Illumination levels in NICUs are highly variable,
often very high, although this has changed in many
units in recent years, with little or no structured
diurnal variability. Levels often exceed (OSHA)
recommendations for office lighting (40 to 50
foot-candles [ftc]) for at least a part of the day.
Ambient light levels have been reported to range
from 24 to 140 ftc in different units (Blackburn,
1996; Robinson, Mosley, & Fielder, 1990). Other
light exposures may increase these levels many
fold. For example procedure lamps generate 200 to
300 ftc, and phototherapy lamps range from 300 to
400 ftc for standard bank systems to much higher
levels for spot light systems