 |
|
EMF is produced whenever electrical or electronic equipment, even your TV at home, your food mixer but in the workplace more likely to be computers and mobile phones. This can go to the higher end for broadcasting & TV antennas, radar & radio transmitters etc, writes Derek Maylor, Chair of the North West BT Unions Health and Safety Co-ord.
Last summer the Control of EMF at Work Regulations came on line and with an ever aging CWU, and UK, workforce, health supportive devices like heart pacemakers are probably coming more in to the workplace – should we be concerned? Simply this is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contracting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart.
 The regulations mean that any company where there is a possibility of working in/near electromagnetic fields and have workers who fall in to groups of specific risk require Risk Assessments.
This includes employees who have “active and passive implanted medical devices” [the aforesaid pacemakers to most of us] but also pregnant employees.
Other regulations [Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 ] already require employers to RA the health and safety of both employees and non-employees to risks caused by work - this includes considering any risks arising from exposure to EMFs. The new regulations require a more targeted RA is required for those in the at-risk categories as current action levels may not provide suitable protection, a company now has to assess employees’ potential exposure to EMFs with reference to action levels (ALs) and exposure limit values (ELVs).
Over exposure can have a range of dangers from simple nausea to irreversible physical tissue damage; however most of the EMF in the workplace is low and no action will be necessary.
For USRs who are assisting their employer the HSE provide excellent support information in “A guide to the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016 - HSG2812” which is now available from the E-Library Database or by clicking the pic above.
Like any workplace procedures workers are more likely to understand risks and follow precautions if they have been involved in developing them.
Another useful free explanation is provided by IOSH via one of their on-line 'webinars' which can be accessed here
Also see Powerpoint presentation based on the webinar. Available from the E-Library Database and directly here
Source: DerekMaylor / HSE
|
|
|
Designed, Hosted and Maintained by Union Safety Services
|
