SURVEY OF RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION HAZARDS
Paul C. Constant Jr., William H. Ashley Jr., Burton R. Baldwin, E. J. Martin Jr., Robert F. Rice · 1960
This 1960 survey laid crucial groundwork for RF safety research decades before today's wireless revolution.
Plain English Summary
This 1960 technical report conducted a comprehensive survey of radio frequency radiation hazards, representing one of the earliest systematic assessments of RF health risks. The study examined various sources of radio frequency exposure and their potential biological effects during the early days of widespread radio and television broadcasting. This foundational work helped establish the scientific framework for understanding RF radiation safety that continues to influence modern EMF research.
Why This Matters
This 1960 survey represents a pivotal moment in EMF health research, conducted when radio and television were becoming ubiquitous but their long-term health implications remained largely unknown. The timing is significant because it predates the wireless revolution by decades, yet the fundamental questions about RF radiation safety it addressed remain remarkably relevant today. What makes this work particularly important is that it emerged from an era when industry influence on health research was less sophisticated, potentially offering more objective early insights into RF hazards.
The reality is that many of the radio frequency sources examined in 1960 pale in comparison to today's exposure levels from smartphones, WiFi networks, and cellular infrastructure. Where 1960s Americans might have encountered RF radiation primarily from broadcast towers and early electronic devices, we now carry powerful transmitters in our pockets and live surrounded by wireless signals operating at power levels and frequencies that would have been unimaginable to these early researchers.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
To obtain and analyze data and information to provide a basis for formulating RAD HAZ standards
Activities included a review of the requirements of the program, an investigation of problems involv...
Substantial progress was made in the evolution of RAD HAZ Standards, determination of subject matter...
There is a lack of understanding of r-f propagation in the 'near field' by many investigators working in the field of R-F Radiation Hazards. Instruments based upon the Hall effect can be made for sensing rf radiation fields. There is need for better r-f radiation measuring equipment.
Show BibTeX
@article{survey_of_radio_frequency_radiation_hazards_g5345,
author = {Paul C. Constant Jr. and William H. Ashley Jr. and Burton R. Baldwin and E. J. Martin Jr. and Robert F. Rice},
title = {SURVEY OF RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION HAZARDS},
year = {1960},
}