What are the health effects of exposure?
Direct health risks
Indirect health risks
The likelihood of risks to health resulting from exposure to RFR is related to the frequency of the RF field as well as the duration and amount of exposure. This can have direct and indirect effects on people as well as effects on flammable vapours and electro-explosive devices.
Direct health risks
Direct health risks result when RF greater than 10 MHz interacts with the human body mainly by heating tissue. As frequency of the RF field increases, the depth of penetration into the body alters. Whole body heating can occur.
Particularly during summer in Queensland, excessive exposure to RF fields where the core body temperature rises by 1°C or more, can contribute to the onset of heat-stress-caused illness.
A rise in core body temperature of 1°C can:
- impair concentration which can lead to injury caused by another agent
- increase the risk of foetal damage in pregnant women
- affect sperm count in male testes which are sensitive to heating
- affect the lens of the eye which is sensitive to heating
In addition:
- Overexposure can affect nerves, hearing and contact with ungrounded metallic objects can cause shock and burns.
- There is no evidence to-date that exposure to RF fields below the occupational exposure levels can initiate cancer.
For more information on the health risks of exposure to radio frequency (RF) generating plant, read section 2 of Guide to the Safe Use in Industry of Radio Frequency Generating Plant (PDF, 296 KB).
Indirect health risks for people
Information on indirect health risks is available in section 2 of Guide to the Safe Use in Industry of Radio Frequency Generating Plant (PDF, 296 KB).
Effects on people:
RF fields can interfere with the normal operation of implanted devices such as cardiac pacemakers. Implanted metal plates, rods and fixings can act as conductors when exposed to RF fields and concentrate heating in the tissue around the implant.
Effects on flammable vapours and electro-explosive devices:
When liquids that produce vapours are stored within an RF field, these vapours can be ignited if a spark occurs between conductive structures.
Flammable liquids can also be heated by the RF fields, increasing the rate of release of vapour. This can increase the flammability hazard and also increase the inhalation risk from the substance. Commercial detonators can also be fired by exposure to sufficiently strong RF fields.
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