Reviews of effects of RF fields on various aspects of human health: Introduction†

The IEEE Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz, C95.1-1991, was published in 1991, reaffirmed in 1997, and amended in 1999 with no changes in the exposure limits. A complete revision of the standard by the subcommittee we co-chair, now in progress, will be based on the peer reviewed literature identified by the Literature Surveillance Working Group. More than 1300 relevant research papers have been evaluated by two randomly selected members of the subcommittee’s Engineering Evaluation Working Group and by two members of the appropriate Biological EvaluationWorking Group (in vitro, in vivo, and epidemiology). Summaries of the working group evaluations are forwarded to the Risk Assessment Working Group (RAWG) to evaluate the levels of possible risk to humans and define the lowest threshold SAR above which potentially adverse effects are likely to occur. A Mechanisms Working Group works in parallel with the RAWG to evaluate possible mechanisms of interaction, both nonthermal and thermal mechanisms. In addition, review papers have been prepared on cancer, reproduction, calcium efflux, behavior, thermoregulation, nervous system, ocular and auditory effects, homeostasis and metabolism, survival, epidemiology, and in vitro studies. During the 2002 U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Workshop ‘‘Setting a Science-Based Standard for Safe Human Exposure to RF Electromagnetic Fields: A Tribute to Dr. Eleanor R. Adair,’’ held in Quebec City, Que., Canada, 14 review papers were presented to a large audience. These 14 papers were commissioned by Subcommittee 4 (SC4) of the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES) to assist with the Working Group’s assessment of the extensiveRF bioeffect literature database. Except for the epidemiology paper, each paper was written by SC4 members who were experts in the subject matter, and all subcommittee members were encouraged to work with the lead authors. Dr. Mark Elwood, an Australian epidemiologist, wrote the epidemiology paper at the request of the Co-Chairs of SC4. After the workshop, the available preliminary papers were posted on the ICES SC4 public website (http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/scc28/sc4), soliciting comments prior to completion of the manuscripts. Thirteen papers were submitted to Bioelectromagnetics for publication; 12 of these technical papers are included in this special issue. The subjects of the two papers that are not included are calcium efflux and onevs. two-tier standard. These two manuscripts may appear in future regular issues of the Journal. Some topics in the Literature Surveillance Working Group database (posted on the ICES website http:// grouper.ieee.org/groups/scc28/) are not covered in this special issue. For example, electrostimulation by low frequencyRF current is not included.However, the final published standard will include an ‘‘Informative Annex (Annex B)’’ that summarizes all topics covered in the database. In addition to Annex B, Annex A describes the approach adopted during the revision and Annex C explains the rationale of the revision. Other annexes include a bibliography and practical applications of the standard. The exposure limits are set forth in the normative section of the standard. At this writing, SC4 still has work to do to complete the revision of IEEE Standard C95.1-1991. On January 19, 2002, SC4 adopted 12 criteria to focus