With the wildly popular Bay Bridge light display The Bay Lights set to return in a couple of months, a group that files radiation lawsuits on the regular is suing to prevent the display’s reinstallation, calling it a “neurologic hazard.”
We reported the exciting news last week that the famed Bay Lights LED display was returning to the Bay Bridge sometime in early 2025, and that this time, the display would illuminate both sides of the bridge. And it will be like having an old friend back, as the lights have not been on since March 2023, after having previously gone dark in 2015.
But there is one organization that is definitely not cheering for the return of The Bay Lights. KRON4 reports that a group called the Soft Light Foundation is suing to prevent the LEDs from being turned back on, calling the display “neurologically intolerable” for individuals with autism or epilepsy.
One of their arguments is that the lights will be disruptive and confusing for birds and insects, an argument that was also unsuccessfully lodged at the SkyStar ferris wheel when it was in Golden Gate Park. And there may be a compelling argument that light could represent a “neurologic hazard” for people suffering from the above-mentioned medical conditions. Though honestly, have you seen how many other lights there also are around the Bay Bridge? It’s a heavily light-filled area!
And there are some other claims in the lawsuit that, ummm, may not be clinically accurate. The suit claims to advocate for people who have “thoughts of suicide when exposed to LED lights.” I do not mean to sound insensitive, but that is a connection I have never heard made before. KTVU also reports the lawsuit cites “the risk of several diseases including breast cancer,” from the LED lights, but it seems highly implausible the Bay Lights are going to give people breast cancer.
Looking at the Soft Light Foundation’s About page, we see they are something of a lawsuit machine. And there is no mention of autism, epilepsy, breast cancer, or birds on the About page. But there are 13 mentions of “radiation,” be it “visible light radiation” or “LED radiation,” which are not considered to be significant risks, and this kind of sounds like anti-5G crusader rhetoric.
The Soft Light Foundation’s main avenue of advocacy is fighting increasingly bright LED headlights. And there may be some very valid concerns with LED headlights. But some of the claims made that the Bay Lights would somehow cause a myriad of health hazards — which they have not in ten years — just don’t seem very bright.
Image: Leo Villareal
