Norbet wrote:
Is there any legal requirement to have regular leakage tests done on
microwave ovens in an office environment?

Not as such

I understand that portable appliance tests PAT need to be conducted at
regular intervals depending on the type of equipment and the
environment they're in, but do leakage tests need to be conducted?
I appreciate that if any equipment is suspected of damage then it
should be tested for safety before using again - however it's unclear
in our case if the equipment is indeed damaged.
We have a microwave oven that has some small paint chips inside the
oven under the turntable. We're not sure if this constitutes damage or
not (it appears to be bare metal beneath the paint and I always thought
that was a bad thing for microwaves but I could be wrong). It still
cooks fine and doesn't appear to spark or anything during use.

At a cost of around £35 I suspect that it may be cheaper just to
replace the oven itself rather than go down the qualified tester route
- but I could do with some advice on whether this is necessary for the
situation. It'd be a shame to throw out a perfectly good oven if it's
unlikely that small paint chips are likely to affect the safe operation
of the equipment.
Has anyone any experience of this? What would be the legal position?
Could a small paint chip affect the safe operation of a microwave oven?


Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Invest four quid in a leakage detector from Maplins
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...=SEO&U=Strat15

Meanwhile, keep your distance from the machine if it is in use, and
don't have your workstation next to it.