ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS DOSIMETRY Peter Gajšek Institute of Non-Ionizing Radiation (INIS), Ljubljana, Slovenia INVITED PAPER MIDEM 2004 CONFERENCE 29.09.04-01.10.04, Maribor, Slovenia Key words: EMF dosimetry, EMF standards, EMF effects to humans Abstract: In the last three decades, the use of devices that emit radiofrequency (RF)^ electromagnetic fields has increased dramatically The proliferation of RF devices has been accompanied by increased concern about ensuring the safety of their use. Throughout the world many organizations, both government and non-government, have established RF safety standards or guidelines for exposure. Because of different criteria, the former USSR and some of the Eastern European countries have more stringent safety standards than most Western countries. Differences in the exposure limit values in electromagnetic field (EMF) standards between some Eastern European and those of Western countries are over two orders of magnitude. These differences have raised concerns about the lack of uniformity and have led to public concern and distrust about EMF exposures from the increased use of various EMF sources in the living and working environment. Thus, better methods are needed to properly measure, extrapolate or relate effects observed in animals to those expected to be found in people. The resulting data could lead to modification of existing safety standards or setting of new safety standards. Accurate dosimetry represents an essential element of the research in determining the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. Dozimetrija elektromagnetnih polj Kjučne besede: dozimetrija elektromagnetnih polj, EMF standardi, vplivi EMF na ljudi Izvleček: V zadnjih treh desetletjih smo priča dramatičnega povečanja rabe naprav, ki oddajajo radiofrekvenčna (RF) elektromagnetna polja (EMF). Povečano rabo RF naprav je spremljala povečana skrb glede zagotavljanja njihove varne rabe. Mnoge vladne, oz. nevladne organizacije po svetu so pripravile varnostne standarde in priporočila za RF obsevanje. Zaradi različnih kriterijev imajo bivše države ZSSR in nekatere vzhodnoevropske države strožje varnostne standarde kot večina zahodnoevropskih držav Razlike v limitnih ekspozicijskih vrednostih v EMF standardih med zahodnoevropskimi in nekaterimi vzhodnoevropskimi državami so tudi več kot dva reda velikosti. Te razlike so povzročile zaskrbljenost zaradi neusklajenosti standardov in so privedle dejavnega dvoma in nezaupanja do izpostavljanja EMF sevanju kot posledica povečane rabe različnih naprav, ki so izvori tega sevanja v delovnem in življenjskem okolju. Zaradi tega potrebujemo boljše metode za ustrezne meritve, ekstrapolacijo in primerjavo vplivov opaženih pri živalih s tistimi, ki jih pričakujemo pri ljudeh. Tako pridobljeni podatki lahko vodijo k spremembi obstoječih varnostnih standardov ali k zasnovi novih. Točna dozimetrija predstavlja ključni element pri raziskavah za določanje bioloških učinkov elektromagnetnih polj. Introduction Electromagnetic energy is absorbed non-uniformly in biological tissues (D'Andrea et al. 1977, 1985; Gandhi et al., 1979). Furthermore, a large number of factors such as a body's shape and position as well as its orientation in the field will produce new non-uniform distributions (Durney et al., 1978; Gandhi, 1974). In short, there is no single answer to the question, "How much electromagnetic field (EMF) energy will be absorbed?" Nevertheless, in order to make safe use of EMF emitting devices, a number of techniques for measuring EMF exposure have been devised. Unfortunately, all have limitations. It is understandable then, why the development of mathematical dosimetry modeling techniques and sufficiently powerful computer hardware has resulted in the rapid adoption of dosimetry modeling as a principle tool in determining EMF exposure. Computer-based dosimetry modeling provides great advantages by returning more information about an exposure than empirical techniques and with considerably less effort. But before this tool transitions into the hands of health safety officers and system designers, it must be verified under a wide variety of conditions using available analytical and empirical dosimetry techniques to verify its accuracy and limitations. The state of empirical dosimetry has recently been reviewed (Ghou et al., 1996) and is described in detail in the Radiofrequency Radiation Dosimetry Handbook (Durney et al., 1986). It is important to briefly review the techniques, as these will be the source of the empirical verification of any EMF dosimetry model. Empirical Dosimetry Baseline temperature measurements. Since absorbed EMF energy produces heat, measuring changes in temperature is the principal means of measuring EMF dose. The radiofrequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum extends over a wide range of frequencies, from about 10 kHz to 300 GHz. To measure changes, a baseline temperature is required. One method is to allow the sample to equilibrate to the ambient temperature of the exposure chamber. An extended equilibration time is possible with stable samples; however, with biological specimens a long equilibration time is accompanied by changes in permittivity properties. An alternative procedure (Gambrill et al., 1993; Lu etal., 1993), which avoids this problem, is used with unstable samples such as biological tissues. Baseline temperature data is collected for a few minutes before and after the exposure. The average rate of temperature change during the non-exposure periods can be subtracted from the rate of change during exposure. The result is the rate of temperature change produced by the exposure. Using the specific heat for tissue of 0.84, a 1-degree C/mlnute temperature change is equal to a raw SAR of 58.6 W/kg (Durney et al., 1986). The raw SAR is then divided by the incident field intensity at the site of the measurement to convert to normalized SAR (W/kg/mW/cm^). In this way, temperature changes due to other factors are isolated from changes due to EMF exposure. This allows the use of thermally unstable samples such as fresh carcasses. Exposure parameters. In order to maximize sensitivity to temperature changes resulting from EMF exposure and minimize the effects of other factors several considerations must be taken into account when selecting exposure parameters. First, power levels should be selected to produce as rapid a temperature rise as can be accurately detected, in other words, a relatively high incident power. Second, the exposure duration should be as brief as possible. The goal is to minimize the effects of thermal diffusion. Third, the temperature of the sample should be kept within the optimal sensitivity range of the thermometers being used. This may make it necessary to allow the sample to cool between exposures. Measurement Techniques: Infrared Thermometry. A thermographic camera (We use a Radiance I from Amber Engineering, Goleta, OA) can be use to measure temperatures and ultimately SAR across the visible surface of an object (Mason, 1999). Since the camera is non-invasive it can be used in addition to other measurement techniques. A comparison of rendered three-dimensional SAR data and an infrared image can provide dramatic confirmation of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) output (See Figure 1). Some samples (e.g., spheres and phantoms) can be constructed so that they can be quickly split after an exposure and scanned to visualize the temperatures over surface of the split. Care must be taken to ensure that the surfaces of the split had good electrical contact during the exposure. Measurement Techniques: Calorimetry. Whole-body averaged SAR in phantoms and animal carcasses can be determined by twin-well calorimetry (Phillips et al., 1975, Blackman and Black, 1977; Allen and Hunt, 1979; Chou et al., 1984). Two identical samples are brought to temperature equilibrium. One is then exposed. Immediately after exposure, both are placed in the calorimeter wells. The calorimeter measures the heat diffusion for the ex- posed and unexposed samples, the difference is the amount of EMF energy absorbed by the exposed sample. Figure 1. The right panel shows infrared images of a monl