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A free electronic newsletter covering news and other topics for those interested in RF safety issues.
LIVE, Web-Based RF Safety Training
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Known Health Effects of RF Radiation There are two undisputed health effects that can occur with exposure to high levels of RF energy:
Although some researchers believe that exposure to low level fields for long periods of time can result in other harmful effects, none of these non-thermal effects are the basis of any of the major standards in the world. And while research and the debate continues over low level effects, body heating and shocks and burns have never been disputed. RF radiation is almost exclusively an occupational problem. It is rare for someone to be exposed to significant RF field levels outside of work. At least that used to be the case. The proliferation of wireless antennas on rooftops is making public exposure and exposure to workers outside the electronics industry more of a concern than ever. History Although there were some indications of the heating effects from the energy emitted by radio transmitters in the late 1930's, the phenomena became well known with the development of radar during the Second World War. Quite simply, people noticed that they got warm when they stood in front of radar antennas. Dr. Percy Spencer of Raytheon took note and ultimately developed the radar range – today’s microwave oven. The first instrument to measure hazardous RF fields was developed in 1969 by Narda under contract to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Public Law 90-602, that regulated the amount of RF energy leaking out of a microwave oven, was about to be passed and there weren’t any instruments to measure the leakage. The only thing that existed at that point were some extremely crude instruments to measure field strength. The first human exposure guidelines were developed by the U.S. military in the 1950's. The military funded most of the research in those days because they were the ones with most of the high power emitters. The first general RF exposure standard was issued by ANSI—the American National Standards Institute—in 1966. It was only four pages long and suggested limiting human exposure to levels no higher than 10 mW/cm2 from 10 MHz to100 GHz. Other than the military, broadcasters were the only ones who faced concerns over RF radiation. But most broadcasters focused on the concerns of the public. What do we need to understand? As biological research continued, it became apparent that three primary questions needed to be answered:
For more information see Body Heating, Shocks & Burns, and Standards. RF Safety Solutions' goal is to provide you with the basics in simple English. Volumes have been written on the subject of the health effects of RF radiation. Links have been provided to some of the more useful sites where you can find a great deal more information. |
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