Closed petition Ban the use of blue-rich lights for public lighting at night due to cancer risk

Closed on 11 April 2023

Owing to evidence that blue-rich lights used for some public lighting at night are associated with an elevated risk of prostate, breast and colorectal cancers, we believe that lights that are used for this purpose should be restricted to a correlated colour temperature of <3000K by law.

Many street lights are being replaced with LEDs for energy efficiency reasons. Historically the most efficient LEDs had a high CCT value (4000K and over). Studies have shown that blue-rich lighting at night suppresses melatonin production, which can enhance the development of hormone-related cancers. The UK government should therefore mandate the use of low-CCT light sources for public lighting at night (<3000K) and require the replacement of any blue-rich sources within a reasonable time frame.