Dosimetry for infant exposures to electronic article surveillance system: Posture, physical dimension and anatomy.

This study reveals a critical vulnerability that safety standards have largely overlooked: infants' developing brains absorb electromagnetic energy at dramatically different rates than adults. The 112-fold increase in brain tissue absorption at 13.56 MHz is particularly striking, highlighting how current safety limits - established based on adult physiology - may be inadequate for our most vulnerable population. What makes this research especially relevant is that electronic article surveillance systems are ubiquitous in stores, libraries, and public spaces where families routinely take infants and young children. The reality is that safety standards assume one-size-fits-all protection, but this study demonstrates that assumption is fundamentally flawed. While the researchers note that current safety limits weren't exceeded, the fact that infant brains can absorb over 100 times more energy than adult brains from the same exposure suggests we need age-specific safety standards, not blanket assumptions based on adult physiology.