ICNIRP RF EMF GUIDELINES

The ICNIRP RF EMF Guidelines (100 kHz-300 GHz) 2020 are published in Health Physics and available here. For further explanations read also the additional material put together by ICNIRP.

Guidelines 2020 FAQs 2020-1998 Guidelines Differences 5G

Misconceptions Clarification

John William Frank recently published an essay in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, entitled “Electromagnetic fields, 5G and health: what about the precautionary principle?” (doi:10.1136/jech-2019-213595). Among other things, that essay included false, unsupported accusations about ICNIRP and its members, and used those false claims to paint a misleading picture of radiation protection, especially in so far as it relates to 5G. Although ICNIRP limits its response to such claims, as it has become apparent that the inaccuracies of the essay are being used by community influencers to mislead society, ICNIRP submitted a letter of response to the journal to clarify the inaccuracies. Given the limited length (400 words) allowed for this response by the journal, this focuses only on false claims related to conflicts of interest. However, as that represents only a small proportion of the inadequacies of the essay, we provide here a more detailed letter of response to help provide the radiation safety community with a more balanced perspective on radiation safety.

ICNIRP

As an independent non-profit organization, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) provides scientific advice and guidance on the health and environmental effects of non-ionizing radiation (NIR) to protect people and the environment from detrimental NIR exposure.

NIR refers to electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet, light, infrared, and radiowaves, and mechanical waves such as infra- and ultrasound. In daily life, common sources of NIR include the sun, household electrical appliances, mobile phones, Wi-Fi, and microwave ovens.

Frequencies

Non-ionizing radiation (NIR) is a generic term used to describe electromagnetic radiation that does not carry enough photon energy to ionize atoms or molecules and, as per its definition, also includes mechanical waves (infra- and ultrasound).

Non-ionizing radiation is sub-grouped into frequencies (number of oscillation per second) or wavelength bands (distance between two peaks of an oscillation). This classification is not always used strictly and might differ depending on the information source. ICNIRP uses subcategories of NIR, which group frequencies or wavelength bands together, and treats these groupings separately in terms of protection.

Static Magnetic Fields (0 Hz)Static Electric Fields (0 Hz)LF (1 Hz-100 kHz)RF EMF (100 kHz - 300 GHz)Infrared (780 nm-1mm)Visible (380-780 nm)UV (100-400 nm)

Applications

People are exposed to NIR in naturally occurring situations, for example to the magnetic field of the earth and to radiation from the sun. Within the last century individual’s NIR exposure has increased through the use of a wide array of technological applications that utilise NIR, such as electric appliances and communication devices.

ICNIRP expresses its protection recommendation primarily through the ICNIRP guidelines related to a specific frequency or wavelength band independently from the source. Read here how these recommendations translate for some common NIR applications.

MRI Power Lines Mobile Phones Base Stations 5G WI-FI DECT Infrared Warming Cabins Sunbeds UV Index LED

Publications

As an independent organization, ICNIRP provides scientific information and science-based advice on protection from non-ionizing radiations (NIR) through a wide range of publications.

All ICNIRP publications are listed here and most of them are available as downloads. The ICNIRP guidelines and statements are for free. Other material, such as the ICNIRP blue books, can be ordered online via this website.

continue