Orange County – Time is running out to grab glasses for the solar eclipse.
Central Floridians can catch the phenomenon on Monday afternoon but before you look up, make sure to look through the right pair of glasses. The American Astronomical Society has issued a warning about fake glasses. Some on the market may not be certified and could be dangerous.
Joanne Daniel is traveling to Niagara Falls to see the solar eclipse. She said the one thing missing from her suitcase was a pair of solar eclipse glasses.
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“I’ve called my brother and he said if I don’t have them, I probably won’t get them when I get there. So I thought, I need to start looking around here,” Daniel said.
Her search led her to the Warby Parker in Waterford Lakes, Orange County. The eyewear company is giving out free solar eclipse glasses at its stores through April 8.
“We want to make sure that people are being safe when they’re viewing this event,” said Sheldon Nelson, licensed area leader for North Florida.
Nelson said looking straight at the sun or using regular sunglasses to watch the solar eclipse could cause long-term vision damage.
“What can happen if you look straight up at the sun, or if you just put on your regular sunglasses and try to look at this solar eclipse, think about it like a magnifying glass, where your retinas are really like a magnifying glass,” Nelson said. “Regular glasses are gonna let in too much light and could cause damage to your eyes.”
The glasses at Warby Parker are approved by the International Organization for Standardization, also know as the ISO. Certified glasses must meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for filters for direct viewing of the sun.
While looking for solar eclipse glasses, make sure they have the ISO logo inside the flap. News 6 found out these glasses are being sold at Lowes, Walmart, Buc-ee’s, Cracker Barrel and Staples. You can find a list of verified suppliers here.
If you are ordering a pair online, make sure to double check the label along with the manufacturer. Back in 2017, Amazon recalled a bunch of solar eclipse glasses because it could not confirm if they were made by a recommended manufacturer.
News 6 asked Amazon what it is doing this year to keep you safe. A spokesperson emailed us this statement:
“We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies. We ensure our selection meets industry-accepted standards, and we develop innovative tools to prevent unsafe products from being listed. We continuously monitor our store, and if we discover a product was undetected by our automated checks, we address the issue immediately and refine our controls. We take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing noncompliant products, and outreach to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information, when appropriate.”
Amazon Spokesperson
According to Amazon, solar eclipse glasses at its store must be ISO 12312-2 compliant and sourced from the recommended list of companies and organizations designated by the American Astronomical Society. Amazon said if customers have concerns about an item they have purchased, contact Customer Service directly so the company can investigate and help resolve the issue.
“You want to make sure they’re not damaged at all, make sure there’s no holes or anything peeking through,” Nelson advised.
If you cannot make it to the store, you can make your own solar eclipse viewer using things inside your home. Click here to watch a tutorial.
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