nonionradsign
Non-ionising radiation includes ultraviolet, visible light, infrared and radiofrequency radiation

Non-ionising radiation

Radiation that does not have sufficient energy to produce ionisation in matter e.g. ultraviolet, visible light, infrared and radiofrequency radiation. The health hazards of NIR are very wave length dependant.

The use of lasers in the workplace will come under this section.

There is currently no specific legislation in this sector except for the general health & safety regulation under the Health & Safety Act 1974 and the Management Regulations 1999.

New legislation is being enacted as follows;

  • Physical Agents (EMF) Directive – applies from 30 April 2012
  • Physical Agents (Optical Radiation) Directive – applies from 27 April 2010.
  • The Optical Radiation Directive covers ultraviolet, infrared and visible light, but only from artificial sources i.e. lasers are included in this Directive.

In this section: