Radio Frequency Burns in the Power System Workplace

Power system workers may be simultaneously in contact with a metallic object and exposed to power frequency electromagnetic fields or radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic field from nearby sources such as AM broadcast antennas. Under these conditions, the person may experience either a shock or an intense heating of the tissue near the point of contact (i.e., an RF burn). Here, 50/60 Hz shocks and RF burns are compared and models developed to predict RF current at the point of contact with a metallic object and the resulting heating (and burning) of the tissue. Electric field levels at which RF burns can occur are often significantly less than the maximum permissible exposure in the most widely used RF safety standards. The conditions for which these burns occur are common and are discussed in detail.