Radio Frequency Radiation Dosimetry And Its Relationship To The Biological Effects Of Electromagnetic Fields

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has sponsored research supporting development of personnel safety standards for exposure to Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) for over a quarter century. NATO previously recognized that one of the most important tools used in the RFR effects research laboratory is accurate dosimetry when it supported a NATO Advanced Studies Institute (ASI) on Advances in Biological Effects and Dosimetry of Low Energy Electromagnetic Fields held in 1981, in Erice, Sicily. That meeting resulted in a NATO ASI publication; Biological Effects and Dosimetry of l Non-ionizing Radiation: Radiofrequency and Microwave Energies . The most recent NATO sponsored program on RFR was an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on "Developing a New Standardization Agreement (STANAG) for Radio frequency Radiation" held May 1993, at the Pratica di Mare Italian Air Force Base, Pomezia (Rome) Italy. That ARW produced an ASI proceedings, published in 1995: Radio frequency Radiation Standards, Biological Effects, Dosimetry, Epidemiology, and Public Health Policy2. The Rome ARW and the Proceedings served as a springboard to the much needed revision of the NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 2345 MED "Evaluation and Control of Personnel Exposure to Radio Frequency Fields - 3 kHz to 300 GHz,,3, which was subsequently promulgated in October 1998. One of the published recommendations developed by the Rome ARW was to hold this second ARW focusing on dosimetry and measurements.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has sponsored research and personnel safety standards development for exposure to Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR) for over twenty years. The Aerospace Medical Panel of the Advisory Group For Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD) sponsored Lecture Series No. 78 Radiation Hazards,! in 1975, in the Netherlands, Germany, and Norway, on the subject of Radiation Hazards to provide a review and critical analysis of the available information and concepts. In the same year, Research Study Group 2 on Protection of Personnel Against Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation (Panel VIIl of AC/243 Defence Research Group, NATO) proposed a revision to Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 2345. The intent of the proposal was to revise the ST ANAG to incorporate frequency-dependent-RFR safety guidelines. These changes are documented in the NATO STANAG 2345 (MED), Control and Recording of Personnel Exposure to Radiofrequency Radiation,2 promulgated in 1979. Research Study Group 2 (RSG2) of NATO Defense Research Group Panel VIII (AC1243) was organized, in 1981, to study and contribute technical information concerning the protection of military personnel from the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation. A workshop at the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, U. K. was held to develop and/or compile sufficient knowledge on the long-term effects of pulsed RFR to maintain safe procedures and to minimize unnecessary operational constraints.

During the last 35 years, there has been considerable develop ment and increase in the number of devices that emit nonionizing radiant energies. These energies such as radiofrequency including microwaves are used in all sectors of our society for military, industrial. telecommunications, medical, and consumer applications. This increase in sources of nonionizing radiant energies has resulted in growing interest on the part of government regulatory agencies, industrial and military physicians, research workers, clinicians, and environmentalists. Although there is information on biologic effects and potential hazards to man from exposure to microwave/radiofrequency energies, considerable confusion and misinformation has permeated not only the public press but also some scientific and technical publications. Because of the complexity of the interactions of nonionizing radiation in biological systems, an inter-disciplinary approach is necessary to assess and elucidate the problems that evolve as this field advances and as the use of these energies expands. It is important to maintain a proper perspective and assess realistically the biomedical effects of these radiant energies so that the worker or general public will not be unduly exposed nor will research, development and beneficial utilization of these energies be hampered or restricted by an undue concern for effects which may be nonexis tent or minimal in comparison to other environmental hazards.

The study of electromagnetic bioeffects is multidisciplinary; it draws heavily from the disciplines of physics, engineering, mathematics, biol ogy, chemistry, medicine, and environmental health. This book is about these disciplines and how they mutually integrate in the study of electromagnetic pathophysiology. Over aperiod of years, the authors have become increasingly aware of the difficulty in locating information concerning interaction of electro magnetic energy and biological tissues. There are numerous reports and publications, but no single comprehensive source in the American literature where such information is readily accessible. Regrettably, much of the importantinformation is contained in government documents and reports, some of which are inaccessible, or spread through many diverse journals, making retrieval and analysis of the material difficult. Although this book is primarily clinically oriented, it also focuses on those biophysical, biochemical, and fundamental molecular studies and findings that provide the basis for understanding the presence or absence of pathophysiological manifestations of exposure to radiofrequency, including microwave, energies. Detailed discussion and analysis of the relevant comprehensive physics, engineering, and biophysics are con tained in Chapters 2-5. Because the treatment is multidisciplinary, wherever possible analy sis is begun with basic background information that may appear elementary to some readers but is essential to understanding for those from a different discipline. Most confusion and controversies that exist in the field today arise from individuals of one discipline not appreciating basic facts or theories from another.

This third edition of Radio-Frequency and Microwave Radiation Guide provides the most current and authoritative information on the physical characteristics of radio-frequency radiation (RF) and microwave radiation, its interactions with matter, and biological and environmental effects. Current standards and guidelines are discussed, as are instruments and controls. A handy glossary provides definitions of important terms, and an appendix presents a list of problems industrial hygenists and other health professionals may encounter.