Are fibers safe?

Fiber optics are passive components, hence do not use power to generate light, like the case with lamps. When light conductors only carry light from one point to other, never electricity.

Fiber optics can be place under, can be cut or into direct contact with water, handled, hammered or broken and can never be anything but completely safe lighting conductors, along with the exception of power conversion.

Since standard lighting fiber optics has a very limited transmission window most radiation that could be harmful to beings or things is not transmitted. Actually the amount of infrared and ultraviolet issuing by a fiber optic is, in most illustrations, negligible.

The utilization of fiber optics in the lighting of museum pieces or radiation sensitive material is one of the major applications of such light conductors.

However, there is, the phenomenon of power to light conversion on the extremes of the fibers: an extremely high temperature may be present, along with the use of high powered illuminators, extremely close to the tip. When a light guide is cut, damaged or abraded in any way along its length a very hot spot may result that can destroy the fiber and the surrounds. As using systems with high power densities additional precautions must be observed to keep safety in the system.