[Wonder Warthog]

"After some research, Richardson decided the symptoms, similar to overexposure from a tanning bed, were produced by a radiation leak from a halide bulb."

I seriously doubt that this was a "halide bulb". More likely it is a mercury vapor lamp (like a high-intensity street light). If the outer glass shell breaks on one of those, they can emit LOTS of short-wavelength UV.

[Willie Green]

I seriously doubt that this was a "halide bulb". More likely it is a mercury vapor lamp (like a high-intensity street light). If the outer glass shell breaks on one of those, they can emit LOTS of short-wavelength UV.

Metal halide lamps are similar to mercury vapor lamps, but instead of just mercury, they also contain sodium/scandium iodide and sometimes metals in the rare earth period combined with halogens in the halogen group of the periodic table. They are preferred over mercury vapor in areas where color rendition is important as they give a purer white light then mercury vapor, which tends towards the blue end of the electromagnetic spectrum

If damaged, I would think that metal halide lamps could emit excessive UV radiation similar to the mercury vapor lamps. It looks as if they operate by the same basic priciple, just with different materials that affect electrical efficiency and the spectrum of light.

[brianl703]

Aren't those bulbs designed to fail completely if the outer glass shell breaks?