Radio-Frequency and Microwave Radiation
Howard Bassen · 1980
This 1980 FDA study established foundational methods for measuring RF/microwave radiation absorption that still influence safety standards today.
Plain English Summary
This 1980 FDA research by H. Bassen examined radio-frequency and microwave radiation exposure measurement and safety standards. The study focused on how these electromagnetic fields are absorbed by human tissue and established methods for assessing exposure levels. This represents early foundational work in understanding RF/microwave radiation effects on human health.
Why This Matters
This 1980 FDA study represents a pivotal moment in EMF research history, establishing the groundwork for how we measure and understand radio-frequency and microwave radiation exposure. What makes this research particularly significant is its timing - it emerged during the early expansion of wireless technologies, when regulatory agencies were first grappling with how to assess RF safety. The focus on absorption and exposure measurement laid the foundation for today's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) standards that govern everything from cell phones to microwave ovens.
The reality is that this early research established measurement frameworks we still rely on today, yet our exposure levels have increased exponentially since 1980. While this study helped create safety standards, those standards were designed for a world with far less wireless technology than we live with now. Understanding this historical context helps explain why many scientists argue our current safety guidelines may be outdated for today's constant, multi-source EMF environment.
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagrams extracted from the original research document.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
To provide information on radio-frequency and microwave radiation safety, measurement techniques, and risk assessment activities of the Food and Drug Administration.
The document presents information on RF/microwave radiation safety standards, exposure measurements,...
The FDA has evaluated many RF-emitting products and found that microwave ovens generally meet safety...
Radio-frequency radiation (including microwave radiation) is a form of non-ionizing radiation that is emitted from a wide variety of industrial, medical, and consumer devices. A complex relationship exists between the exposure of a person to electric and magnetic fields emitted by a device, and the energy absorbed by the body of that person. Safety standards that presently exist in the US. allow much higher human exposures than do the standards existing in the U.S.S.R. A trend to lower permissible exposures to one to five mw/cm? is under way in the U.S. and in Canada. Through the use of specialized radiation survey instruments and calibration procedures, the FDA has monitored emissions from various electronic products. Regulations or other controls have been placed by the FDA on ovens and are proposed for microwave diathermy medical devices. Shortwave diathermy medical devices and RF dielectric heaters for industrial use have been found to produce moderately high levels of exposures (sometimes exceeding present U.S. safety standards) to equipment operators. The FDA and other federal regulatory agencies are initiating further studies or controls on these devices. Citizen's band hand-held transceivers and video display terminals have been studied and were found to deliver very low levels of energy absorption to users of these devices, with respect to the present and proposed US. safety standards.
Show BibTeX
@article{radio_frequency_and_microwave_radiation_g4558,
author = {Howard Bassen},
title = {Radio-Frequency and Microwave Radiation},
year = {1980},
}