Research

Project Title:
The International EMF Dosimetry Project

Start Date:
March 2002

Expected Date of Completion:
February 2006

Cost:
£ 220,000

Principal Investigator:
Dr Philip Chadwick

Contact Details:
MCL
17B Woodford Road
London
E18 2EL
UK

Expertise:

MCL is an internationally-recognised independent scientific research and consultancy organisation specialising in the interaction of electromagnetic fields with people. MCL undertakes a wide range of work for the European Union, the UK Government, Local Authorities, schools and businesses as well as having its own scientific research programme.

MCL will be co-ordinating this project, and contributions to the Handbook will be prepared by the leading EMF dosimetry experts from around the world.

Approach:

The International EMF Dosimetry Project was initiated at a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on RF Dosimetry in Slovenia in 1998. The mission of the project is to promote and develop high quality EMF dosimetry for the assessment of human exposure and for in vitro and in vivo experimental systems. The intention is to create an internationally-accepted Dosimetry Handbook which will be a living and substantially on-line document with integrated software tools and guides for dosimetry measurement and calculation.

The Handbook will be assembled from the contributions of international experts in all aspects of EMF dosimetry. The primary benefactor of this project would be public health, via assurance of the quality and transportability of human and experimental dosimetry; the ability to acquire robust scientific information depends on accurate and precise dosimetry.

The Dosimetry Handbook will be a key tool in the international harmonisation of guidelines and standards for human exposure to electromagnetic fields. The project will promote commonality of dosimetry by making the highest quality dosimetric tools available universally. Many of the differences between exposure guidelines reflect differences in dosimetry rather than underlying philosophy. Promoting the convergence of dosimetry should encourage the convergence of EMF guidelines.

The project addresses the specific IEGMP recommendation for improvements in dosimetry and in particular dosimetry for pulsed and ultrawideband communications sources.

The development of UK dosimetry expertise and the encouragement of the “next generation” of researchers are specific additional objectives.

Potential Difficulties:

Encouraging timely contributions from project leaders, and producing a coherent product at the end of the project.

Importance:

The new Dosimetry Handbook will be a key tool in the international harmonisation of guidelines and standards for human exposure to electromagnetic fields. The project will promote commonality of dosimetry by making the highest quality dosimetric tools available universally. Research quality will be improved and funders will be able to assess directly the quality of experimental dosimetry, and in particular the extent to which the World Health Organisation research quality guidelines are met.