EMF COMP
RF Assessments
EMFcomp are the UK’s leading experts in radiofrequency or RF assessments.
Antennas, phone masts, radar, transmitters: if it radiates radiofrequency (RF) energy, we can assess it. We measure RF emissions and check compliance with the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work (CEMFAW) Regulations 2016, the ICNIRP guidelines and PD CLC/TR 50427, the standard for assessing whether radio-frequency radiation could ignite a flammable atmosphere. We work across many sectors to protect workforces, and sites, from RF hazards. Where there is a problem, we tell you exactly what to do: the mitigation measures needed to meet every relevant EMF regulation and industry standard. Get in touch today for your free RF safety consultation.
RF Hazard Assessments
Antennas on rooftops, towers or inside buildings produce RF fields strong enough, close up, to harm the people working near them. The same fields can interfere with cardiac devices such as pacemakers and ICDs (implanted defibrillators) and, on sites handling gas, fuel or solvents, can ignite a flammable atmosphere. Leave RF unassessed and you risk your workforce’s health, and HSE action against you as the employer.
Every employer must assess EMF risks, and with five or more employees the assessment must be recorded. The question to answer is simple: how does your people’s RF exposure compare with the limits in the EMF Regulations and ICNIRP guidelines? A chartered RF specialist from EMFcomp will survey your high frequency sources, give you the numbers and tell you plainly whether you comply. You receive an RF assessment report that will stand up in front of any regulator, client or authority.
Providing the UK’s Leading RF Compliance Services
RF safety is largely unregulated, and unqualified consultants are easy to find. Choose a poor one and the duty and liability under health and safety law stay with you (the consultant may share liability for an offence caused by their act or omission, but that will be little comfort).
We measure RF emissions from 10 MHz to 60 GHz, and non-ionising radiation as a whole from 0 Hz to 60 GHz, so one visit can cover everything on your site. We have worked in RF assessment for decades and can call on a wide network of experts when a project needs it. EMFcomp is SafeContractor accredited and an Affiliate of the Society for Radiological Protection. You can be confident you are getting an RF assessment of the highest quality, from award-winning specialists.
Space Science
Our RF modelling and measurement methods grew out of space science, and earned EMFcomp a place in the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC). We completed the programme, and the advanced RF techniques developed there are now available for your project. RF welding equipment, antennas, RF heat sealers, transmitters near a gas site: whatever the source, we can help. Please get in touch. We would be delighted to hear from you.
Frequently Asked Questions
01What Are the Hazards Associated with RF Fields?
Strong RF fields heat the body. Close to an antenna or other powerful source, that can mean heat stress, hyperthermia and, in some conditions, RF burns. RF can also interfere with active implanted devices such as cardiac pacemakers, ICDs and insulin pumps, and heat metal implants such as pins, rods, stents and shunts. On sites with flammable atmospheres, RF energy picked up by metal structures can cause a spark, which is the hazard PD CLC/TR 50427 addresses.
02What Is the Legal Situation?
The Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016 (CEMFAW) set limits below which the harmful effects of RF exposure do not occur. Employers in every sector must assess their employees’ RF exposure against those limits, and those with five or more employees must record the RF risk assessment. Where levels are too high, exposure has to be reduced, usually by marking out RF safety exclusion zones. Separately, Ofcom requires licensed transmitters to keep public exposure within the ICNIRP limits, and sites with flammable atmospheres must manage ignition sources, RF included, under DSEAR.
03Who Can Carry Out an EMF Assessment?
UK legislation expects EMF assessments, RF measurement and SAR modelling to be planned and carried out by someone competent, and kept up to date. EMFcomp Limited’s RF work is led by a Chartered Radiation Protection Professional, and we have an excellent track record of helping companies, large and small, achieve RF compliance with the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016.
Bring us in at any stage of your project. A chartered RF specialist will work alongside your site teams and contractors, so the RF assessment is thorough and the disruption minimal. We carry out RF radiation exposure surveys in every kind of workplace, anywhere in the UK and overseas, and take RF measurements where and when it suits you. You have full visibility of the work throughout, with updates and progress reports whenever you want them. And if a question comes up during or after the RF survey, you get a prompt, detailed answer from the expert who did the measuring
