Conformity 2008 Engineers' Reference Guide

EU Directives © Photographer: Alexander Shunkov | Agency: Dreamstime.com The EU’s Physical Agents Directive by Vic Clements he advent of a new directive limiting the exposure of workers to electromagnetic fields will present significant challenges both to employers in the European Union (EU) and to suppliers of equipment into the EU that generates and uses RF energy. “Directive 2004/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 29th April 2004 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields),” more commonly referred to as the Electromagnetic Fields or EMF Directive, seeks to protect workers who in their vocational activities may be exposed to electromagnetic fields by quantifying minimum acceptable exposure levels and limits in the workplace. Originally published in April 2004, its essential requirements must be implemented into law by each EU member state by not later than April 30, 2008. The EMF Directive is derived under Council Directive 89/391/ EEC which came into force on June 12, 1989, and enabled the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work. Article 16(1) states that “the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission based on Article 118a of the Treaty, shall adopt individual directives inter alia.” This means that, as new risks evolve in the workplace, new directives can be introduced to protect workers. 228 Conformity 2008 AnnuAl guide T The EMF Directive is the 18th of these so-called “Physical Agents” directives, and sits alongside others such as 2003/10/ EC (Noise), 2002/44/EC (Vibration), and 2006/25/EC (Artificial Optical Radiation) Who Has Responsibilities Under the Directive? The EMF Directive is mandatory and applies to all employers within the EU without exception and irrespective of the number of employees. Although the employer has the responsibility to ensure compliance with the Directive, it is likely that the repercussions will also be felt by suppliers of devices containing RF sources. Exposure Requirements The minimum requirements for occupational exposure as defined in the EMF Directive are expressed in terms of Exposure Limit Values and Action Values, and a full list of the values is given in tables set out in the Annex to the Directive. These values define what are currently considered to be acceptable occupational exposure levels to electromagnetic fields over the broad frequency range from dc to 300GHz, and are based on known health and biological effects in the human body caused by the circulation of induced currents, direct energy absorption, and effects of contact currents. The EMF Directive does not address the risks resulting from contact with live conductors, nor does it address

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Conformity 2008 Engineers' Reference Guide

Conformity Engineers' Reference Guide 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor 2007: The Year in Review Company Profiles EMC Requirements for ITE A List of EMC Directive Standards Automotive EMC Standards Standards for Medical Devices EMI Issues in Manufacturing Using Field Probes as EMI Diagnostic Tools Meeting DFS Testing Requirements Selecting an Independent Testing Laboratory Filters PCBs Enclosures Antennas Anechoic Chambers Gaskets Spectrum Analyzers Compliance Software Product Safety SAR Standards Expansion Continues Update on China's CCC Compliance Program Machinery Field Evaluation ESD An Annual Progress Report on ESD Standards An Update on IEC 61000-4-2 Automotive ESD Testing Handling Class O ESDS Devices Telecom Part 68 DSL Interoperability Testing RoHS An Update on RoHS Regulations EU Directives The EU's Physical Agents Directive Buyer's Guide Consultants and Services Product Spotlights Catalog Spotlights Product Directory Vendor Directory Advertisers Index

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