The ICNIRP standards are used throughout the world as the reference for national regulations, as well as EU recommendations. The work of the independent body is based on many years of study and review of all known available scientific research on the matter, as well as an extensive public consultation process.
ICNIRP Chairman Eric van Rongen said the new guidelines are more appropriate than the 1998 guidelines for the higher frequencies that will be used for 5G in the future. "We know parts of the community are concerned about the safety of 5G and we hope the updated guidelines will help put people at ease," he said.
The main changes in the 2020 guidelines are 5G exposure for frequencies above 6 GHz. These include the addition of a restriction for exposure to the whole body; the addition of a restriction for brief (less than 6‐minute) exposures to small regions of the body; and the reduction of the maximum exposure permitted over a small region of the body.
According to Van Rongen, the previous guidelines from 1998 were largely sufficient still, due to the conservative levels set. "However, the new guidelines provide better and more detailed exposure guidance in particular for the higher frequency range, above 6 GHz, which is of importance to 5G and future technologies using these higher frequencies. The most important thing for people to remember is that 5G technologies will not be able to cause harm when these new guidelines are adhered to."
Other minor changes to the guidelines include greater transparency to make the logic and scientific basis of the guidelines easier for the health protection community to engage with; additional means of assessing compliance with the guidelines; and greater specification of how to assess complicated exposure scenarios.
The full guidelines are published in the scientific journal Health Physics and can be accessed at the ICNIRP website.
