The dangers of RF and EMR: H&S concerns for workers

In the United Kingdom, there are various Health and Safety regulations governing workers’ exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the workplace. These guidelines are intended to inform employers and protect workers from the dangers of EMF. This article provides a brief explanation of why you should consider these as part of your business health and safety practices, as well as the steps you should be taking to protect business and others from the dangers.

What does the UK Health and Safety Executive say?

The Health and Safety Executive has produced a guidance document HSG281: A guide to the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016. This document provides guidance, ‘action levels’ and ‘exposure limit values’.

The guide outlines the steps required to protect workers from the sources of EMF in the workplace and provides advice on how to assess, protect and control its risks.

What is an EMF?

An EMF is a combination of invisible electric and magnetic fields of force. The fields are generated by natural phenomena like the earth’s magnetic field, but also by human activities, mainly through the use of electricity.

One of the main man-made examples is the use of the radiofrequency (RF) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to transfer information across devices.

The extensive use of this phenomena has resulted in a plethora of RF emanations all around us.

RF is classed as non-ionising radiation, which means that it has insufficient energy to cause molecular damage. However, when the human body is exposed to ‘high-power density RF’ side effects are likely to occur. High EMF exposure is known to cause neurological and physiological problems with effects such as heating of the human body and dehydration.

For these reasons, and the risks of prolonged and longstanding exposure to RF, it is critical workers are given the tools to protect themselves.

How much RF exposure is safe?

The level of RF exposure is governed by the three important factors below:

Intensity of EMF
Frequency of EMF
Exposure Time

For example, the higher the frequency, the more energy is likely to be absorbed by the body and halving the distance to the source will effectively multiply the EMF exposure by a factor of 4.

Therefore, exposure to EMF sources that pose a risk should be monitored and limited.

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) provides guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields for the protection of humans exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF) in the range 100 kHz to 300 GHz.

One of the biggest risks to humans is the use of telecommunication systems where high-power density antennas are used to transmit and receive RF, with the highest intensity being closest to a transmitting antenna.

Some high-power density antennas have red zones – which restricts access to workers due to the dangerous intensity of RF signals being transmitted from the antenna. Yellow zones refer to restricted access for the public, which are more conservative due to the general public lacking proper equipment and awareness of the dangers of this exposure.

The shape and size of these zones is determined by the types of antennas used, which you can learn about in our downloadable presentation.

How can you sufficiently protect your team?

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that workers are not exposed to levels of RF exceeding the limits. At sites with antennas there is no visible way of knowing what the power levels will be so a Personal RF Monitor or some other RF monitoring device is required to inform individuals of potentially dangerous RF power levels. The most practically reliable way to know the exposure conditions around transmitting antennas are within acceptable limits is to wear a Personal RF Monitor.

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