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Shielding Your Office from Magnetic Fields?

Posted by Cliff on from the protecting-yourself-from-spontaneous-EMP-attacks dept.

jonfromspace asks: "We just recently moved into our shiny new office, and low and behold, we have a problem. It seems that there are 3 50HP "Chillers" beneath our office, and whenever they fire up, an entire 1/4 of our office gets filled with this crazy magnetic feild! We tested this theory by placing a box and a monitor on a chair, and moving it around the office. As we entered our Bermuda Triangle, the tell tale signs of magnetic interference appeared on the monitor (Rainbows, Moirre patters, etc.) This field has caused 2 RAM Dimms, 1 HD, and 1 Mainboard to fail in less than a week. We currently have our entire staff on one side of the office, and we need to solve this quick! Does anyone know of a way to shield our office? The Electrician we asked suggested placing a large steel plate on the floor of our office and grounding it to the pipes. Is this a viable solution? Are there companyies that deal with this kind of problem?"

4 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Might be an OSHA or some such violation by scotpurl · · Score: 4

    There's limits on what strengths of magnetic fields you can be exposed to. Call OSHA (occupational and health folks), or even one of the local labour unions. Someone will be able to look it up in a manual, and track down the correct inspector who can gauge field strenghts with an expensive gadget.

    Meantime, be afraid. Or at least cautious.

    Cautious beats dead/cancerous any day.

  2. Some URLs.... by scotpurl · · Score: 4

    http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/factsheets/emf/emf.htm
    from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

    http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/elfradiation/index. html OSHA's page on ELF radiation.

    NOTE, one of the links is titled, "Possible Association of EMF and Suicide. News Release No. 147, University of North Carolina, (2000, March 15), 1 page. Press release from a large and detailed positive study of the possible link between exposure to low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and suicide among electric utility workers. "

  3. Two words.. by technos · · Score: 4

    Tinfoil hats.

    Not only do they protect the most sensitive organ in your body, the brain, they protect you from the alien mind-control satellites and they muffle the transmission from the secret spy transmitter the NSA had installed in one of your molars.

    I suggest lining a baseball cap with the tinfoil. I do, and it saves me a lot of stares and comments. I think the aliens have caught on to the source of immunity, the hat, and have programmed their drone minions to ostracize me into taking it off.

    --
    .sig: Now legally binding!
  4. Same Problem Here -- Way Expensive to Fix by InitZero · · Score: 4

    For the last 24 years, we've had green-screen mainframe terminals and all was right with the world. About a year ago, we phased out the mainframe and installed PCs with lovely 21" NEC monitors. Everyone in one area of the building complained about horrible flicker and the investigation started.

    It turns out that the department was over the electrical vault. Several times the acceptable limit was coming up through the eight-inch thick concrete floor. Needless to say, many jokes were made about low sperm count. Then people started to get worried. (First the people in that area then our corporate lawyers.)

    Many ideas were floated. The easiest way would to have been to place a three-quarter-inch thick piece of lead on all the vault walls. (I say all because the folks on either side of the vault on the first floor were now also seeing problems.) This seemed like a good idea in theory.

    While lead did fix the problems in the neighboring offices, the EMF level in the room skyrocketed. There was no place the the EMF to go so it just bounced around in the room. We went from slightly over the legal level to three-headed babies. We had to take down the lead.

    Since the department in question refused to wear lead jock straps, we had to move the electrical vault to outside the building. (As is the standard now, I'm told.)

    In the end, it cost us several thousand dollars to move the vault and, more costly, two power outtages and a few weekends of load testing.

    If I were you, I'd talk to the building's property management. Ultimately, they will be the ones to fix the problem. Further, if they won't or can't fix it, I'd be looking for another building before you get too settled in.

    Even if the EMF is within legal limits, a flickering screen is a hazzard to worker productivity. If a worker comes down with a bad headache, you're looking at a law suite. If a woman has a child with any birth defects even ones that could not possibly be caused be EMF, the company will be sued out of existance.

    InitZero