An increase in the use of artificial blue light in large parts of Europe, including the UK, could have negative impacts on human health and the environment, a new study has warned.
With more countries adopting energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs), the research suggested that previous studies of light pollution have underestimated their impacts.
Satellite data from previous studies did not allow sufficient differentiation about the effects of blue, green and red light waves, said scientists, including those from the University of Exeter in the UK.
In the new research, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, scientists used images taken from astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to map differences in the spectral composition of lighting across Europe during the period between 2012-13 and 2014. -20.
Based on the data, the scientists said there was a “widespread spectral shift” in artificial lighting from one linked to high-pressure sodium lights to one associated with broad white LEDs and higher blue emissions .
Previous research has shown that long-term exposure to blue light is linked to “damaging effects” on a range of cells and can accelerate the aging process of the human body.
The spectral change seen in the new study in Europe was most prominent in the UK, Italy, Romania and Ireland, with Austria and Germany experiencing the least change.
Citing previous research that assessed the effects of artificial light at night on melatonin, the hormone associated with the sleep cycle, the tendency to increase artificial lighting could greatly increase the risk of harmful effects.
“Melatonin cycles are key components of circadian systems and determinants of biological temporal organization for a multitude of organisms, and production of this hormone is suppressed by nighttime artificial lighting,” the researchers wrote in the study
Humans are not the only ones likely to be affected.
The study warns that the trait of some insects to move towards natural light is also affected by the increasing use of artificial light.
“Increases in emissions at blue wavelengths may also alter the phototaxic response of moths and other insects to artificial light at night,” the study noted, adding that some bat species may also be affected .
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Romania and Spain have experienced particularly significant increases in these environmental risks.
While LED technology has provided several benefits for street lighting, including reduced energy costs and carbon emissions, the researchers said the spectral changes from its growing use are also linked to a greater likelihood of its negative biological impacts.
“We find that this trend is broadly increasing the risk of harmful effects to ecosystems,” the scientists said, adding that more studies are needed to quantify the environmental risks associated with exposure to nighttime artificial light.