Magnetic field from spot welding equipment--is the basic restriction exceeded?

A point measurement of the magnetic field (MF) near a typical spot welding machine showed that the magnetic flux density was above the ICNIRP reference level. To investigate if the basic restrictions were exceeded, the induced body currents in a full 3D human model were calculated. It was found that at an operator position of 34 cm away from the machine the maximum induced current density was below the ICNIRP basic restriction. But if the operator was closer to the machine, the basic restriction was exceeded. An important finding of the present article is that the basic restriction can be exceeded although the MF spatially averaged over the whole body is well below the reference level. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.