EMF Safety.

Transcription

1 EMF Safety

2 EMF Directive 2013/35/EU & UK CEMFAW Regulations 2016 All employers have a duty to assess risks arising from work undertaken and to put in place protective or preventive measures to reduce the risks they identify. These duties are a requirement of the overarching Framework Directive (89/391/EEC) already transposed into UK law (The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999). Employers should already have policy & procedures in place?

3 EMF safety management Policy Assess Review Act(ions)

4 Articles of the Directive Start Article 7 Consultation & participation of workers Article 4 Assessment of risks & determination of exposure Article 3 Exposure Limit Values & Action Levels Are EMF a risk to health & safety? No No further action under the EMF Directive Yes Article 5 Provisions aimed at reducing or avoiding risks General duties under the Framework Directive Article 8 Health surveillance (according to national law & practice) Article 6 Worker information & training

5 The assessment process If risks from EMF in the workplace are low then no further action is required. Employers should record that they have reviewed their workplace and reached this conclusion. If risks from EMF are not low, or the risk is unknown, employers should follow a process to assess the risk and implement appropriate precautions, if necessary. It is possible that the conclusion is that there is no significant risk. In this case the assessment should be recorded and the process goes no further. To assist with the risk assessment employers may need information on the level of EMF to assess compliance with ALs or ELVs values. This may be available from manufacturers etc. or it may be necessary to perform calculations or measurements. Preventative and protective measures may need to be taken where it is necessary to reduce the risk.

6 Risk assessment In general no fixed rules about how to take an EMF risk assessment. However a structured systematic approach should be employed to ensure risks are not overlooked. Risk assessment is the responsibility of management but should be undertaken in consultation with workers, who should be given information about the outcome of the assessment.

7 Workers at particular risk Workers wearing active implanted medical devices Workers with passive implanted medical devices Workers with medical devices worn on the body e.g. hormone infusion pumps Pregnant workers Workers in any of these groups may be at greater risk from EMF than the general working population and should be subject to a specific risk assessment.

8 Risk assessment Documenting the risk assessment; important to record results identifying the key elements of the assessment including; the hazards identified the workers potentially at risk the outcome of the assessment findings for any workers at particular risk requirements for any new preventative or precautionary measures subsequent review requirements

9 Risk assessment Deciding on preventative action If risks are identified the first step is to identify if they can be eliminated e.g. can the field be reduced or can access to the field be prevented. Taking action If action is necessary it is important to prioritise the implementation of preventative or protective measures. Judgement may have to be used to apply some temporary measures, in an extreme case work may have to be stopped until new measures are in place.

10 Hierarchy of Control Elimination Substitution Engineering Controls Administrative controls Personal protective equipment

11 Hierarchy of Control Eliminate the hazard e.g. don t use EMF Substitution e.g. switch to another type of equipment Engineering controls; e.g. interlocks, guards or shielding / screening Administrative controls; changes to procedure, training, signage Personal protective equipment, last resort, always prefer collective protection to personal protection

12 Organisational measures; training Training content as specified in the EMF Directive Measures taken in application of the EMF Directive Values & concepts of the ELVs & ALs, the associated possible risks and the preventive measures taken Possible indirect effects of exposure Results of the assessment, measurement or calculations of the levels of exposure to EMF carried out in accordance of Article 4 of the EMF Directive How to detect adverse health effects and how to report them The possibility of transient symptoms and sensations related to effects in the central nervous system The circumstances in which workers are entitled to health surveillance Safe working practices to minimise risks resulting from exposure Workers at particular risk

13 Engineering controls; shielding

14 Case study; glue drying MHz 1600% of AL

15 Case study; glue drying Red Line Time averaging misunderstood

16 Case study; induction heating High power Operator close to source Not obvious to the user there may be an EMF safety issue

17 Case study; induction heating Frequency 16 khz (plus any harmonic content) so weighted peak measurement required Recorded 140% of the Limb AL & 120% of the AL at head height Reduced to 53% of the Limb AL after moving equipment handle Potential for problems with operators with medical devices

18 Case study; single phase resistance welding Frequency 50Hz plus big harmonic contribution so weighted peak measurement required

19 Case study; single phase resistance welding Recorded 601%, 413%, 241% and 99.36% of the AL at four different machines in the location of the operators head/torso Significant reduction could be achieved by changing the position of the operator May need to prove compliance with ELVs by computer modelling

20 Case study; Hand held NDT Relatively high localised field Procedure & training for workers at particular risk

21 Case study; NDT Operator with replacement hip 204% of ICNIRP GP

22 Summary Organisations need; an EMF risk assessment - excellent information in the Practical Guide an EMF safety policy - but keep it simple e.g. use zoning & remember no need to re-invent the wheel someone responsible in-house

23 Any Questions?