Exposure of workers in the electric power industry to electric and magnetic fields

A survey of 50 Hz electric and magnetic fields in the electric power industry has distinguished differences in exposure among the employees making it possible to compare health effects as a function of exposure. The workers that were most exposed to electric and magnetic fields were linemen and substation personnel who worked on facilities at operating voltages above 20 kV. On average, they were exposed to an electric field strength above 30 V/m for approximately 1.5 to 3 hours per day and to a magnetic flux density of around 1 to 2 microT. The least exposed group were linemen working in the 0.4 to 20 kV part of the network with exposure to a magnetic field of 0.10 microT. The electric field seldom exceeded 30 V/m.