Are electromagnetic fields (EMFs) the next cigarettes? The jury is still out on this one, but this year has seen revised guidelines from the International Committee on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a monograph from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and a revised version of the EU Physical Agents Directive on EMFs and occupational health, 2004/40/EC. This is significant since all employers will have to be able to demonstrate under H&S legislation that their employees are not exposed to harmful EMFs. At York EMC Services we have done EMF site surveys to assess the risks by comparing measured fields with ICNIRP guidelines. York is in the Workers' EM Safety (Wems) consortium which is carrying out research under the EU Eureka banner. The Wems project is a response to the EU directive 2004/40/EC, which will pose new requirements on employers. The objective is to develop procedures and instrumentation to demonstrate in situ compliance with these requirements. The consortium will target the main sources of exposure.
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