At its most basic level, communication is the exchange of ideas or feelings between people. This exchange consists of 55 percent body language, 38 percent voice tone and 7 percent verbal words, according to studies cited by Grey Owl Aviation Consultants Inc. Some circumstances, however, particularly in the workplace, can impede effective communication and lead to such calamities as patient injury, aircraft failure and employee accidents.
History The FCC has adopted RF safety guidelines based on qualified recommendations.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to evaluate how RF energy emitted by transmitters and facilities under its regulatory control impact human health. Guidelines were adopted by the FCC in 1985 and updated in 1996 to establish safe RF exposure and absorption limits based on recommendations from the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Types of Radiation
Radiation is manifested as either ionizing or non-ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation such as X-rays and gamma rays carry high-intensity electromagnetic energy that can damage biological tissue and genetic DNA material. However, the energy levels associated with RF radiation is not great enough to cause molecular cell damage and falls under the category of non-ionizing radiation.
