Computer display radiation and OSHA standards

January 19, 2000

Ms. Darlene Dreamer

Quality Administrative Assistant

c/o Voss Industries, Inc.

[Recipient address omitted]

Dear Ms. Dreamer:

Thank you for your December 10, 1999, letter addressed to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). You requested information regarding the potential health effects of very low radiation emission from computers.

Computers, also referred to as video display terminals (VDTs), emit a radio frequency and an extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field, however there is no conclusive evidence that these low levels of radiation emitted from VDTs pose a health risk to VDT operators. OSHA does not currently have a standard relating to extra-low or very-low frequency emission of radiation. As you may know, the only OSHA health-related standard that currently addresses radiation is the Ionizing Radiation Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1096. It includes protection from such radiation sources as x-rays, gamma rays, and other high speed atomic particles, which would not apply to your personal work environment. We have enclosed a copy of OSHA Publication No. 3092, Working Safely with Video Display Terminals for your review. [The enclosure is not reproduced on OSHA’s page.]

If you wish to explore this topic further, you may contact OSHA's Technical Data Center at (202) 693-2350. Another resource that you may find useful is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Their toll-free phone number is 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674). They publish a booklet similar to ours, NIOSH Publications on Video Display Terminals.

We hope that this information is useful to you. Thank you for your interest in worker safety and health. If you have any further questions, please contact the [Office of Health Enforcement at (202) 693-2190].

Sincerely,

Richard E. Fairfax, Director

[Directorate of Enforcement Programs]

[Corrected 6/2/2005]