Is going on a Industrial visit harmful?

Hello guys, I am studying electrical engineering. I had my pacemaker implanted on july,2014. Our college has decided to go for an industrial visit. It is mainly a solar power plant. It will consist of power grid that suppllies power in MWs. Should I go in that visit? Please help guys.....

4 Comments

Check forum and Medtronics

by Theknotguy - 2014-11-08 06:11:46

Looked at your profile, see you are in India. First answer, Medtronics has information about EMF fields on their site. Address is:
http://www.medtronic.com/wcm/groups/mdtcom_sg/@mdt/@crdm/documents/documents/electromagnetic-compatibility.pdf

Other Medtronic suggestions are:
http://www.medtronic.com/patients/bradycardia/living-with/daily-living/

I've found the Medtonic's information to be on the conservative side. But then again in the good old US of A we specialize in Tort law and sue everyone for any reason so Medtronic has to be conservative.

Mostly Medtronic says to stay away from known EMF fields. Two feet is good, six inches in minimal. If you do run into a field you'll get an out-of-breath, funny-eartbeat feeling, so back out of the field until your heartbeat goes back to normal. The PM doesn't shut off, it just goes into a "test" or "maintenance" mode which means it won't do its programmed pacing. As soon as you are out of the field it will reset and go back to programmed pacing. Based upon Medtronic's information you'd have to be hugging some electric motors to get close enough to have it cause problems.

I'd let your friends and management know so they can assist you in case something happens. Of course, if you tell management they might not let you into the facility. Your call.

I have a Medtronics too. I jump started a car last February which is a no-no for PM's. I was leaning over two running engines with no problems. I was more than six inches away from running 12 volt alternators with no effects on my PM. I also volunteer in a wood shop
with all sorts of electrical equipment - no problems. I serve as a "catcher" on the table saw. It's running a 220 volt motor to power the saw - no problems. But then I'm over three feet away from the 220 volt motor.

We had some electrical people on the forum. One was working on diesel/electric locomotives that have those huge DC generators. I'm not sure what he indicated. We also had another member who worked with sintering furnaces. He said he did run into electrical fields in the
foundry - a lot. But he also indicated he could back out of the field if it affected his PM.

Your question reminds me of a problem I ran into doing computer repair. We were in a building where they brought the main electrical lines underground. These were 440 volt lines and when they made a turn to go into the electrical closet they brought the lines about two feet under the floor. That put our monitors with flyback transformers about five feet from the main lines. The electrical field would interfere with the flyback transformer in the monitor. Letters on the screen would "shake" with a 60 cycle vibration. Term for it was "video jitter". It was a known problem because bad or improperly wired flyback transformers would also produce "video jitter". The field from the 440 line was about 12 feet long and about 6 to 7 feet in circumference.

These lines were 440 volt, 60 cycle, AC. The flyback transformers were 110 volt, 60 cycle, AC. The video tube charged with about 96,000 volts DC with about 1/10 of an amp. The video tubes would produce a real nasty shock but with the low amperage they wouldn't kill you. (Got nailed a few times. Pre PM, of course.)

The way we tested the field was to roll a working monitor around on a cart, then lift it up to see where the field stopped. Not a very practical way to test an EMF field but the best we could do at the time. When the video jitter stopped we figured we were out of the field. Video jitter here, roll the cart six inches and it would stop - guess we were out of the EMF field. I didn't have a PM at the time so the EMF field had no noticeable effect on me. We checked locally and they didn't feel we had to issue a warning - but that was before PM's were as prevalent as they are now. The company turned the area into a document storage area so it minimized the number of people in the area.

I'm thinking your generating station would be producing DC voltage with large DC EMF fields.

If you or your fellow classmates could come up with a test apparatus that would indicate an EMF field that would help.

Unfortunately I can't get back into that building to tell you what kind of response I'd get from the EMF field. Post 9/11, tramping around the outside of the building where the transformers are located would probably result in a not very nice visit from the local police. I don't think they
would believe me when I told them I was, "checking my pacemaker" either. The security guard I knew isn't working at the building any longer so I don't think they'd let me go running around the inside of the building to "check my pacemaker".

You could also contact Medtronics directly and see if they would tell you what kind of EMF field would "trip" your PM. They use a magnet to check the PM's and that has to have a measurable EMF field - otherwise their readings would be all over the place and they'd have all sorts of weird effects. Knowing what EMF field would trip the PM would give you an idea of what fields you'd have to be on the lookout.

Hope my response was of some help.

It all depends on what's at the solar power plant

by Griddlebone - 2014-11-08 11:11:32

The problem with EMF, as I understand it, is the M - the magnetic fields. Generators are based on magnetic induction of an electrical current through various means but all of them require magnets to be present. Our PMs don't want to be present where there are strong magnets.

Photovoltaic energy harnessing is another kettle of beans. No magnets. I was told that I can work with our radio club's large photovoltaic array with no problems (and I have done so). Even though it's large, it's nowhere near as large as a solar power plant, and I'm far from an expert in electronics, so I'd say check with someone who knows buckets more than I do. The power plant may have regular generators for some reason as well - best to check and be sure.

Thank you

by manash234 - 2014-11-09 11:11:55

Thank you Theknotguy.Your response was really helpful .Thank you very much for that. Also thanks Griddlebone for your concern.

Osun

by Rogue427 - 2014-11-10 05:11:26

At the bottom right of this page is a osun meter, I have one and use it + like it. You should be ok.
I'm a electrician and Millwright at a factory. I work around 480 volts every day. Also work on welders, I just back up a little when they weld. Been all over the plant doing one line drawings. My osun tripped about 3' from the main feed coming into one of the buildings and I was less then 1' away. No problems. Electrostatic paint booths no problems. Spot welders osun trips about 2' been inches away from the welder and no problems.

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