EMF directive faces delay

Unions have reacted angrily to attempts by the European Commission to delay important new laws protecting workers from electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

Last month, the Commission requested a four-year extension to the deadline for member states to implement the Electromagnetic Fields Directive, which was adopted in 2004 and should have come into effect next April. The directive aims to protect workers against the harmful short-term effects of exposure to EMFs in the workplace, but the Commission says that implementing it now would interfere with the use of technologies like magnetic resonance imaging in hospitals.

Marc Sapir, from the European TUC’s research institute ETUI-REHS, said the Commission’s move was “unprecedented”. He added: “Postponing the directive, which applies far beyond the health sector, will leave millions of workers unnecessarily exposed to high doses of electromagnetic radiation and will cause indefensible delays in the taking of preventive measures, as well as training and information for the workers concerned.”