Personnel Effects of Microwave Radiation

OSHA (U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety, and Health Administration - Standard 29CFR 1910.97) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute - Standard C95.1-1999) are the only major national organizations with voluntary guidelines for safe limits of occupational microwave radiation exposure.

The ANSI recommendation is the more stringent of the two guidelines. Conservatively expressed, it states that a worker should not be exposed to microwave radiation levels in excess of 8 mW/cm2 on a continuous basis at 2.45 GHz. It allows for short-term exposure to much higher levels by stating that over a six-minute period the average

power density to which a worker is exposed to microwave radiation should not exceed 8 mW/cm2.

Microwave radiation is considered a non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, which is not known to produce genetic damage. The primary effect of this energy is to simply raise the temperature of a body which absorbs it. For example, 5 mW/cm2 will raise 1

ccof water 0.07o C in one minute. If the average worker were exposed to this energy level continuously, he would absorb about 30 watts over his whole body. At rest, the body dissipates about 100 watts. Therefore, this additional heat load is considered safe,

although we do not recommend continuous exposure to levels anywhere near 5 mW/cm2.

Fusion UV Systems equipment normally produces low level leakage well below 8mW/cm2 in the work environment. If a microwave survey meter is used, one should read levels well below 1 mW/cm2 where personnel are likely to be continuously exposed. When a lamp is started, leakage levels may increase by a factor of two or three for the few seconds it takes to start and couple energy to the bulb. This is considered safe due to the requirement to average under 8 mW/cm2 over a six-minute period.

Radio Interference

Fusion UV lamps are classified as non-consumer industrial, scientific and medical equipment, as defined in Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Rules and Regulations Volume 47, Part 18. As required by these rules, Fusion UV Systems verifies that their systems are capable of compliance with applicable technical standards governing radiated emissions when the equipment is properly maintained and is installed in an appropriate light shield.

Fusion lamps operate at a fundamental frequency of 2.45 GHz. The unit may cause interference with some local area networks (LANs) that also operate at this frequency. Please check with your LAN manufacturer for compatibility.

Installation, Operation, and Maintenance Manual # 509252 Rev R

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