New EMF safety limits for occupational and public exposure in Poland.

On July 23, 2001, new safety limits for occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) were introduced in Poland. The limits have been based on the analysis of international recommendations, e.g., ICNIRP (1998), WHO (1998), IEEE standard (1999), drafts of European standards (ENV 1995), and a critical review of the world literature on the biological effects of EMF and health effects of exposure to EMF. Derived from safety limits for occupational exposure, new safety exposure limits for general population were introduced on November 28, 2003. In this paper mandatory procedures for setting limits of exposure to agents harmful to health in the workplace and natural environment are presented. The most essential provisions of two regulations, one issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and the other by the Minister of the Environment, forming the basis of the modern system of EMF exposure control in Poland, are also discussed.