Implications of mmWave Radiation on Human Health: State of the Art Threshold Levels

2021 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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UnclearInsufficient evidencePaper 1238

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2021

Study typereview

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Implications of mmWave Radiation on Human Health: State of the Art Threshold Levels Ravilla Dilli. Implications of mmWave Radiation on Human Health: State of the Art Threshold Levels. IEEE Access. 18 January 2021. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3052387. Abstract millimeter (mmWave) frequencies are covering from 30GHz to 300GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum and their uses in various applications like next-generation wireless communication systems (massive 5G telecommunications network), medical devices, airport security and automatic collision avoidance systems are growing vastly in the near future. Therefore, it is important to study the effects of mmWave radiation (non- ionization radiation) on biological systems and biophysical mechanisms. This paper focus on thorough review of nascent literature about current understandings of biological effects and epidemiological studies due to mmWave radiation in human beings. It presents latest guidelines with quantitative electromagnetic field thresholds by considering the realistic exposure scenarios of “general public” and “occupational” who undergo through wireless communication sources in their daily life. It also gives necessary safety measures to be taken while using the emerging mmWave technologies for future generation wireless communication networks. ieeexplore.ieee.org Conclusions and Futurescope This paper has investigated mainly on the latest and current research work on various adverse health effects in human beings due to continuous and discontinuous, short-term and long-term RF EMFs exposures at mmWave frequency bands. It has mentioned the state-of-art threshold levels for exposures to RF EMFs at mmWave frequency bands.However, there are few exposure scenarios like RF EMFs interfering with electrical equipment (also called EMC), potential harms to volunteer research participants, EMFs due to metallic implants which are part of medical treatment are out of scope to the threshold levels mentioned in this paper. The future scope of this work is to establish guidelines and safety measures at THz frequency bands, also consider the EMC influences in defining threshold values. Currently, the EHS health disorders are greatly increasing day by day in people who use smart phones for a long time in a day. Future continuations of this research work include deriving scientific basis which gives relation between the usage of mmWave communication devices and EHS health disorders in humans.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typereview

Effect directionunclear

PopulationHuman beings; includes “general public” and “occupational” exposure scenarios (as described)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposuremmWave · continuous and discontinuous; short-term and long-term (as described)

Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

This paper reviews nascent literature on biological effects and epidemiological studies related to mmWave radiation in humans and presents latest guidelines with quantitative EMF threshold levels considering realistic exposure scenarios for the general public and occupational settings. It also describes safety measures for emerging mmWave technologies and notes some exposure scenarios (e.g., EMC interference, metallic implants) are out of scope for the thresholds discussed.

Outcomes measured

biological effects
epidemiological findings in humans
adverse health effects (general)
electromagnetic field exposure threshold levels/guidelines
electrohypersensitivity (EHS) health disorders (mentioned as future scope)

Limitations

Review of “nascent literature” (as stated)
Some exposure scenarios are out of scope for the threshold levels discussed (EMC interference with equipment, potential harms to volunteer research participants, EMFs due to metallic implants)
Future work proposed to establish guidelines at THz bands and to derive scientific basis relating mmWave device usage to EHS (indicates current evidence/guidance may be incomplete)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "mmWave",
    "source": "next-generation wireless communication systems (massive 5G telecommunications network) and other applications (medical devices, airport security, collision avoidance)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "continuous and discontinuous; short-term and long-term (as described)"
  },
  "population": "Human beings; includes “general public” and “occupational” exposure scenarios (as described)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "biological effects",
    "epidemiological findings in humans",
    "adverse health effects (general)",
    "electromagnetic field exposure threshold levels/guidelines",
    "electrohypersensitivity (EHS) health disorders (mentioned as future scope)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This paper reviews nascent literature on biological effects and epidemiological studies related to mmWave radiation in humans and presents latest guidelines with quantitative EMF threshold levels considering realistic exposure scenarios for the general public and occupational settings. It also describes safety measures for emerging mmWave technologies and notes some exposure scenarios (e.g., EMC interference, metallic implants) are out of scope for the thresholds discussed.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Review of “nascent literature” (as stated)",
    "Some exposure scenarios are out of scope for the threshold levels discussed (EMC interference with equipment, potential harms to volunteer research participants, EMFs due to metallic implants)",
    "Future work proposed to establish guidelines at THz bands and to derive scientific basis relating mmWave device usage to EHS (indicates current evidence/guidance may be incomplete)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mmWave",
    "millimeter wave",
    "30–300 GHz",
    "RF EMF",
    "5G",
    "guidelines",
    "threshold levels",
    "occupational exposure",
    "general public exposure",
    "safety measures",
    "epidemiology",
    "biological effects",
    "EHS"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.78,
      "reason": "Discusses mmWave use in massive 5G networks and presents guidelines/threshold levels and safety measures."
    },
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.66,
      "reason": "Explicitly considers occupational exposure scenarios and thresholds."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1109/access.2021.3052387
PubMed: Not supplied

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