Safety and health at work: exposure of workers to electromagnetic fields

The Council took note of information given by the Danish Presidency on the outcome of a technical seminar that it organised in Luxembourg on 20 September. The aim of this seminar was to establish whether there is enough scientific evidence of potential risks to the health and safety of workers when exposed to electromagnetic fields and waves to justify legislative measures. The seminar showed that there was agreement on a number of potentially acute health effects resulting from exposure to powerful, low-frequency electromagnetic field and waves, as well as to sources of radio and microwave frequencies. The Danish Presidency intends to continue work, in close co-operation with the forthcoming Greek Presidency and the Commission, on the preparation of a new text for a Directive on minimum requirements for safety and health regarding workers' exposure to electromagnetic fields and waves. This will follow the model of the two previous texts on vibration and noise (the former adopted in June 2002, the latter currently in conciliation with the European Parliament).�