{"id":5031,"date":"2021-08-22T14:24:07","date_gmt":"2021-08-22T19:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emfsurvey.com\/?page_id=5031"},"modified":"2024-03-03T20:56:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T02:56:29","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/emfsurvey.com\/faq\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"

EMF Testing EMI Testing \/ RF Radiation Safety Consulting Commercial \/ Industrial EMF Survey & FAQ Reference Page<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

\"ScanTech<\/a><\/h3>\n

CALL OR TEXT to 214.912.4691<\/a> (24 \/ 7 texts)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a commercial EMF \/ EMI testing and consulting quote, (I do not render services in the residential market) please include the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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1) Physical address of the facility and layout including rough square footage involved (Scope of Work)<\/p>\n

2) Contact information including email, best phone number(s) including a cell number<\/p>\n

3) Company name and the nature of your business \/ industry<\/p>\n

4) Examples and placement of the kinds of equipment \/ electrical infrastructure used that employs high voltage, high current and inversion \/ conversion \/ rectification (AC-DC or DC-AC)<\/p>\n

5) Timeline to accomplish<\/p>\n

6) Access logistics, onsite contact information and PPE required<\/p>\n

7) What are your typical payment terms and what is your vendor vetting process like (what paperwork needs to be filled out to establish a working relationship including the NDA)<\/p>\n

8) A brief narrative as to WHY you are requiring an EMF \/ EMI field testing survey and consultation<\/p>\n

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Q. What EMF safety levels or limits for EMFs exist?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. There are many set by different countries and organizations but I prefer the guidelines set by professionally recognized safety organizations such as AGCIH and ICNIRP. The following links are only a partial list as suggested guidelines for EMF safety can shift over time and there is no agreement based on the epidemiological difficulties in establishing what is considered “safe”. However, most of the aforementioned safety organizations are in GENERAL agreement and I consider them valid.<\/p>\n

EMF & RF SAFETY LEVELS COMPARISON: PART 1<\/a><\/p>\n

EMF & RF SAFETY LEVELS COMPARISON: PART 2<\/a><\/p>\n

* Effective January 1st, 2019 ScanTech no longer performs residential testing OR consulting for homeowners and tenants – all services are COMMERCIAL ONLY. Instead I will redirect you to a page for resources to other companies and common questions – CLICK HERE.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am leaving this archived page for informational use – please disregard any statements implying or stating I still do residential work. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Q. What is EMF? \/ What are EMFs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A. EMF is an acronym for an Electromagnetic Field or in some cases, Electromotive Force which generally describes a voltage potential between two points without current flow. In most contexts, however, EMF involves both voltage and current. The main characteristics which distinguish an EMF are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Type of field such as Magnetic, Electric or an RF field in which case both the magnetic and electric fields are “coupled” or interrelated with each other.<\/li>\n
  2. The periodic nature of the field such as whether it is DC (Direct Current) or Static, AC (Alternating Current), or quasi-DC which means a slowly time varying field.<\/li>\n
  3. The amplitude or strength of the field which is measured in several different ways depending on the type as given above.<\/li>\n
  4. The frequency of the field which in the case of DC \/ Static fields is 0 Hz (Hertz) which is 0 cycles per second and 60 Hz for AC fields used in the North American Power grid. Europe uses a 50 Hz system.<\/li>\n
  5. The carrier of the EMF which is either conducted (such as through a wire or waveguide) or radiated through the air \/ space such as from an antenna which is typical for wireless applications.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    EMFs are a term used to describe a number of fields which are present just about anywhere on Earth if for any reason you have the Earth’s DC Magnetic field which averages 550 mG (milliGauss) which is a magnetic flux density unit.<\/p>\n

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    Q. What materials can shield from EMF?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    A. It depends on the field characteristics as described above but in general you can:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Electric fields are typically shielded with metal, or metal mesh, but just about any material with a dielectric constant can provide attenuation (a reduction in field strength) depending on the frequency, direction the field is coming from and the composite thickness of the shielding.<\/li>\n
    2. RF fields can also be blocked by the same materials as electric fields above, but the amount of attenuation is even more sensitive to frequency and directionality (which are related to each other) In general, the higher the frequency, the more directional it becomes. Lower RF frequencies tend to penetrate through material more readily, and high frequencies are also attenuated by water or materials containing water. (such as trees or other foliage) This is why cell phone reception can be reduced in heavily wooded areas as the RF energy is absorbed by water in the plant leaves.<\/li>\n
    3. Magnetic fields are the most difficult to shield against and usually require some kind of ferromagnetic material mixed with alloys like nickel, cobalt, etc. and in some cases are enhanced by composite layers of a paramagnetic material like aluminum. Hydrogen annealed plate is also a material used for certain applications. Also, because magnetic fields are circular \/ curved in nature, effective shielding necessitates the shape of an enclosure. This means more material and magnetic shielding is very expensive. There is also a technique known as active magnetic shielding \/ cancellation but like shielding, the cost is typically prohibitive for the residential market. (starts at $20 – 30 K+)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The distance from the EMF point source also determines how effective the shielding is as the CLOSER you can get the shielding to the EMF, the more it tends to stop.<\/p>\n

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      Q. What EMF levels are unsafe or high?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      These are actually two questions with the first one (radiation safety) easier to answer and the second asks the question: “High compared to what?”<\/p>\n

      EMF levels are not easy to define as “low” unless they (AC magnetic field, electric field) are at quasi-zero (as low as can be detected with conventional meters) which is difficult to achieve unless you are in a remote area with no electrical infrastructure. Then you could say zero is LOW compared to urban and most suburban areas. There is always a DC magnetic field due to the Earth (~550 mG) and the only way to lower that is through resculpting of the field with shielding, certain ferrous metal configurations (such as in a large office building) and active field cancellation. But why be concerned about the Earth’s field since humans have lived with it throughout written history? For now, I will defer the subject of geopathic stress for another post. Due to the number of RF transmitters on Earth, GPS & communication satellites and background RF from lightning and cosmic sources, there is theoretically no zero as long as you have a receiver \/ antenna gain setup that is sensitive enough.<\/p>\n

      As for unsafe, I would say any level which could cause malfunction through interference of important equipment, (such as medical equipment or a biomedical implant) or due to a wiring error is cause for concern. The latter being because elevated AC magnetic fields from a wiring error almost invariably indicates that someone either did not know what they were doing on installation or purposely cut corners.<\/p>\n

      What EMF levels are directly unsafe for humans? (aside from potential equipment malfunction)<\/p>\n

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      1. Any EMF field (typically RF or Radio Frequency) which could cause thermal tissue heating such as from a high powered microwave antenna<\/li>\n
      2. EMF fields (DC magnetic) which are strong enough to turn metal objects into projectiles (MRI rooms) or crush appendages by wedging force (ND 45 magnets)<\/li>\n
      3. EMF fields (Electric) which are strong enough to arc current through a human being to ground (lightning or very high voltage equipment found in substations) at close range<\/li>\n
      4. EMF fields which generate optical energy strong enough to cause eye damage such as laser beams (yes a laser beam is on the electromagnetic spectrum UV-VIS-IR range)<\/li>\n
      5. EMF fields which have enough photon energy to ionize tissue and cells (UV radiation, X-Rays, Secondary Cosmic Rays, etc.)<\/li>\n
      6. EMF photons of extremely high eV (electron Volt) energy from nuclear radiation sources such as gamma radiation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Beyond these examples and categories, what is considered high and \/ or unsafe depends on who you ask but here is a page devoted to the complexity of this question:<\/p>\n

        EMF EMI Testing Magnetic – Electric Field – RF Radiation NIRAD : PART 1<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n