Osh Risk Evaluation Within Agro-Industrial Plants: the Case of an Olive Mil

Abstract

The risk related to the presence of low frequency electromagnetic fields can be a serious OSH risk within different kind of agro-industrial plants. In this paper, an experimental analysis aimed at measuring electromagnetic fields in the productive areas of an olive mill recently built in the Bari district was accomplished. The analysis’ main goal was to assess the workers’ health risk level due to the presence of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (30 ÷ 300 Hz) mainly due to the presence of electrical distribution lines and electric motors operating at a frequency of 50 Hz with reference to a specific type of processing plants, widely spread in the Apulia region. A first analysis of the spatial layout of the electric machine was carried out, referring to their duty cycles and to workers’ tasks (taking into particular account the working places) identifying 12 most significant points in which the measurements of effective value of the electrical and magnetic field would have been carried out. Effective values of the electric field (ERMS) as well as effective values of the magnetic induction field (BRMS) measured in each testing point, were both significantly lower than the limit values required by law. Peak values of both the electric field (Epeak) and the magnetic induction field (Bpeak) measured in the different testing points at the frequency of 50Hz, were lower than the corresponding effective values ERMS and BRMS. The results of the tests highlight that, inside the analysed olive mill, in the period of its maximum productivity, risks for the workers’ health related to their exposure to low frequency electric and magnetic fields are not relevant.