Sources of Information on this page are from:
- IGNIR
- Building Biology Guidelines
IGNIR
IGNIR (International Guidelines on Non-Ionising Radiation) offers science-based advice and guidance on the health and environmental effects of man-made non-ionising radiation. Its aim is to protect people and the environment from detrimental exposure to man-made EMF pollution, and comprises three functions:
- To provide advice about appropriate safety levels for man-made electromagnetic exposure
- To assess published guidelines on man-made electromagnetic exposure and make its own recommendations as to which are appropriate
- Provide practical and reliable assessment guidelines for surveyors and building biologists.
IGNIR has developed a set of Guidelines for electromagnetic exposure based on the peer-reviewed EUROPAEM EMF Guidelines 2016.
It has three guideline groupings:
| Day (D) | Night (N) | Sensitive (S) |
It covers three frequency ranges:
| Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) | Very Low Frequency (VLF) | Radiofrequency (RF) |
Electromagnetic (EM) hygiene and safety involves minimising exposure levels that can be toxic to the environment and human health. The guidelines set forth by EUROPAEM (European Academy on Environmental Medicine) were published under open access by the international journal Reviews on Environmental Health. Although at present there are no assured safe levels of man-made EM exposure, and studies continue to show harm to living systems at very small exposure values, IGNIR’s guidance aims to help achieve substantial reduction in EM exposure.
IGNIR’s Guidelines are aimed to also help protect sensitive groups such as children, the elderly, fetuses, pregnant women, those with co-morbidity, body metal work and people with Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS).
Extract of IGNIR Guidelines
IGNIR: INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON NON-IONISING RADIATION
IGNIR GUIDELINES
IGNIR has three levels of guidelines, Day (D), Night (N) and Sensitive (S), covering three frequency ranges.
Electromagnetic (EM) hygiene and safety involves minimising exposure levels to an environmental toxin. This guidance is based on the international EUROPAEM EMF Guidelines 2016. Although at present there are no assured safe levels of man-made EM exposure, and studies continue to show harm to living systems at very small exposure values, this guidance aims to help achieve substantial reduction in EM exposure.
RF: Radio Frequency: 30 MHz – 300 GHz includes Wifi, digital radio and TV, DAB+, cordless (DECT) and mobile phones, TETRA, FM radio, microwave ovens. wireless smart appliances, and 5G. VLF: Very Low Frequency: 3 kHz -30 MHz includes “dirty power/electricity” on mains power supply cables, powerline communication, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), induction hobs and VLF radio, ELF: Extremely Low Frequency: 1 Hz – 2 kHz includes mains electricity, power cables, and some home power appliances.
(These guidelines are not inclusive of all EMF-emitting devices, such as DC fields, metal detectors, body scanners, MRI scanners, pacemakers, and lasers. As with ionising radiation, for medical investigations the benefits may outweigh possible harm.)
Building Biology Guidelines
Extracted from full Building Biology Guidelines 2015
RADIO-FREQUENCY RADIATION
(High Frequency, Electromagnetic Waves)
Power density in microwatt per square meter, expressed as µW/m²:
| No Anomaly | Slight Anomaly | Severe Anomaly | Extreme Anomaly |
| < 0.1 | 0.1-10 | 10 – 1000 | > 1000 |
Values apply to single RF sources, e.g. GSM, UMTS, TETRA, LTE, WiMAX, Radio, TV, WLAN, DECT, Bluetooth…, and refer to peak measurements. They do not apply to rotating-antenna radar.
More critical RF sources like pulsed or periodic signals (GSM, TETRA, DECT, WLAN, digital broadcasting…) and broadband technologies with pulsed signals/patterns (UMTS, LTE…) should be assessed more seriously, especially at higher levels, and less critical RF sources like non-pulsed and non-periodic signals (eg: FM, short, medium, long wave, analogue broadcasting…) should be assessed more generously, especially at lower levels. Former Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for RF radiation / HF electromagnetic waves (SBM-2003): pulsed fields < 0.1 no, 0.1-5 slight, 5-
Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas SBM-2015, Page 2:
No Anomaly; Slight Anomaly; Severe Anomaly; Extreme Anomaly
100 strong, > 100 µW/m² extreme anomaly;
Non-pulsed fields < 1 no, 1-50 slight, 50-1000 strong, > 1000 µW/m² extreme anomaly
DIN/VDE: occupational up to 100000000 µW/m², public up to 10000000 µW/m²;
ICNIRP: up to 10000000 µW/m²; Salzburg Resolution / Vienna Medical Association: 1000 µW/m²; BioInitiative 2007: 1000 µW/m² outdoor;
EU-Parliament STOA: 100 µW/m²;
Salzburg: 10 µW/m² outdoor, 1 µW/m² indoor;
EEG / immune effects: 1000 µW/m²;
Sensitivity threshold of mobile phones: < 0.001 µW/m²;
Nature < 0.000001 µW/m²