[BC] uplink ERP - RF hazard?

[Milton Holladay]

Over a decade ago, Cohen White gave a presentation about PCBs at the GAB 
convention. He allowed as how, when he worked at the GE plant where they 
made __big_tranformers, that they would get into the transformer, into the 
PCB laden oil, in bathing suits, to do work !
It is legendary that transmitter operators working regular shifts up on 
Paris Mountain at Greenville, where there were several UHF and FM stations 
on short sticks, had to take a vacation to be able to father a child.......
M
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nakayle at gmail.com>
To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:29 PM
Subject: Re: [BC] uplink ERP - RF hazard?


>  Well as one of those "in their 60s" engineers, who worked years at
> 50KW-AM, 100KW-FM and 316-KW TV stations when the only concern about RF 
> was
> don't touch a hot RF conductor anymore then you'd touch a hot AC or DC
> conductor- but no one worried about being near towers or transmitters. 
> Nor
> did we worry about lead solder, asbestos insulation or PCB oil then 
> either.
> I routinely wiped off the oily film that collected on the transformers and
> oil caps and thought nothing of it. I even gave hams oil out of an old
> transformer for their Heath "Cantenna" dummy loads.  It wasn't until 1980s 
> I
> started hearing how dangerous all this stuff was suppose to be.  So by all
> rights I should be dead now but I'm still very much alive and kicking!
>
> Oh- and as for having kids- it took a vasectomy (not RF) to turn off the
> baby machine. ;-)
>
> - Nat Kayle
>>
>> With all these RF hazards around I've wondered how the last high
>> powered transmitter engineers, most in their 60s, ever survived. The
>> ones I know are still alive and kicking. They spent 8 hours a day, at
>> least, bathed in RF. Two stations I've worked for were directional
>> with an estimated 150Kw ERP.