Abstract
In 2016 the Directive 2013/35/EU regarding the protection of health and safety of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields was transposed in Italy. Since then, the authors of this paper have been faced with several issues related to the implementation of the provisions of the Directive, which pose some interpretative and operative concerns. A primary critical feature of the Directive is that, in some circumstances, conditions of “overexposure”, i.e., of exceeding the exposure limits, are allowed. In the case of transient effects, the “flexibility” concerning the compliance with exposure limits is based on the approach introduced by ICNIRP in its guidelines on static magnetic fields and on time-varying electric and magnetic fields. On the contrary, the possibility of exceeding the exposure limits for health effects, formally recognized in the article of the Directive dealing with derogations, is not included in the ICNIRP guidelines. This paper analyzes the main concerns in interpreting and managing some provisions of the Directive with particular reference to the issue of how the employer can manage the situations of overexposure.
Highlights
Directive 2013/35/EU, regarding the protection of health and safety of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) [1], presents an innovative safety approach that involves an important adaptation of the professionals involved in the field from an organizational and cultural point of view
Connected to the possibility of overexposures is the distinction between health effects exposure limit values (ELVs), above which workers might be subject to adverse health effects, and sensory effects ELVs, above which workers might be subject to transient disturbed sensory perceptions and minor changes in brain functions; this approach is consistent with that introduced by the International Commission on NonIonizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in its guidelines for static magnetic fields [2] and for time-varying electric and magnetic fields in the range 1 Hz–100 kHz [3]
The possibility of derogations from compliance to ELVs is strongly conditioned as it requires the implementation, by the employer, of a series of fulfillments documenting that an effective and efficient risk assessment has been carried out and that workers are still protected against adverse health effects and safety risks
Summary
Directive 2013/35/EU, regarding the protection of health and safety of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) [1], presents an innovative safety approach that involves an important adaptation of the professionals involved in the field from an organizational and cultural point of view. This is relevant in the case of the MRI where, currently, one of the most relevant issues concerns the movement in the SMF, an aspect that involves any operator accessing the scanning room [6,7,8]. These effects are not fully established in terms of number and types, some of them (sensory effects such as vertigo/dizziness, retinal phosphenes, nausea and metallic taste) show consolidated evidence regarding the fields involved and the induction thresholds. The planning of multicentric cohort studies with a careful characterization of EMF sources and exposure levels, accompanied by a detailed individual health assessment, is likely to represent the most suitable approach
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