“Electromagnetic Fields” EU Directive: Test Equipment Gives Employers And Employees Full Confidence

Employers face new challenges from 2008 in demonstrating compliance with the limit values of Directive 2004/40/EC and European Standard EN 50499 Narda Safety Test Solutions (Germany) is presents a range of test equipment that meets the requirements of EU Directive 2004/40/EC and the
corresponding European Standard 50499.
On 29 April, 2004, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe
published “Directive 2004/40/EC (…) on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields)”. All EU member states are bound by Article 13 of Directive 2004/40/EC to incorporate the Directive into their respective national laws by 30th April 2008
According to Article 6, European employers are then obligated to inform their employees about the dangers and risks of electromagnetic fields in the frequency range from 0 Hz to 300 GHz. Practical instructions for demonstrating compliance with the EU limit values will be described in a
European Standard, which is already available as preliminary standard prEN 5049.
EN 50499 obligates employers to make a risk assessment for each workplace and to check regularly that the limit values are not being exceeded. Since the expected measurement methods are based on an ECC Recommendation (Electronic Communications Committee Recommendation (02)04: Measuring non-ionising electromagnetic radiation), Narda Safety Test Solutions is already in a position to offer a complete range of test equipment for demonstrating and monitoring the limit values:
Personal monitors from the “RadMan” or “Nardalert” ranges, carried simply on the person, warn of unacceptable field strengths due to high frequency radiation.
This is essential when working on or in the vicinity of transmitting equipment. Broadband test equipment such as the new Narda Broadband Field Meter NBM-550 cover the entire high frequency field situation.
So-called shaped probes automatically evaluate the field exposure
levels in accordance with human safety standard limit values. Selective test equipment like the SRM-3000 indicates the proportion of the field due to individual sources – either in terms of field strength or
directly as a percentage of the permitted limit value. Important for the industrial environment, the low frequency range field strength is indicated by magnetic field measuring equipment such as the ELT-400.
Correct results are delivered even if there are several different superimposed fields present. The Tesla Meter ETM-1 measures right down to 0 Hz as required by the EU Directive. Employers need to be certain
without having to invest huge sums and without high subsequent costs. That is why all Narda test equipment is calibrated against standards traceable to national standards. Operation is designed to ensure
measurements are quick and always give results that are reliable, verifiable and clearly documented. And the warning devices that are most often used, such as “RadMan”, only needs calibrating once every three years.