Proliferation of EMC Standards- A case for harmonization

With the aim of combating the threat of electromagnetic pollution, different governments, organizations & authorities have formulated various EMC standards for specific environments/platforms like industrial, residential, automobile or aircraft. A study of these standards reflects the fact that there is a proliferation of EMC standards with differing test limits & test methods. This proliferation creates problems of design of products with multiple applications resulting in increased costs. A study of EMC standards indicates that there is a scope for harmonizing the standards & reducing their numbers & standardizing on test methods. This paper gives results of such a study & gives recommendations on harmonization of some standards especially with reference to Mil Std 461 E, DO 160 F, IEC, CISPR & FCC standards.