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Minimising worker exposure to electromagnetic fields in a wireless world
Paul Taylor, head of industrial products (UK) at TÜV SÜD, a global product testing and certification organisation
W
hile optimising the opportunities offered by Industry 4.0’s digital transition, reducing the risks
involved in the increased interconnectivity of this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is imperative. Exposure to unsafe levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF) can cause a rise in body temperature, burns, shocks and other adverse conditions. EMF can also affect people indirectly if they wear implantable electronic devices, such as heart pacemakers. In order to prevent people from being exposed to hazardous electromagnetic fields, exposure restrictions have been placed on EMF quantities, such as electric field strength, magnetic field strength, magnetic flux density, power density and contact current. The Control of Electromagnetic Fields
at Work Regulations 2016 No. 588 came into force in July 2016, to implement the EU Physical Agents Directive (EMF) 2013/35/EU in the UK and the EU. It covers the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from electromagnetic fields. Machinery end- users are now required to undertake a workplace assessment to assess EMF levels and ascertain the risk of workers’ exposure. While the regulations are
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workplace specific, machinery end-users would benefit significantly if manufacturers and importers provided evidence of conformity, which would help them to meet their requirements under the EMF Directive much more easily and cost effectively. The European Commission has published a set of “non-binding guides to good practice for implementing Directive 2013/35/EU” comprising; Volume 1: Practical Guide; Volume 2: Case Studies; Volume 3: Guide for SMEs. In addition the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK has produced a guide: “A guide to the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016”. The Physical Agents Directive (EMF) identifies the need for competent services or persons to undertake a workplace assessment where potentially hazardous EMF sources are present. While the exact definition of a competent service or person is not currently regulated, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) definition is: “Someone who has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities that allow them to assist you properly. The level of competence required will depend on the complexity of the situation and the particular help you need.” For EMF, this means that suitable persons should be appointed with defined responsibilities for EMF safety, and their role can be summarised as follows: • Receive relevant training on the EMF sources, measurement and calculation procedures.
• Have access to current EMF Directive, guidance and standards. • Liaise with employer/ operator to understand specific hazards for the site. • Perform periodic risk assessment, calculation and measurement using appropriate test equipment.
• Produce report and records for employer/operator. • Ensure safety controls are identified and applied correctly.
• Consult with other workers. • Provide training in safe
operation/maintenance of EMF sources where necessary for workers/visitors. • Assist with EMF exposure incident investigation, advise on medical examination.
A risk assessment of EMF hazards in the workplace can be done in five steps, using
Components in Electronics
An important consideration is whether the workplace has workers at particular risk, who are those with medical devices (eg. cardiac pacemakers) or who are pregnant. If such workers are present, their exposure must be assessed case by case and typically require assessment to the lower general public levels of EMF exposure. Where equipment is identified as potentially producing an EMF hazard, a specific risk assessment is required to
with the Physical Agents Directive (EMF) is bound to increase that product’s appeal. Machinery manufacturers, who must do emissions testing anyway as part of the compliance process, should help out their customers by providing this information. It would take little additional effort on their part, for substantial gain by the end-user.
tuv-sud.co.uk www.cieonline.co.uk
the HSE general guide to risk assessment. These are: 1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how 3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary
As a starting point to identify EMF
hazards, both the non-binding practical guide to the Physical Agents Directive (EMF) 2013/35/EU and the guide to the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016, describe an approach to identifying hazards by using an initial assessment that contains lists of equipment that are not an EMF hazard and those that might be.
identify the severity of any EMF exposure, the likelihood of exposure and resulting risk, taking account of any existing or new safety controls and safe operating procedures. Information may be available from the supplier or manufacturer on the type and levels of EMF, but in the absence of such information a detailed assessment by a competent person or service will be required to measure or calculate the EMF exposure levels. A procedure needs to be in place in case of accidental or suspected overexposure, including a process for medical examinations.
It is clear that the EMF assessment
process can be complex and once completed, may result in significant changes to the workplace environment. Any additional information provided by a machinery manufacturer, that would help end-users to comply more easily
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