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MAGNETIC FIELDS BASICS Safety Limits

What does the ICNIRP do?

ICNIRP's principal aim is to disseminate information and advice on the potential health hazards of exposure to non-ionizing radiation. ICNIRP's information and advice covers all of the non-ionizing radiations including, the optical radiations (ultraviolet, visible and infrared - and lasers), static and time-varying electric and magnetic fields and radiofrequency (including microwave) radiation, and ultrasound. The results of these reviews combined with risk assessments carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization, WHO, result in the publication by ICNIRP of Exposure Guidelines. Examples of these are guidelines limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields, to laser radiation, to ultraviolet radiation, to incoherent optical radiation and to ultrasound.

Many of their guidelines are published on their website:

www.icnirp.de

As noted, guidelines are based on available scientific literature. Needless to say, they could be revised up or down as more data becomes available. Additionally, some organizations believe the standards should be tighter, and others looser. Sometimes standards are not based on the physiologic actions, which may or may not affect health in significant ways. Many governmental agencies are particularly focused on cancer, major immune diseases, public health risks, etc. Significance will of necessity depend on one's own reactions and may not be easily accounted for in summary statistics.

Cell Phones

What are the safety standards for cell phone emissions? Safety standards for cell phones vary from country to country. In Europe it is 2 watts per kilogram of brain tissue. The scientific basis for the standards is that they should make sure that brain tissue is not "significantly" heated by the radiation, since heating is believed by some scientists to be the only potential health hazard associated with cell phone emissions.

www.icswebsite.com

ELFs

These are field intensity safety level limits (in uT - microT) for various frequency ranges:

Fig. 2 is from Guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields (up TO 300 GHz), Health Physics April 1998, Volume 74, Number 4, p494-522.

Static magnets

For static magnets, exposure of the public (ie, most whole and partial body exposures used in therapy) should not exceed 10Gauss for but a few hours per day or 400 Gauss continuously for whole body exposure. The level of exposure to extremities is higher because a lower volume of tissue is being exposed. However, whole-body exposures should not exceed 50 Gauss for more than 2 hrs per day. The time limits on lower levels of exposure have not been determined. Most of these standards are set based on the amount of current generated in major blood vessels with averaged flow rates of blood passing under the magnetic field. This current level is estimated at 44mA/m2.

For those with implanted pacemakers or electrical devices, MFs greater than 5 Gauss at the skin should be avoided. Studies on pacemakers found that 87% of pacemakers were affected at 20 Gauss at the skin, 20% at 10 Gauss, 2% at 5 Gauss and some at 3 Gauss. Newer devices are well shielded. To be sure, it would be best to have the magnetic field being used tested at a doctors' office where it could be turned back on right away.

Some metallic objects can be attracted at field levels of 30 Gauss, and become projectiles.

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