Approach on the Evaluation of Exposure to Low Frequency Electric Fields

Alexandru Salceanu, Maria Magdalena Poenaru, Mirela-Adelaida Anghel, Marius Paulet

Abstract

Since July 1, 2016 the Directive 2013/35 / EU on the protection of human health against the effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, acquires the force of law. As regards low frequency exposure assessment, it requires a clearly different treatment of electric and respectively magnetic fields, from all the important perspectives: sensors, measuring techniques, biological effects and methods of protection. In this paper we propose a methodology accessible (both for SME employers and for a regulatory and/or control authority at the beginning of its activity) for the characterization of a workspace, in terms of exposure to low-frequency electric fields. After a review of the main sources of such fields, we have done a comparative summary of the exposure levels considered acceptable by the leading global institutions involved in this domain (ICNIRP, IEEE, WHO). We have presented our artisanal electric field sensor, the low-frequency handheld spectrum analyzer, spatial and temporal averaging techniques, methods for summarizing the fields and harmonics of different frequencies and specific uncertainties that should be considered. Finally we have presented a case study on the assessment of exposure to low frequency electric fields produced in a laboratory room where a network of 16 computers was working.

Keywords

Directive 2013/35/EU, low frequency electric fields, exposure

Download

IMEKO-TC4-2016-07.pdf

DOI

-

IMEKO TC

TC4 - Measurement of Electrical Quantities

Back to the proceedings