Exposure Standards - Australia vs Other Countries

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is the authority which has set ‘safety’ standards for exposure to both non-ionising and ionising radiation. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) regulates devices that are emitting radiofrequency electromagnetic energy.

The standards set out by ARPANSA have been derived from the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), and these are based primarily on the acute short term effects (6 minutes) of heating tissue (radiofrequency exposure) and induced electric currents in the body (AC Magnetic Fields exposure). ICNIRP and ARPANSA both acknowledge that these standards are NOT health based for long term exposure to low levels which is what persons are exposed almost constantly.

The below table is an example of some exposure standards from other countries compared to Australia. I don’t know about you, but when I look at these exposure standards that are regulated in other Countries, I am horrified and even more concerned for my health, for the health of my loved ones, for the wider population in general and the environment. In Australia ARPANSA, through the ICNIRP guidelines, deems it appropriate for our population to be exposed to radiofrequency radiation that is 100 times higher than those people living in Bulgaria, Italy, India, Russia, France, China.

But then I look at Austria with an exposure standard of 10 µW/m2 for outdoor areas, and I feel like we have really been let down by those responsible for setting standards in Australia, and wonder how these standards can even begin to protect human health and wellbeing.

The recommendations made by Australian College of Environmental Studies during onsite assessments, for far field exposure, include trying to achieve

· <10 µW/m2 in living areas, and

· <5 µW/m2 in bedrooms

The SBM-2015 Building Biology Guidelines provide the following Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Radiofrequency Radiation (far field exposure):

· No Concern - <0.1 µW/m2

· Slight Concern – 0.1-10 µW/m2

· Severe Concern – 10 – 1,000 µW/m2

· Extreme Concern - > 1,000 µW/m2

Do you have concerns about your urban environment, get in contact.

References:

- ICNIRP. Guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz). Health Phys 118(00):000–000; 2020. Pre-print. DOI: 10.1097/HP.0000000000001210.

- Australian College of Environmental Studies. 2020. Electrobiology Manual V3.

- ARPANSA. 2002.Radiation Protection Standard: Maximum Exposure Levels to Radiofrequency Fields – 3kHz to 300GHz. Commonwealth of Australia