OA260] Development of a flowcharts tool for the risk assessment of occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields

Abstract

Purpose The performed occupational EMF exposure assessment in Greece 1 revealed, apart from EMF hazards during maintenance procedures, serious difficulties in the implementation of the legal framework; a handy integration of the legislative requirements and the accumulated knowledge is needed as the released practical-guides 2 , even though they contain valuable information, they didn’t cover many practical aspects. Methods At the early stages of the 2013/35/EU Directive preparation 3 , the application of a zoning safety system had been proposed but not finally adopted. Moreover, EN50499 standard 4 proposes certain zones for the occupational and general public EMF exposure assessment. For the low frequencies, an amended zoning system with flowcharts has already been proposed 5 in order to clarify and facilitate the EMF protection scheme. Results A practical tool unifying the occupational EMF exposure assessment for the low, high and intermediate frequencies is proposed in the form of a zoning classification system (zones 0–3), implemented with flowcharts. It takes into account all the Directive’s requirements, like the WPM (weighted peak method), the low, high and limb ALs (Action Levels), the various ELVs (Exposure Limit Values) and the ability to apply appropriate corrective OHS (Occupational Health & Safety) measures as well as the possibility of derogations. Conclusions The accumulated occupational experience 1 indicates that most of the exposures are correlated to zone 0 and this can be done only on the basis of exposure estimation. Measurements are needed for zones 2, 3 and their reliable conduction, highlighted in many ways 6 , allows for reproducibility in order to effectively contribute to surveys concerning EMF effects.