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News Release from: National Physical Laboratory | Subject: EMF radiation safety calibration service
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 March 2007
EMF radiation safety calibration service
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has launched a calibration service to help UK businesses comply with the EMF radiation safety directive.
In April 2008, an EMF radiation safety directive to protect employees in the workplace will become law in the UK Non-ionising radiation hazard monitors, used to assess health risks from radar installations, do not always provide accurate readings and can read up to ten times higher than they should when used
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 30 May 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has launched a unique calibration service to help UK businesses comply with the directive by ensuring that hazard monitors provide consistent and accurate readings.
The Directive defines maximum levels for occupational exposure in terms of average and peak power densities.
Findings from a recent DTI funded RandD contract showed that many commercially available monitors are likely to read up to ten times higher than they should when calibrated using conventional methods and subsequently used to measure fields from radars.
The exact magnitude of the error depends on the pulse width and repetition frequency and for very low duty cycles the monitor can also read lower than it should.
Provided the pulse parameters are known NPL can provide corrections which could mean the difference between compliance and non-compliance with the Directive which is due to become law in the UK after April 2008.
The accuracy of risk assessments can be further degraded by continuously scanning radar beams.
NPL can provide additional corrections for the desensitisation factor of up to 100 that occurs when the monitor is illuminated only for short periods.
Typical peak power densities of 8 kW/m2 can be generated over the frequency range 2.5 to 18 GHz with pulse duty cycles from 0.05 to 4%.
The new measurement service together with NPL's existing capabilities for continuous wave power flux density and field strength calibrations covering the frequency range 10 Hz to 45.5 GHz, provides a comprehensive measurement solution to meet the requirements of the new EMF Directive (2004/40/EC), the Low Voltage Directive (EN50366) and the EMC Directive (IEC 61000-4-3).
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