Welcome to Safety Watch, a newsletter that provides an update on current loss-control regulatory and technical issues.

CONTENTS

NATLSCO (cover page)

OSHA’s new Cold Stress Card offers tips to protect outdoor workers

Have you followed all of OSHA's Noise Standard requirements?

These tips will help you avoid employee apathy during training

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Pacemakers and magnetic fields shouldn’t mix

by Tim Stauder, MSPH, CIH

Most people have probably seen signs in workplaces advising people with cardiac pacemakers that microwave radiation is present.

The Medical Device Report (MDR) database maintained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reveals important information about electromagnetic interference (EMI) that employers should be aware of if they have employees with cardiac pacemakers.

In the MDR database, there are reports of people with pacemakers that were found in the “inactive” or “monitor only” mode — conditions in which the pacemaker provides no therapy to the patient.

These patients reported being in the vicinity of magnetic fields or using electrical equipment. Magnetic fields were listed as possible sources of EMI.

For employers that have employee(s) with cardiac pacemakers, it’s a good idea to obtain specific information about known interferences from the pacemaker manufacturer.

An inventory of electrical equipment should then be compiled that can be compared to the manufacturer’s information.

In the absence of specific manufacturer information, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) publishes guidelines about maximum electric and magnetic field strength to which employees with cardiac pacemakers should be exposed.

Guidelines are published for static magnetic fields and magnetic and electric fields in the 60 hertz range.

Once the source inventory is compiled, field strength measurements may be collected to identify work areas that are of concern for employees with cardiac pacemakers.

If you would like more information about the evaluation of electric and magnetic field strength, please contact:

Jeff Milosch, CIH
Natlsco Risk and Safety Consulting
Phone: (888) 576-7522, ext. 3725
Fax: (847) 726-3349
E-mail: jmilosch@us.bureauveritas.com