Occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields – The situation in Greece

Introduction Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) cover the biggest part of the non-ionizing spectrum (0–300 GHz) and affect not only the general public but mainly the workers. The legislative gap of occupational EMF exposure is covered by the Directive 2013/35/EU. Purpose The three years period allowed for the implementation of the Directive into national law (1.7.2016), was used by the Hellenic Ministry of Labor, in conjunction with the Non-Ionizing Radiation Office of the Greek Atomic Energy Commission, to assess and measure the occupational EMF exposure in selected workplaces where EMF levels may reach high values. Materials and methods EMF measurements in the whole spectrum covered by the Directive were performed in certain installations of the Public Power Corporation S.A., the National Railway Organization, the Piraeus Port Authority S.A., the Hellenic Radio Television, in industrial sites and in hospitals with Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems. Results Very few measurements exceed the Action Levels set by the Directive but the vast majority of them don’t even exceed the limits for the exposure of the general public. Overexposures are detected locally and are manageable through technical and organizational actions based on the principles for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Conclusion A national occupational EMF exposure database is created that forms the basis not only for the EMF exposure assessment but also for the OHS management in total. Disclosure Authors disclose that they don’t have any relationship that may bias their presentation.