EMR Exposure Limits &

Assessment Methods for Mobile

Phone Communications
Lindsay Martin
Manager, Non-Ionising
Radiation Section
Introduction
• How can we use Wireless
Communication Safely?
– Wireless communication uses Radiofrequency
(RF) Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR).
– EMR carries energy and has potential to harm
human beings.
– Radiofrequency EMR is just part of a wide
spectrum of EMR which includes different types of
radiation with very different properties.
– Using RF EMR safely means we must understand
where it is used, how humans are exposed to it,
and how it affects humans.
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Protection Strategy
• Scientific Investigation
– Identify harmful effects and mechanism of action.
– Determine threshold (if any) for harm.
– Look for harmful effects of exposures below
threshold.

• Develop Safety Standards

– Expert review of science

• Assess Exposures & Check

compliance
• Educate, Inform & Regulate
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What is Radiofrequency EMR?
Known by various names:-
• EMR – Electromagnetic Radiation
• EME – Electromagnetic Energy
• EMF – Electromagnetic Fields
– Electric Fields (E-fields, volts/metre, V/m)
– Magnetic Fields (H-fields, amps/metre, A/m)
– Characterised mainly by:
• FREQUENCY – cycles per second or hertz, Hz
• POWER FLUX DENSITY – watts/square metre, W/m2
• MODULATION/PULSE STRUCTURE
–EMR is a wave of electric and magnetic fields travelling
at the speed of light.
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Other forms of EMR
• Radiofrequency (RF) EMR ranges in
frequency from ~10,000 Hz (10kHz)
to ~100,000,000,000 Hz (100 GHz).
– Most uses are from 500 kHz – 5 GHz
– AM FM TV UHF Mobile/WiFi

• At higher frequencies, EMR is:-

– Infra-red radiation
– Visible light
– Ultra-violet radiation (UVR)
– X-rays (ionising radiation)
– Gamma-rays (ionising radiation) 5
Scientific Investigation
• Experiments on human volunteers:
– Expose humans to low levels of EMR
– Increase exposure until discomfort
– Monitor for signs of harm or biological effect
• Experiments on animals (in vivo)
• Experiments on cells (in vitro)
• Harmful effects depend on frequency
of the EMR.
• Clearly established effects show a
threshold.
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Established Effects of RF EMR
• At low frequency, electric fields can stimulate nerves,
muscles and brain.
• At higher frequencies energy is absorbed as heat and
increases temperature or makes body respond to
remove heat (thermoregulate).
• Body organs with poor heat removal (e.g. Lens of eye,
reproductive organs) can be more susceptible.
• If EMR is in very short pulses, effects of electric field
on cells can be more important than heating.
• Effects of heating make finding any other effects
difficult – they prevent use of high exposures to
accelerate other potential effects that might be there.

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Effects seen but not Established..
• Other effects seen in some
experiments but not consistently or
reliably, or at high exposure levels, or
not necessarily harmful...
• Changes to DNA in isolated cells or in animals.
• Changes to cell growth and reproduction.
• Changes in brain wave patterns, sleep patterns.
• Changes in abilities to carry out mental tasks.
• Subjective symptoms.
• .......

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Other Scientific Investigation
• Study of human populations
incidentally exposed to EMR
• Epidemiology
– Compare different populations (ecological study)
– Compare exposure and disease within a group at a
defined time (cross-sectional study)
– Follow groups with different exposures within the
population (cohort study)
– Compare exposures of people with disease with
those without (case-control study)
– Occupational studies and residential studies
• ~ 200 studies in last 10 years.
– No clear evidence of harmful effects but some
indications worthy of more research. 9
Expert Reviews of Science
• National Expert Reviews
– e.g. Swedish SSI, U.K. AGNIR
• International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC) www.iarc.fr/
– Part of World Health Organization
– Classification for Carcinogenicity
– RF EMR Meeting May 2011
• World Health Organization –
www.who.int/peh-emf/en/
• Environmental Health Criteria Monographs
– No. 137 – Most recent for RF EMR in 1993. Start
again this year following IARC review. 10
Expert Reviews of Science
• International Commission for Non-
Ionizing Radiation Protection
(ICNIRP) www.icnirp.org
– Reviews of Scientific Evidence
– Exposure to high frequency electromagnetic fields,
biological effects and health consequences (100
kHz-300 GHz) - Review of the Scientific Evidence
and Health Consequences. Munich: International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection;
2009.
– Epidemiologic Evidence on Mobile Phones and
Tumor Risk: A Review. Epidemiology 20:639–652;
2009
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Exposure Guidelines & Standards
• WHO “Framework for developing
health-based EMF standards”
– Select: Scientific Database
– Perform: Risk Assessment
– Determine: Threshold Levels
– Select: Safety Factors
– Set: Exposure Limits
• Basic restrictions
• Reference levels
– Ensure Overall Practicability

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Exposure Guidelines & Standards
• ICNIRP
– Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time-Varying
Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields (up
to 300 GHz). Health Physics 74 (4): 494-522; 1998.
– Widely used as basis for national exposure limits.

• IEEE (International Committee on

Electromagnetic Safety)
– IEEE C95.1-2005 IEEE Standard for Safety Levels
with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio
Frequency Electromagnetic Fields,3 kHz to 300 GHz.
• Both documents contain extensive discussion of
scientific evidence and basis of exposure limits. 13
Exposure Guidelines & Standards
• ARPANSA
– Radiation Protection Standard for Maximum
Exposure Levels to Radiofrequency Fields - 3 kHz to
300 GHz (2002)
– Based on ICNIRP (1998) guidelines
– Contains some practical implementation details
– Includes precautionary minimisation requirement
for public exposure:
“Minimising, as appropriate, RF exposure which is unnecessary or
incidental to achievement of service objectives or process
requirements, provided this can be readily achieved at
reasonable expense. “ and
“The incorporation of arbitrary additional safety factors beyond
the exposure limits of this Standard is not supported.”
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Occupational & Public Exposure
• All example guidelines include “two-
tier” exposure limits providing larger
“safety factors” for public exposure.
• ICNIRP occupational & public.
• IEEE uncontrolled & controlled environments.
• Use of occupational limits is usually restricted to
trained workers involved in RF installation,
maintenance etc. Not just those exposed during
employment, such as cleaners, painters, etc.
• Pregnant workers revert to general public limits.

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Exposure Limits
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) –
difficult to measure.
– Basic limitation on rate of absorbed energy from RF
EMR to prevent tissue damage or unacceptable
levels of heating.
– Whole Body Average SAR 0.08 W/kg (public).
– Localised SAR 2.0 W/kg for most exposed 10 g of
tissue (public). e.g. Mobile phone handsets.
• Reference Levels for Electric and
magnetic fields (or derived power
flux density) – more practical.
– Intended to assure SAR limitation is achieved.
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Exposure Limits & Target Values
• SAR limits and Reference Levels for fields are “Ceiling”
values – not to be exceeded (taking 6 minute average
or averaging over body into account).
• Public limits usually apply everywhere members of
public could be expected to go.
• Some countries, regions or cities may have “target”
values intended as a precautionary measure.
• These limits are not based on thresholds and are often
the intended to address community concern.
• These sometimes refer only to levels of EM fields
indoors, or averaged over 24 hours, only some
technologies, etc.
• Not directly comparable with limits in standards.
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Assessment of Exposures
• Assessment may be by MEASUREMENT or by
CALCULATION (usually computer software).
• Different choice of method for different circumstances.
• MEASUREMENT: often chosen very close to antennas
where fields may vary rapidly with location and be
complicated by multiple sources, reflection, etc.
• CALCULATION often chosen for environmental
assessments for public exposure relatively far away
from antenna, where contribution of single transmitter
is required. Can be made very conservative.
• Combination of MEASUREMENT and CALCULATION
provides greater confidence in assessment.
• Method may depend on REGULATOR’s requirements.
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Assessment of Exposures
• Assessment requires appropriate instrumentation or
software.
• Appropriate skill, training and understanding.
• Calibration of instruments and regular checks.
• Calculation can be quite simple for distant
assessments – based on conservation of energy and
published data for antennas, transmitter etc.
• Example: ARPANSA EME Reports for new Mobile Phone
Base Stations – Near worst-case estimate of exposure
levels at 1.5 m above ground level with transmitters
all operating at full power.
• More sophisticated computer models used close to
antennas where Electric and Magnetic fields must both
be calculated.
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Summary
• Radiation Protection for EMR
– Scientific knowledge of health effects.
– Science-based exposure limits.
– Ability to assess exposures.
– Engineering (barriers, masts) or administrative
(warning signs, training) controls to keep people
away from areas where exposures exceed limits.

• On-going work
– Monitoring of new research for new evidence and
taking into account new technologies where
required.
– Information for concerned public 20
 Thank You

lindsay.martin@arpansa.gov.au

www.arpansa.gov.au

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