[February 15, 2012]

IEEE Announces No-Cost Public Access to Select IEEE C95TM Standards for Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields

IEEE (News - Alert), the world's largest professional association advancing technology for humanity, today announced that the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has made some of its IEEE C95^TM safety standards for human exposure to electromagnetic fields available to the public at no cost. The standards can be downloaded through the IEEE Get Program, which allows anyone from around the world to view and download current individual standards at no charge. Complimentary public access to select IEEE C95 standards is made possible by funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, which sponsors their publication on the IEEE Get Program web site.

The family of IEEE C95 standards establishes limits for human exposure to electromagnetic fields; standardizes methods that manufacturers and engineers can use to measure and compute radiofrequency (RF) and other electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields to which people may be exposed; and details a safety program that organizations can use to ensure RF safety in the workplace and other facilities.

The standards should be of interest to any company, organization or individual interested in electromagnetic safety in general and the safety levels associated with any device that generates a RF or other electromagnetic fields.

"We invite businesses and governments around the world to download and employ the IEEE C95 standards," said Ron Petersen, IEEE Life Fellow and Past Chairman of IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES). "The IEEE C95 standards are science-based and represent decades of work conducted in an open, consensus-based process by the largest and most diverse community of international experts involved in electromagnetic safety standardization."

The U.S. Department of Defense is sponsoring no-cost public access to select IEEE C95 standards to help improve efficiencies and comply with federal requirements to use voluntary, consensus-based non-government standards whenever possible. Broader access to the international IEEE C95 standards will also facilitate interoperability of resources and help standardize workplace safety programs for military organizations that participate in multinational activities.

"Providing no-charge access to the public facilitates possible global standardization of these safety standards," said B. Jon Klauenberg, Ph.D., senior research physiologist in the radio-frequency biological effects branch of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (News - Alert).

The IEEE-SA also has an agreement with the NATO Standardization Agency; Technical Committee-95 (TC95) of IEEE's International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (ICES) which, sponsored by the IEEE-SA, is developing a new IEEE-NATO military workplace standard that NATO countries can use.

The IEEE C95 standards represent more than 50 years of scientific research and standardization activity conducted by the most diverse international forum developing standards for the safe use of electromagnetic energy. More than 125 scientists and engineers from 28 countries have participated in this work, which is continually updated and revised according to the latest scientific research.

IEEE C95 standards are developed in an open consensus process and anyone who has an interest in this work can participate, vote, and serve on committees. The majority of participants represent universities, the military, non-profit research laboratories, and federal public health agencies. Others represent industry, independent and industry consultants, government administrations, and the general public. Following approval by the IEEE-SA Standards Board, the standards are sent to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for public review and comment for consideration as American National Standards.

Making the standards publicly available should also help allay concerns about the safety of exposure to electromagnetic energy. Organizations and individuals can consult the documentation to better understand safety issues and to counter and correct misinformation about adverse health effects associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields.

"The publication of these standards provides, more easily than ever before, the factual information that underlies the standards that most countries, including the U.S., base their safety regulations on," said John M. Osepchuk, PhD, an IEEE Life Fellow and Past Chairman of the ICES Technical Committee C95.

The select IEEE C95 standards available through the IEEE Get Program are:

• IEEE C95.1™-2005 - Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz
• IEEE C95.3™-2002 - Measurements & Computations of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields with Respect to Human Exposure to Such Fields, 100 kHz-300 GHz
• IEEE C95.3.1™-2010 - Measurements & Computations of Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields with Respect to Human Exposure to Such Fields, 0 Hz to 100 kHz
• IEEE C95.6™-2002 - Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields, 0-3 kHz
• IEEE C95.7™-2005 - Radio Frequency Safety Programs - 3 kHz to 300 GHz

For more information about the IEEE C95 standards or to download the documents, visit: http://standards.ieee.org/about/get/.

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About the IEEE Standards Association

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body within IEEE, develops consensus standards through an open process that engages industry and brings together a broad stakeholder community. IEEE standards set specifications and best practices based on current scientific and technological knowledge. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. For more information visit http://standards.ieee.org/.

About IEEE

IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.

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