ENG and SNG maintenance personnel take note: The biggest potential danger you may face is a waveguide leak that can cause a variety of eye ailments, including loss of night vision, the inability to distinguish colors and cataracts.
That’s one of the many points Richard Strickland, RF safety consultant and founder of RF Safety Solutions, will be sharing with those attending the next Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE)-sponsored RF Safety Course, Feb. 7, from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. Besides ENG and SNG maintenance engineers, the online course is designed for chief and assistant chief engineers, transmitter site engineers and management personnel that need an understanding of RF safety.
As for waveguide leaks, even a three- to four-minute exposure — particularly if the transmission system is analog running at 300W (energy levels for digital transmissions may be lower) — can subject someone to 10 to 50 times the occupational limits, Strickland said. Ten times the limit has been proven to be sufficient to cause cataracts, he added.
During the online SBE course, the fifth held to date, Strickland will present an overview of issues related to RF and ionizing radiation, FCC and Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and workplace hazards.
For more information, visit www.sbe.org.
