Safety stressed as Monday’s eclipse approaches
Monday’s eclipse is being called a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Despite the excitement for the eclipse, which will begin at 10:22 a.m., pique at 11:37 a.m. and end at 12:55 p.m.., ClearvVew EyeCare’s optometrist Kerrie Schwandt is reminding people to use the proper safety precautions.
“The basic message is really to not stare directly at the sun,” she said. “It damages your retina and can cause severe damage after a pretty minimal amount of time. You can create a blind spot in the centre of your vision, and that’s something you always want to try to avoid obviously.”
Though people can find many answers on the Internet on what is and is not safe to wear, Schwandt says a special set of glasses is the best way to keep the retinas safe.
“We insist that people wear eclipse glasses made specially for this,” she said. “I’ve been looking around and they may actually be sold out around town currently, but sunglasses are not good enough. Welding glasses are not good enough. Glacier glasses are not good enough. The eclipse glasses need to have an ISO safety rating of 12312-2 in order to be safe. Even looking through a telescope, or something like that, you can still get enough radiation to do damage and create that blind spot.”
The specialty glasses can be purchased online and at local vendors such as Best Buy and London Drugs.