Introduction to RF Radiation Safety / 9 / 9.4

9.4 ARPANSA RPS S-1 STANDARD

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) publishes national standards and guidance for radiation protection, including protection from radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields.

Australia's national RF exposure standard is Radiation Protection Series S-1: Standard for Limiting Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields - 100 kHz to 300 GHz (RPS S-1), published in February 2021. It superseded the 2002 Radiation Protection Series No. 3 (RPS 3), which covered 3 kHz to 300 GHz.

RPS S-1 is more than a set of numerical exposure limits. It contains mandatory basic restrictions, derived reference levels, rules for simultaneous frequencies, requirements for verifying compliance, occupational risk-management requirements, and measures for protecting the general public.

9.4.1 Purpose, Status, And Scope

The purpose of RPS S-1 is to prevent substantiated adverse health effects by limiting human exposure to RF fields between 100 kHz and 300 GHz. Its limits also support the planning of work, design of protective facilities, evaluation of controls, and medical assessment following suspected overexposure.

As an ARPANSA standard, RPS S-1 provides a national reference point for radiation protection and safety. Its legal effect depends on how it is adopted or referenced by Commonwealth, State, or Territory legislation, regulations, license conditions, and workplace obligations. It complements rather than replaces applicable work health and safety law. Within the standard, a statement using 'must' is mandatory, while 'should' identifies a recommendation to be applied so far as practicable.

The standard applies to members of the public and to workers; to continuous and discontinuous exposure; to single and multiple frequencies; and to fields produced deliberately or incidentally by equipment or devices. Responsibility for compliance may involve manufacturers, suppliers, installers, employers or service providers, and users.

Patient exposure managed as part of a medical procedure is outside its limits, but the standard applies to equipment operators and other people nearby. It also applies to cosmetic treatments not controlled by a qualified medical practitioner. Ignition of flammable materials, interference with electronic equipment, and some contact-current hazards require additional standards or controls; compliance with the exposure limits alone does not remove every possibility of RF shock or burn.