COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz), 1999/519/EC
What it does
In 1999 the EU created a Recommendation on public exposure. The values in it are taken directly from ICNIRP 1998. It recommends that Member States introduce these limits for public exposure with certain provisos:
- taking account of the costs and benefits
- where the time of exposure is significant
As the name suggests, it is not binding. The UK and several other European countries have in fact complied. The EU have published a report on implementation of the Recommendation.
The values
The values in the Recommendation are identical to ICNIRP. For 50 Hz the basic restriction is 2 mA m-2 and the reference levels are 100 μT and 5 kV m-1 (see here for the values at 60 Hz). The reference levels deliberately have a margin; the fields that actually correspond to the basic restriction are 360 μT and 9 kV m-1 more on how these limits are calculated
Where they apply
The Recommendation specifies that Member States should:
“II. (b) implement measures according to this framework……when the time of exposure is significant….. “
“III (c) may take into account criteria, where appropriate, such as duration of the exposure…..”
The preamble states:
“(9) This recommendation …..applies, in particular, to relevant areas where members of the public spend significant time in relation to the effects covered by this recommendation;”