Public Lecture on Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields Emitted by Wireless Communication Devices: from 1G to 5G

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a body recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), established the guidelines for limiting human exposure to electromagnetic fields in 1998. Based on the review of the scientific literature available at that time, the guidelines provide protection against known adverse health effects of electromagnetic fields. They were updated by ICNIRP in 2020 to account for the latest research in this field. The European recommendation 1999/519/EC refers to these guidelines to define the exposure limits for the general public. For example, the peak spatial-averaged 10g specific absorption rate (SAR) of a mobile phone developed for the European market should not exceed the basic restriction of 2 W/kg. To verify the compliance boundaries of base station antennas, reference levels derived from the basic restrictions are preferably used. A similar document (IEEE C95.1-2019) has also been developed by the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES).

To address the problem of possible health effects due to the exposure to electromagnetic fields, extensive research has been undertaken in the fields of biology, dosimetry and epidemiology during the past decades. The biological effects of electromagnetic fields are well-known and scientifically recognized but the adverse health effects on human beings are often debated. Following the review of epidemiological studies that showed a possible correlation between the extensive use of mobile phones and an increased risk for glioma, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialized agency for the World Health Organization (WHO), classified human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields as possibility carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) in 2011. Studies are on-going to assess the possible relation between the use of wireless communication devices and any adverse health effects.

As novel wireless communication systems are developed and deployed –from 1G to 5G with complex modulation schemes often involving multiple antennas and higher frequencies–, added to the continuously varying intended-use positions of the devices, –e.g. from a phone used at the ear position to a connected watch worn at the wrist–, the SAR measurement to assess compliance may prove challenging. Such measurement procedures are discussed within international standardization committees such as the IEC TC 106.

The aim of the talk is to provide a review of the current state of the art on human exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by ubiquitous wireless communication devices and networks. The rationale of the guidelines for limiting human exposure to electromagnetic fields, the limits adopted by different countries around the world as well as international standardization activities –experimental and computational– to assess compliance of wireless communication devices will be discussed.

Event Details

Date: July 31st, 2024

Time: 10:00am to 12 :00pm

Venue: NM-AIST Conference Hall

Speaker: Professor Vikass Monebhurru from the University of Paris-Saclay, France.

For more information, please see the document here.