Hardware radiation harmful?

A girl in my company recently came to me to complain of eye-twitches and headaches ever since she moved to a new desk. On the other side of the thin wall (actually a partition) that she faces are located all the UPS units that provide the back-up power in our server room. The server room itself is packed with high powered servers that are stored in racks coated with anti-radiative substances. Unfortunately, the racks are open on the back, so I imagine they are pouring some electromagnetic radiation or the other right into the partition and into the rest of the office.

My questions: is the radiation emitted from UPS batteries and from servers harmful? What reach does it have, i.e. what would a safe distance away from it be?

How can we shield the server room so that we don’t all die? One of our engineers just told me that putting up shielding would actually spread the radiation further out into the office. That doesn’t seem right somehow.

I have moved the person in question a small distance away to see whether her problems persist, but I’d like to hear from all the EM experts what they think is going on here, and what can be done to prevent any problems (if they exist). Thanks.

Abe

IDIOT, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.
–Ambrose Bierce

I suggest getting rid of all computers. They are the devil’s tools.

I suggest getting rid of all computers. They are the devil’s tools.

Computers , whether servers or desktop units, don’t generate that much EM radiation, The metal box contains most of it. It’s more likely a lighting (flickering flourescents) or possible chemical out-gassing problem. If a any construction has been going on, solvents and dust can cause problems for weeks afterwards. Good luck in finding the cause and fixing it, but I think you’re on the wrong track with the EM thing. I believe Cecil did an article on EM hazards, I’ll see if I can locate it.

When she moved to the new desk, did she get a new computer and monitor? Check whether her monitor is set to 60 Hz refresh rate. It should be higher (like 70 or so). Make sure the monitor and graphics card support the new rate.


It is too clear, and so it is hard to see.

Get a small tv set. Put it where she sits. Watch the picture, if you get rolling lines,you got too much RF noise or whatever. Happens here with my neighbor & his equipment. Happened before at various locations. Right now, all clear :slight_smile:

Probably just bad lighting or ergonomics at the workstation.

Most UPS units are just big batteries with trickle chargers and some circuitry to detect power failures. Sort of dubious that they’d generate much stray EMF.

The servers are also unlikely to be generating much radiation – machines have to be FCC certified before they can be sold. Most of the radiation from computers comes from the monitors, which I assume are not present in the servers.

One at a time, yes, Finagle, but a whole bank of them can be too much.

Buy one of the cheap neon lamp “live circuit testers” at the hardware store. Get the kind with the ground wire that can be clipped to a ground.
Take the probe of the circuit tester and place it at the edge of a 1 ft square piece of tinfoil.
By using this gizmo as an RF tester, you can determine if any stray voltages are being induced on the side of the wall that the worker sits on. Ground the “ground” lead of the tester, and using the tinfoil as an antenna, move it around on the wall in question.
If the light flickers or illuminates with a purple light, nobody should be near that wall. Neon lights generally will fire at a 78-80v differential voltage, and I have used them as lightning detectors by grounding one side and hooking the other end to an ungrounded window screen.
FWIW, I think the function of the shielding around the other sides of the servers is to keep stray RF fields from getting IN, not to keep anything from getting out.
Backup power supplies do not give out RF energy! They use DC and 60Hz AC voltages only. It’s no more dangerous sitting next to them than sitting next to a large motor.
I suspect the worker’s medical problems are caused by changes in position of chair/worktable/monitor, or as one previous poster suggested, new paint or adhesives used on carpeting, etc.

FixedBack

“Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before.”~~*G.K.Chesterton *

Cheese Head–keep your dammed { :smiley: } relatives out of this. We don’t care what he’s working on.

Het Satan! You & Cheese Head are cousins? My condolences.

With magic, you can turn a frog into a prince. With science, you can turn a frog into a Ph.D, and you still have the frog you started with.

ummm… i don’t have a case on my computer (i change my setup alot), is it going to give me cancer? #twitch#

eggo

Thanks for all the replies! The monitors we use are flat screen LCDs that operate at 75 Hz. We had to switch to these displays because ordinary CRT monitors flickered too badly in this environment.

The lighting we have in the office comes from those horrible fluorescent tubes set in the ceiling, not sure if they are neon or whatever other gas. They are definitely not a pleasant source of light.

I will try to put together one of the tests suggested. Any other help will be greatly appreciated!

Abe

IDIOT, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.
–Ambrose Bierce

fluorescent tubes? don’t these flicker at 150hz? & The computer monitor flickers @75 hz. Ah, my brain.

Actually, fluorescent tubes flicker at a 120Hz rate, twice the input AC frequency which is usually smack on 60Hz.


FixedBack

“Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before.”~~*G.K.Chesterton *