Again, working in a large industrial setting

Thanks to all that replied about my inquiry about wearing a pacemaker and working in an industrial environment. I really appreciate your feedback. To add further, I have had the pacemaker for 2 years. I am 58, and have always been very active. I have played racquetball for 20 years, and still continue today. However, since the pacemaker, it has been extremely difficult. I hear of others that go about normal activities such as biking, tennis, etc, without problems. I can't help but wonder if the heavy equipment in my workplace is bothering me. I am around everything from cell phones, to 5000 HP electric motors(many of them). Also, I spend a lot of time in a "control room", which is the brain center for the mill that I work in. There are all sorts of both hard wired and wireless connections that run the process in the paper mill. Bottom line is that I have been extremely fatiqued and short winded for most of the time with the pacer. I am at a dilema as to what to do next. I have been back to the Dr, and was given another thalium test to make sure there was not any blockage.....which thankfully, there was none. Any suggestions as to how to go about fixing or adapting? I am afraid of the answer.......get another job or retire. Neither of which I want to do. Thanks.

2 Comments

Check time

by hotform - 2007-10-15 10:10:05

Dodger,
I too worked around some heavy industrial motors and electrical equipment since getting my pacer. I have never had a problem. However, my employer contacted the pacer company and brought in an outside company to test the plant and find out which areas were safe and which were not. The only place that was not safe was near a very large demagnetizer, which I had to stay 2 feet away from.
That said though, I have a couple brothers that work in the local paper mill. One of my brothers works in the power house, which is a large power generation station for the mill. It makes more power than the mill needs and the excess is sold back to the electric company. If you are working in a similar power type environment then you could be experiencing problems because of the strong magnetic field from the power generators or from very large motors that you are too close to.
Like you, I was afraid of losing my job. I approached my company's safety director and talked with her about it. The cost to have someone come in and check the entire company was $1800. It was to their benefit as there were other pacer patients working in the company that they didn't even know about and it helped to protect them also. They were very nice to me about it all and the reassurance that I got from knowing what was safe and what was not, has transferred for me to my new job. (I left for a better job) So talk to them. You do have some protection under the HIPAA law and Americans with Disabilities Act. They may just place you in a safer section of the mill and avoid any problems for them or you. Rick

Industrial EMI

by Kurtso - 2007-10-28 05:10:15

I work at a large Generating Station and 230kV substation. I got the specs for EMF and Electric Field exposure from the pacer manufacturer and passed them on to the Industrial Hygenist who is initiating a survey of the work place. I do have my own meter and did an informal survey. There are areas I will have to avoid. The meter I have is an AlphaLab Trifeld meter it costs about $175.
Electric fields can be mitigated by placing aluminum foil or space blanket betwen the source and the Pacer.

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

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