📡 Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Measurement

Environmental PN-T-06580

Overview

STATUS (as of 06.11.2026). PN-T-06580-3:2002 — Polish version, published on 07.10.2002, replaced PN-T-06580-03:1989 and PN-T-06582:1977; the PKN card has no note of withdrawal. Scope (PKN card): methods of measuring exposure conditions in electric and magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation 0 Hz – 300 GHz, quantities measured for assessing workers’ exposure, recommended operating conditions of sources during tests, presentation of results and content of the test report, and rules for assessing exposure on the basis of measurement results. Since 1.07.2016 the requirements for the assessment of the EM field in the work space are laid down in the regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 29.06.2016 on occupational safety and health at work involving exposure to the electromagnetic field (consolidated text Dz.U. 2018 item 331). Accreditation certificates issued before 1.07.2016 for measurements according to PN-T-06580-1 and PN-T-06580-3 authorised measurements by methods adapted to the new requirements until 31.12.2016 or until the accreditation scope was updated (§ 15). Laboratories still cite PN-T-06580-3:2002 in their accreditation scopes — usually as a “method adapted to the regulated area” with their own instruction or test procedure.

QUANTITIES (Dz.U. 2018 item 1286, Annex 2 Part E). The EM field with a frequency of 0 Hz – 300 GHz is characterised by the electric field strength E [V/m] (alternatively for f < 5 Hz — the charge induced on the body Q [C]), the magnetic field strength H [A/m] (alternatively the magnetic flux density B [T]) and the frequency f [Hz]. IPN limits apply to the maximum local values of E and H averaged over a cube with a 10 cm edge; for thermal effects in the range 100 kHz – 6 GHz the r.m.s. value is averaged over 6 minutes.

PROTECTION ZONES (Annex 2 Part E point 6). Dangerous zone: E ≥ IPNog-E or H ≥ IPNog-H (for a modulated field also the peak limits IPNm). Hazardous zone: E ≥ IPNod-E or H ≥ IPNod-H, below IPNog. Intermediate zone: E ≥ IPNp-E or H ≥ IPNp-H, below IPNod. Below IPNp — field of the safe zone (outside the protection zones). For 50 Hz from Tables 13 and 14: E field — IPNp 1 kV/m, IPNod about 3.3 kV/m, IPNob 10 kV/m, IPNog 20 kV/m; H field — IPNp 60 A/m, IPNod about 533 A/m, IPNob 1600 A/m, IPNog 3200 A/m.

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEASUREMENT (Dz.U. 2018 item 331, Annex 3 Part III). Measurements are made along measurement verticals from the accessible surface up to a height of at least 2 m; the zone of a workplace is determined by the maximum E and H values in the vertical corresponding to the body axis. Exposure of the head and trunk is typically assessed at heights of 140–180 cm and 80–120 cm. The extent of the intermediate zone is determined with a resolution not worse than ±0.5 m. The result is taken without uncertainty if the procedure has a documented standard uncertainty not worse than ±30 %; assessment uses recommended methods published in the quarterly “Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy” and validated experimentally (among others the influence of persons and of the instrument on the field, repeatability, meter response versus frequency and strength, calibration uncertainty, environmental conditions, electromagnetic immunity of the meter).

FREQUENCY OF MEASUREMENTS (Dz.U. 2025 item 949, § 11). At least once every two years if the last measurement found only the intermediate zone; at least once a year — if it also found the hazardous zone or the hazardous and dangerous zones. If in the last two measurements taken two years apart no protection zones were found, the employer may discontinue the measurements.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE HERE. We do not have the text of PN-T-06580-3:2002 — the description is based on regulations. We do not give the full tables of IPN limits for other frequencies (Tables 13 and 14 of the regulation), averaging times for particular meters or probe parameters — they depend on the recommended method and the instrument.

Method principle

The electric field strength E [V/m] and magnetic field strength H [A/m] are measured with isotropic probes along measurement verticals around field sources, in the space where workers are present. The result at a point is the local value averaged over a cube with a 10 cm edge, and for a workplace — the maximum in the vertical corresponding to the body axis. The results are compared with frequency-dependent IPN limits and the extents of the protection zones — intermediate, hazardous and dangerous — are determined.

Applications

• Determination of the extent of EM field protection zones in the work space around field sources (Dz.U. 2018 item 331)
• Periodic tests and measurements of the EM field — every 2 years (intermediate zone only) or every year (hazardous or dangerous zone) — Dz.U. 2025 item 949, § 11
• Assessment of the exposure index W and of the temporariness of exposure in the space of the hazardous zone (Dz.U. 2018 item 331, Annex 3)
• Basis for selecting protective measures and marking protection zones and for taking account of specially protected persons (pregnant women, juveniles, users of medical implants)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-T-06580-3:2002

Title (PL)

Ochrona pracy w polach i promieniowaniu elektromagnetycznym o częstotliwości od 0 Hz do 300 GHz — Część 3: Metody pomiaru i oceny pola na stanowisku pracy

Title (EN)

Protection of work in electromagnetic fields and radiation from 0 Hz to 300 GHz — Part 3: Methods of measurement and assessment of fields in the workplace

Step-by-step procedure

1. Identification of sources

   Identification of EM field sources in the work space, their frequencies and conditions of use; identification of the field characteristics in the time domain by measurement.

2. Selection of method and instrument

   Recommended method appropriate to the field (quarterly “Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy”), meter calibrated in the frequency range of the source.

3. Measurement verticals

   Measurements along verticals from the accessible surface up to at least 2 m; in the vertical corresponding to the body axis — the maximum E and H determines the zone of the workplace.

4. Measurement of E and H

   Local value averaged over a cube with a 10 cm edge; near metal objects E = 3E₁ − 2E₂ from measurements at a distance of 10 and 20 cm (H analogously).

5. Extent of the intermediate zone

   Distances from the source at which the highest results in the verticals correspond to IPNp-E or IPNp-H (the larger extent), with a resolution not worse than ±0.5 m; check whether hazardous or dangerous zones occur.

6. Assessment in the hazardous zone

   In the service space — distribution of exposure: extents of the hazardous and dangerous zones, exposure of the head (typically 140–180 cm) and trunk (80–120 cm), of the limbs and the exposure index W.

7. Documentation

   Results, extents of protection zones, exposure assessment; date of the next measurement according to § 11 of the regulation on tests and measurements of harmful factors.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Staying in the dangerous zone is prohibited in everyday practice; in the hazardous and intermediate zones — admissible provided protective measures are applied (Dz.U. 2018 item 331, Annex 3 Part I)
• Specially protected persons — pregnant women, juveniles, users of active or passive medical implants — are subject to restrictions on staying in the field of protection zones
• Work during measurements of the EM field in the work space counts as “use of an EM field source” within the meaning of the regulation — the persons measuring are covered by the same requirements and protective measures

Frequently asked questions