Occupational exposure to ELF-MF: Comparison of exposure levels measured in different jobs and the action level provided by the EU Directive 2004/40/CE

The Directive 2004/40/EC introduces Action values for the prevention of occupational risk related to Extremely Low Frequency-Magnetic Fields (ELF-MF) exposure. We measured exposure in workers engaged in some of the most common occupational tasks in the area of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and compared the results with the 2004/40/EC Action values. Using personal dosimeters worn during two complete work-shifts, we monitored individual exposure to ELF-MF in 404 workers employed in more than 120 different jobs. In the whole sample the mean of individual Time Weighted Average (TWA) exposure resulted 0.78 ± 3.82 μT, while the median was 0.13 μT, and the 5th-95th percentiles 0.04 - 2.48. The Action value for ELF-MF was never exceeded. Exposure was lower than 0.4 μT in more than 80% of the workers. For each task we calculated the "mean job related exposure (JRE)" as the mean of individual TWA of all workers engaged in that job: in the 91% of the examined tasks exposure was lower than 0.4 μT. JRE levels exceeded 0.4 μT in 11 tasks, mainly in tile production and in wood industry. Our results suggest an exposure to ELF-MF largely lower than the proposed Action level in the large majority of the workers.