Introduction to RF Radiation Safety / 9 / 9.5

9.5 AS/NZS 2772.2

AS/NZS 2772.2:2016, Radiofrequency fields - Part 2: Principles and methods of measurement and computation—3 kHz to 300 GHz, is the joint Australian and New Zealand standard for technical RF exposure assessment. It incorporates Amendment No. 1, published in September 2018, and superseded the 2011 edition.

The standard does not establish exposure limits. It specifies commonly accepted processes for assessing compliance with limits supplied by the applicable exposure standard, regulation, license condition, or other governing instrument. Its methods cover measurement and computation of ambient RF fields, induced body currents, and basic-restriction quantities such as specific absorption rate (SAR).

Because the retained edition predates ARPANSA RPS S-1, it still names RPS3 and NZS 2772.1 in its definitions, examples, and evaluation rules. In Australia, its assessment methods are used with the current RPS S-1 requirements. RPS S-1 takes priority wherever the documents differ in exposure quantities, limit values, averaging conditions, summation rules, or other compliance criteria.

9.5.1 Purpose, Edition, And Scope

The objective of AS/NZS 2772.2 is to make RF exposure assessments technically sound, comparable, repeatable, and sufficiently documented. It establishes a common assessment process while allowing the assessor to select a method that is fit for the source, field region, exposure quantity, and purpose of the work.

Its scope extends from 3 kHz to 300 GHz and includes leakage fields, intentionally radiated fields, and reactive fields. It can be applied to broadcast installations, radiocommunication base stations, radar, medical and industrial RF equipment, wireless charging systems, scientific equipment, and low-level environmental assessments around sources such as Wi-Fi devices and smart meters.

The standard addresses external electric and magnetic fields, power flux density, induced and contact currents, and quantities associated with the basic restrictions. Its 3 kHz lower boundary is broader than the 100 kHz lower boundary of RPS S-1, so the governing exposure requirements must be identified separately where frequencies below 100 kHz are involved.

The main sections contain the assessment requirements. The appendices are informative and provide detailed guidance on instruments, field regions, measurement, uncertainty, computational tools, factors affecting accuracy, survey safety, and worked examples. Amendment No. 1 added guidance on SAR assessment for radiocommunication base stations.