Standards and Recommendations Electromagnetic Field Exposure

Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines:

No Concern	Slight Concern	Considerable Concern	Significant Concern
AC Electric Fields
<1 V/m with ground potential	1-5 V/m	5-50 V/m	>50 V/m
<0.3 V/m without ground	0.3-1.5 V/m	1.5-10 V/m	>10 V/m
<10 mV body voltage	10-100 mV	100-1000 mV	>1000 mV
AC Magnetic Fields
<20 nT (<0.2 mG)	20-100 nT (0.2-1 mG)	100-500 nT (1-5 mG)	>500 nT (>5 mG)
Radio-frequency Radiation
<0.1 µW/m²	0.1-10 µW/m²	10-1000 µW/m²	>1000 µW/m²
Static Electric Fields
<100 V surface potential	100-500 V	500-2000 V	>2000 V
Static Magnetic Fields
<2° compass deviation	2-10°	10-100°	>100°
<1 µT steel deviation	1-5 µT	5-20 µT	>20 µT
<1 µT DC current fluctuation	1-2 µT	2-10 µT	>10 µT
Radioactivity
Equivalent dose rate increase <50% [e.g. 100 nSv/h baseline]	50-70% [150-170 nSv/h]	70-100% [170-200 nSv/h]	>100% [>200 nSv/h]
<30 Bq/m3 radon (<0.8 pCi/l) radon	30-60 Bq/m3 (0.8-1.6 pCi/l)	60-200 Bq/m3 (1.6-5.4 pCi/l)	>200 Bq/m3 (>5.4 pCi/l)

For more details see Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines SBM-2008 by Bauiologie MAES & Partner and IBN.

BioInitiative Report: Section 17

A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields

IEEE Standard for Safety Levels C95.6
based on immediate biological effects at 50/60 Hz for general public

ELECTRIC FIELD (V/m) MAGNETIC FIELD (mT)

Brain .006 @20Hz

Heart .943 @167Hz

Whole Body 5000

Head & Torso 18.1/frequency

More info: EPRI Comments on the IEEE Standard for Safety Levels With Respect to Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields, 0 to 3 kHz although outdated (2002)

Transmission Line EMF Standards and Guidelines in the US

State

ELECTRIC FIELD

MAGNETIC FIELD

w/i R.O.W.

Edge of R.O.W.

Florida

8 kV/m*

2 kV/m

150 mG* (max. load)

10 kV/m**

200 mG** (max. load)

250 mG*** (max. load)

Minnesota

8 kV/m

Montana

7 kV/m+

1 kV/m

New Jersey

3 kV/m

New York

11.8 kV/m

1.6 kV/m

200 mG (max. load)

11 kV/m++

7 kV/m+

Oregon

9 kV/m

* For lines of 69-230 kV.
** For 500-kV lines.
*** For 500-kV lines on certain existing R.O.W.
+ Maximum for highway crossings.
++ Maximum for private road crossings.
R.O.W. = right-of-way.

The Swedish Computer Monitor Standards

Sweden offers two measurement and emission guidelines for computers monitors:

The first, known as MPR II, prescribes limits on electric and magnetic field emissions in the ELF and VLF ranges, as well as the static field.

A more recent and more restrictive standard, promoted by the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO), addresses the entire computer. In addition to field emissions, TCO '95 includes guidelines for energy consumption, screen flicker, luminance and keyboard use.

Frequency Range

MPR II

TCO '95

Electric Fields:

DC: Static Field

+/-500 V

ELF: 5 Hz - 2 KHz (Band I)

up to 25 V/m

up to 10 V/m

VLF: 2 KHz - 400 KHz (Band II)

up to 2.5 V/m

up to 1 V/m

Magnetic Fields:

ELF: 5 Hz - 2 KHz (Band I)

up to 2.5 mG

up to 2.0 mG

VLF: 2 KHz - 400 KHz (Band II)

up to .25 mG

MPR II measurements are taken at a distance of 50 cm (approximately 20 inches) at 16 points around the monitor, at 3 different levels.

TCO measurements are taken at a distance of 30 cm (approximately 12 inches) in front of and 50 cm around the sides of the monitor (except for Band II magnetic fields and the static field, which are measured at 50 cm in front of the screen).

Guidelines from the
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (IRPA/INIRC)

Exposure Amount
(50/60 Hz)

Electric Field

Magnetic Field

Occupational:

Whole working day:

10 kV/m

5 G (5,000 mG)

Short term: *

30 kV/m

50 G (50,000 mG)

For limbs:

250 G (250,000 mG)

General Public:

Up to 24 hours per day:

5 kV/m

1 G (1,000 mG)

Few hours per day:

10 kV/m

10 G (10,000 mG)

* For electric fields of 10-30 kV/m:
[field strength (in kV/m)] x [hours of exposure] should not exceed 80 for the whole working day.
Whole-body exposure to magnetic fields up to 2 hours per day should not exceed 50 Gauss.
Source: IRPA/INIRC 1990.

ACGIH Occupational Threshold Limit Values for 60-Hz EMF

Electric Field

Magnetic Field

Occupational exposures should not exceed 25 kV/m (from 0 Hz to 100 Hz).
Prudence dictates the use of protective devices (e.g. suits, gloves, insulation) in fields above 15 k/Vm.

Occupational exposure should not exceed 10 G (10,000 mG).

For workers with cardiac pacemakers maintain exposure at or below 1 kV/m.

For workers with cardiac pacemakers, the field should not exceed 1 G (1,000 mG).

Source: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) 1994.

Maximum Recommended Permissible RF Exposure Levels

According to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C95.1-1994

ANSI Uncontrolled refers to an environment in which the energy levels are not known, or where some people present may not be aware of the EM fields.
Controlled refers to an environment in which the energy levels can be accurately measured and everyone on the premises is aware of the presence of EM fields.

The ANSI exposure limits are the average exposure over a 6 minute period.

Notice that in the frequency range of 30 MHz to 300 MHz, the safe exposure limits are the lowest. This is the frequency range where the human body is a more efficient absorber of radiation. Notice also that the Swedish standards for computer monitors are far stricter that the ANSI standards in the low frequencies.

More Standards:

EMF WORLD WIDE STANDARDS Info from International EMF Project
Look up standards by country, all around the world

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at the University of California has published its Health & Safety Manual on the Internet. Among other things, it contains an excellent section on "Non-Ionizing Radiation and Fields". It is so comprehensive and well presented that we highly recommend a visit. It covers:
* static (dc) magnetic and electric fields;
* extremely low-frequency fields, including power-line fields at 60 Hz;
* radio-frequency (rf) fields and radiation with frequencies below 300 MHz; and
* microwave radiation with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz.

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How Much EMF Exposure is "Safe"?

Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines:

BioInitiative Report: Section 17

More Standards: