Premium
ELF magnetic field exposures in an office environment
Author(s) -
Breysse Patrick,
Lees Peter S. J.,
McDiarmid Melissa Anne,
Curbow Barbara
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700250204
Subject(s) - payroll , medicine , office workers , occupational exposure , abortion , environmental health , extremely low frequency , toxicology , magnetic field , operations management , business , engineering , pregnancy , accounting , physics , quantum mechanics , biology , genetics
Potential exposures to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields were investigated in response to worker concerns about an apparent increased spontaneous abortion risk in a payroll office environment. Concern in this office centered on the use of video display terminals (VDTs), which have been investigated as a potential cause of adverse reproductive outcomes among women. In this investigation, magnetic field sources were evaluated using a hand‐held survey meter. Emdex datalogging dosimeters were also used to determine full shift personal exposures for 15 women working in the payroll area. On average, the exposures of workers to ELF magnetic fields in the payroll office area ranged from 1.0 to 6.5 mG with a mean of 3.2 /pm 1.5 mG. The results of this study indicate that many sources of ELF magnetic fields, including printers, photocopiers, and the electrical distribution system, can contribute to a worker's exposure in an office environment. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.