Hello everyone,
Not sure where to go or know who to ask regarding being an EMF Inspector. I am planning to do strickly residential EMF inspections and not sure if a certification is needed.
If needed, where do I need to go to get certified?
I searched the forum, but did not find too much information regarding this.
Any assistance is appreciated.
Thank you all.
Kai
EMF is a science and is best understood by “Environmental Inspectors or Consultants” EPA has recognized levels that are affecting people but no license to operate has been issued.
The practice of “Environmental Assessments” is regulated by “Industrial Hygienist” and the study of EMF is regulated within that practice.
A home inspector can take EMF readings but would be wise to stay out of this area unless properly trained by a Certified Industrial Hygienist or the AHJ of your area.
FYI: A Certified Industrial Hygienist is not a full Industrial Hygienist.
???
Please explain this comment. You do not need to be certified or have passed any test to be considered and industrial hygienist. To set fro your certification exam, you must meet certain criteria which includes college degree and specific number of years working as an industrial hygienist as part of your daily work. I think you have the cart before the horse. I qualify for being considered an industrial hygienist and have a year and a half before I can take my exam to be considered a Certified Industrial Hygienist.
Since the term Industrial Hygienist has not been restricted by law, anyone, regardless of knowledge and competency, can call themselves an “Industrial Hygienist”. To aid employers and the public, a voluntary professional certification program was established in 1960. The American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) was established as an independent corporation with the sole purpose of providing a certification program that ensured a minimum level of knowledge and skills in industrial hygiene.
Doing EMF inspections is a lot more than simply going out an buying a low cost meter and taking readings. You need to have a thorough understanding of electrical engineering and electrical fields. Measurement devices used in professional work in in the thousands of dollar range. There is also software that needs to be considered to plot readings so that they convey the appropriate information and can be reproduced after modifications are made to correct issues. Along with a good quality 3 axis EMF meter, you will need different types of RF meters too. Data is then loaded into graphing and plotting software that has basic CAD features.
There is plenty of information out there on the internet and there are several well known companies that occasionally sell off older equipment to get started. There is commercially available software out there as well. Do your research and you will come across it all on the internet.
Correct.
Warning!!! Stay away could be a hazard to your career.
I would recommend Home Inspectors stay away from EMF reading and giving advice on it. There are many factors with EMF and many are misleading or simply theories. While we do know EMF can cause issues with people that are hypersensitive to it the is an area I would not try to make ADDITIONAL income if I were giving advice to a Home Inspector.
The way I was explained it from my Industrial Hygienist is that to become a full Industrial Hygienist you need to serve under a recognized apprenticeship program. He says it is hard to get into an apprenticeship program. He has mentored a few that made it to full Industrial Hygienist. Being a Certified Industrial Hygienist means you pasted the examination only from what he told me. I imagine the internship for a full Industrial Hygienist is something like a performing a residency to became a doctor.
The way anybody can call themselves an industrial hygienist is because the term has been used too long so it is hard to copyright. This article might explain it better. http://www.abih.org/general/documents/History-HenrySmithArticle.pdf
Just like any idiot can become a CMI, right Jimmie?
No CMI is actually copyrighted. I guess that is why you cannot call yourself one.
Fortunately, I do have 9+ years background in this field. Great point on acquiring higher end equipment. I am actually going that route when I finalize any certifications (if needed). Currently I do have a 3 axis EMF meter which works great.
So from my understanding from the other posters, being an EMF inspector does not really need any certifications?
Thanks everyone for your input.
I regularly get requests for EMF inspections. They are always crackpots.
I used to be a Physicist working in the health physics field (Nuclear Medicine, Radiology, etc) and am very experienced with EMF readings and their hazards. I can safely say that the type and amount of EMF that the normal person would get in their house is too low to do any type of damage or even be detected by mere humans. The only possible exception would be people with pacemakers who get too close to leaking microwave ovens.
There are many crackpots out there who want to create the next “victim” status. I won’t play. It ain’t real unless it is proven with triple blind, reproducable, scientific studies. Anything else is just plain snake oil.