Who is required to wear protective eyewear during a laser treatment?

Protective eyewear is crucial during laser treatments because lasers can pose serious risks to eye safety. Wearing protective eyewear is a safety measure designed to prevent laser radiation from causing damage to the eyes of anyone within the nominal hazard zone (NHZ), which is the area where laser radiation might exceed safety limits. This includes not only the technician operating the laser but also any other staff, bystanders, or individuals in the treatment room.

It's important for everyone in the NHZ to be protected as they could inadvertently be exposed to the laser beam or its reflections. The eyewear is specifically designed to filter out potentially harmful wavelengths of laser light, enhancing safety for all persons present.

The other options suggest limited protective measures that could lead to serious safety oversights. For instance, focusing only on the technician or the treating patient may leave others, who could be at risk, unprotected. This approach ignores the fact that multiple individuals may be present and could be exposed to the laser's effects. Therefore, the requirement for protective eyewear applies broadly to anyone within the NHZ to ensure comprehensive safety practices are maintained during laser procedures.