, as reported in the following:
Z 1400 Z
2:8  107
3000


LR 5 LðkÞRðkÞdk , ðWRðkÞ m
2 sr
1 Þ EIR 5 E k dk , 100 Wm
2 : ð9Þ
380 Ca 780

ð6Þ On the basis of equation (5), it is possible to

evaluate the irradiance in the given hygienistic range
valid for exposures with a duration t . 10 s, and

Fig. 1. Comparison between weighting factors for thermal retinal hazard given by ACGIH and tabulated in the ICNIRP 1997
guidelines and in the European Directive.
 Modelling IR radiation exposure 925


of interest kx
ky by simply measuring the irradi- Application without measurements
ance in the spectral range ðk1
k2 Þ in which the avail-
In special cases of simple geometry of the
able detector is sensitive and than correcting the results
source, an evaluation is possible even without any
by the correction factor on the right side of equation (5).
measurement.
The possibility of evaluating the correction
In the case of steel bolts forging, the worker is
factors, by setting the hygienistic range of concern,
requested to observe each piece just after induction
the range of sensitivity of the detector, and by
heating to the temperature of 927°C, from a minimum
importing the sensitivity curve of the available
50 cm distance.
detector was implemented in a mathematical
The overheated bolt can be assumed to have an
programme developed in Matlab. The programme

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irradiating surface of 28 cm2.
also permits to set the emitting source temperature.
The total power irradiated is found multiplying
In Fig. 2, the black body emittance of a source at
equation (3) by the surface S of irradiation:
1400°C is shown as calculated by the Matlab code
when a radiometer with flat sensitivity between

e 5 r  T 4  S 5 329 W : ð10Þ
200 and 6000 nm is considered as detector.
In the first plot, the code itself compares the The irradiance at the eye of the worker in this case
calculated emittance at the chosen temperature with can simply be found considering that, when the bolt
the same curve multiplied by the RICNIRP(k) is observed from a 50 cm distance, it can be assumed
weighting factor and the one multiplied for the as a point-like source irradiating on a spherical
Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage curve, thus surface.
suggesting the relative importance of the visible The irradiance at 50 cm is then given by
range. e
The total energy emitted by the source, repre- E50 cm 5 5 104:8 Wm
2 : ð11Þ
4p  r2
sented by equation (3), is in fact given by the area
under the whole curve between 200 and 10 000 nm, while the total radiance can be estimated as:
the fractions of the energy in other intervals are
r2
given by the areas subtended by the corresponding L 5 E50 cm  ffi 9:36  103 Wm
2 sr
1 ð12Þ
curves. S
It is accordingly easy to see that, at the tempera- with a source apparent diameter Ca  120 mrad.
tures typical of industrial processes, most of the At 1200 K, it can be shown using the code that the
energy is emitted in the IR range. ratio between the integral of black body spectrum in

Fig. 2. First graphical output of the Matlab code, the solid line represents the portions of the block body curve that is detected by
the radiometer.
926
the range 780–3000 nm and the total emittance
represented by (3) is 0.5. Multiplying the result
of (11) by this value yields a total radiance estimate
below the limit value for IR cataractogenesis given
by equation (9).
As regards the retinal hazards, similar consider-
ations should be applied considering also that the
spectral radiance must be multiplied by the weight-
ing function RICNIRP(k). As the visual stimulus is
weak, the limit for the weighted radiance given by
equation (7) holds. Considering the apparent
diameter of 120 mrad, a limit of 0.5105 W m
2
sr
1 was found for the RICNIRP-weighted radiance.
On the other hand, the ratio between the RICNIRP-
weighted spectral radiance integrated over the IR-A
range and the black body total radiance in the power
meter sensitive range is 3.310
3. Multiplying the
radiance of equation (12) by this last factor results
in a negligible exposure for thermal retinal hazard.
Verification measurements
With the aim at evaluating the applicability of the
method in working environments, measurements
were performed in two different working situations:
1. the forging of high diameter steel valves (about
0.5–3 m in diameter and 1 m length),
2. the inspection window of a cement production
kiln.
To measure the irradiance, a laser power meter
Ophir Nova II with thermopile detector 3-A-P-
DIF-V, shown in Fig. 3, was used.
This device, designed for laser measurements, has
a flat response between 200 and 6000 nm and a power
dynamic range from 3 lW to 3 W.
The detector is calibrated for incident power and,
knowing the surface, the irradiance can be obtained.
Fig. 3. Detector used for irradiance measurements.
R. Sisto et al.
The measurements obtained by the power meter
were corrected by the suitable correction factors
calculated by equation (5) to quantify the irradiance
in the ranges of protectionistic interest for cataracto-
genesis from 780 to 3000 nm.
In order to verify the method in the optical IR
range, the same measurements were performed also
by using a spectroradiometer Ocean Optics HR4000,
shown in Fig. 4.
As the spectroradiometer is sensitive in the
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range 200–1000 nm, an extrapolation is needed to
the spectral range 1000–1400 nm, corresponding to
the IR radiation focused by the crystalline lens.
The simplest and conservative way to obtain the
shape of the spectrum outside the spectroradiometer
range is to linearly extrapolate the spectrum to 1400
nm with the same slope measured between 900 and
1000 nm. The measured and extrapolated spectra
were finally convoluted with the RICNIRP-weighting
function. In the spectral region between 1000 and
1400 nm, the relative importance of the weighted
irradiance with respect to the weighted irradiance
in the region 380–1000 nm is negligible.
To prove this, each measured spectrum has been
set, in the range from 1100 to 1400 nm, to the value
measured at 1100 nm; this approximation was
defined as flat spectrum extrapolation.
In Fig. 5, a spectrum measured in front of an
inspection window of the cement production kiln is
shown. In the same figure, the linearly and flat
extrapolated spectra are also shown to better clarify
the two different techniques.
All screens of the window were removed in order
to measure the black body spectrum of the source,
cement burning at temperature ranging from 900 to
1400°C depending on the position of the material
in the furnace.
Fig. 4. Spectrodiameter used for verification.
 Modelling IR radiation exposure 927

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Fig. 5. Extrapolation of spectrum to 1400 nm; the source is cement burning at 1200 °C.

Table 1. Effect of the extrapolation method on the RICNIRP-weighted irradiance measured by the spectroradiometer
Source Spectral Linearly extrapolated Flat extrapolated % Difference
range (nm) irradiance (W m
2) irradiance (W m
2)
Cement kiln 380–1400 5.77 5.46 5.4
780–1400 4.60 4.29 6.7
Cement kiln 380–1400 29.72 28.46 4.2
780–1400 22.05 20.79 5.7
Steel forging 380–1400 1.73 1.58 8.9
780–1400 1.42 1.27 10.7
Steel forging 380–1400 2.77 2.50 9.8
780–1400 0.57 0.31 45.6

Considering that the spectral range of interest
starts at 380 nm, measured spectra were also set to
zero for k , 350 nm. The presence of false signals
at the extreme of the sensitivity band of the spectror-
adiometer, indeed, is a typical problem in measure,
as described in the literature (Frigerio, 2010).
RESULTS
In Table 1, the RICNIRP-weighted integrals of the
measured spectra obtained with the two diffe-
rent extrapolation technique are compared: the flat
extrapolation gives a value ,10% lower than the
linear extrapolation, except in the last measurement.
In this particular case, the measurements were
made in condition of high visible background due
to the illumination of the workplace; the conse-
quence of this condition will be discussed further.
A change in the extrapolation method is thus proven to
be negligible, mainly because the RICNIRP(k) curve in
this region ranges from 0.2 to 0.02 and the influence of
this part of the integral must be compared to that in the
visible region where the weighting factor increases up
to 10, as can be seen from Figs 1 and 2.
Nonetheless, considering that the real spectrum
has to be modelled with the black body curve, the
linear extrapolation is the most accurate.
The results obtained by the spectroradiometer can
now be compared to those obtained by integrated ra-
diometric measurements. These last have to be mul-
tiplied by the suitable correction factor, evaluated by
equation (5) with sðkÞ 5 1, as the detector has a flat
response in its sensitivity range.
In Table 2, the results of this comparison are
presented in the ranges 380–1400 nm and 780–
1400 nm. The comparison between the weighted
irradiance from spectroradiometric measures and
the estimated weighted irradiance by radiometric
measurements gives a quite good agreement between
the two different techniques. In only one case, the
928 R. Sisto et al.

Table 2. Comparison between radiometric and spectroradiometric RICNIRP-weighted irradiance evaluation in visible plus optical
IR range (380–1400 nm) and optical IR range (780–1400 nm). The RICNIRP weighting factor is that given by ICNIRP (1997) and
tabulated in the Commission of the European Communities (2006)
Source T (°C) Spectral range RICNIRP-weighted Weighting factor RICNIRP-weighted
irradiance from implementing estimated irradiance
spectroradiometric w(k) 5 RICNIRP(k) by radiometric
measures (WR(l)m
2) measurements
(WR(l)m
2)
Cement kiln 1200 380–1400 nm 5.77 0.0126 5.1
780–1400 nm 4.60 0.0112 4.54

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Cement kiln 1300 380–1400 nm 29.72 0.0181 13.96
780–1400 nm 22.05 0.0155 11.95
Steel forging 1033 380–1400 nm 1.73 0.0061 1.42
780–1400 nm 1.42 0.0056 1.3
Steel forging 960 380–1400 nm 2.77 0.0041 0.94
780–1400 nm 0.57 0.0039 0.89

Table 3. RACGIH-weighted irradiance evaluation in visible plus optical IR range (380–1400 nm) and optical IR range (780–1400
nm). The absolute irradiance in the 780–3000 nm range is also shown
Source T(°C) Total irrad. Spectral Weighting Weighting factor RACGIH-weighted Estimated
(W m
2) in range factor from implementing estimated irradiance absolute
the range equation (12) w(k) RACGIH(k) by radiometric irradiance by
200–6000 nm with w(k) 5 1 measurements radiometric
(WR(l) m
2) measurements
(W m
2)
Cement 1200 405 380–1400 nm 0.0884 0.021 8.5 35.8
kiln 780–1400 nm 0.0868 0.0196 7.94 35.2
780–3000 nm 0.6241 252.8
Cement 1300 771 380–1400 nm 0.1145 0.0283 21.82 88.3
kiln 780–1400 nm 0.1116 0.0258 19.89 86
780–3000 nm 0.6609 509.6
Steel 1033 233 380–1400 nm 0.0516 0.0116 2.7 12
forging 780–1400 nm 0.0511 0.0112 2.6 11.9
780–3000 nm 0.5504 — — 128.2
Steel forging 960 229 380–1400 nm 0.0386 0.0085 1.95 8.8
780–1400 nm 0.0383 0.0082 1.88 8.8
780–3000 nm 0.5131 117.5
Bold values are those exceeding the TLV.

difference between the results is .100%; this mea-
sure shows that several experimental conditions
can affect field measurements. In this particular case,
it was not possible to make the measure with the
spectroradiometer within a short time interval from
the measure with the radiometer.
In Table 3, the RACGIH-weighted irradiance
evaluation by power meter measurements in the
ranges 380–1400 nm and 780–1400 nm are shown,
together with the suitable correction factors calcu-
lated from equation (5). The limit exposure values
for thermal retinal hazards largely exceed the values
found if also the RACGIH weighting factor is applied,
which adds a penalty in the IR-A range with respect
to the RICNIRP. The absolute irradiance in the range
780–3000 nm is also compared to the exposure limit
values for cataractogenesis of equation (9).
As it can be easily read from the same table, the
exposure limit values for cataractogenesis are al-
ways exceeded, both at the inspection of the cement
kiln and in the steel forging activity. The exposure
limit value of equation (9) is exceeded by a factor
5 in the case in which the temperature is 1300°C.
Among the various conditions that can affect
measurements, it is worth quoting the following
ones:
(a) uncertainty in the positioning of the detector,
specially critical when an instrument like that
presented in Fig. 4 has to be used on field,
 Modelling IR radiation exposure
(b) uncertainty in extrapolation of spectra,
(c) acceptance of detector: the spectroradiometer, as
usual for broad beam instruments, has a cosine-
corrected angular acceptance, while the radio-
meter, designed for laser beams, has a simple
cylindrical aperture as shown in Fig. 3.
This last, in particular, introduces some inaccu-
racy, which is important when the evaluations are
based on radiometric measures only.
It is important to point out that also conversion
from irradiance to radiance using geometrical para-
meters imply the assumption that the total energy
flux entering the detector comes from the source.
The uncertainty conditions (a) and (c) concern
both the measurement method itself and the method
used to verify its accuracy in the range 380–1400
nm; the condition (b) is due to the lack of infor-
mation on the spectrum .1100 nm, the filling of this
gap is just the purpose of the method proposed.
Considering all the uncertainty sources, a 20%
accuracy in the evaluation of the single integrals re-
quired for the hygienistic evaluation can be assumed.
To improve the accuracy, caution must be used in
taking integrated irradiation measurements in low
visible background conditions.
In a situation like that shown in Fig. 6, a contri-
bution from the workplace artificial illumination is
clearly present and corresponds to the last item of
Table 2, where due to its lower temperature, less
energy from the source of interest enters the detector
compared with the workplace illumination visible
light.
In this case, the spectrum is no longer a black body
curve and, as already noticed, also the influence of
the extrapolation technique strongly affects the
result of the evaluations.
Fig. 6. Spectrum of an ovrheated steel body in presence of
high optical background.
929
For the same reason, the method does not apply to
outdoor workplaces where sunlight contribution,
even in cloudy conditions, would overwhelm black
body spectrum; fortunately, for the worker and the
consultant, outdoor working on incandescent mater-
ials is not very common in western countries.
CONCLUSIONS
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The workers’ exposure to visible and near IR
radiation emitted by overheated materials can be
evaluated with a simple radiometric measure if the
source is modelled as a black body.
Evaluations without measurements are also
possible in the case of particularly simple geometry.
The result is the more accurate the higher the
temperature of the source and when other sources
in the field of view of the detector can be neglected.
A simple code was developed to implement the
method. The code needs the source temperature
and the detector sensitivity curve as input para-
meters. The code gives as output the coefficients that
permit to convert the measured irradiance in the irra-
diance relative to the different hygienistic ranges.
The implementation of different weighting functions
for different biological damage effects is also
possible.
The method has been tested for the R-weighted
380–1440 nm radiance evaluation showing an
accuracy within 20%.
Further verification experiments, with direct
spectral measurements in the range 1100–3000 nm,
would require instrumentation at the moment not
available for on field measurements.
Evaluations in the considered different working
environments, in the 900–1400°C temperature range
of the source of overheated material, show that the
exposure limit values given by the ICNIRP for cata-
ractogenesis are exceeded in all the working posi-
tions, while the limits provided to protect the retina
from thermal hazard are always respected.
Suitable protective glasses should be used by
workers exposed to radiation by overheated materi-
als, in particular when 1000°C temperature is ex-
ceeded, to shield the external part of the eye from
the IR-A and IR-B radiation.
FUNDING
This work was carried on with the research ordi-
nary funding of the INAIL Research, ex ISPESL
Department of Occupational Hygiene, Monteporzio
Catone, ITALY, Activity programme 2009–2011.
930 R. Sisto et al.
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