RF safety regulation background relevant to 5G

Recently, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the safety of newer 5G wireless communication systems [1]. It is not uncommon to find articles that compare RF safety standards developed by different organizations and accept the validity of each without comment [2] or dismiss the validity of a given standard by claiming a conflict of interest [3]. Given this, it is reasonable to ask about the legitimacy of the standards setting process. In regulating human RF exposure, most countries in the world refer to standards generated by either the International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety (IEEE/ICES) and its Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR) or the International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation (ICNIRP). Hence, it is reasonable to discuss the processes by which these bodies arrive at their standards or guidelines for human exposure to RF electromagnetic fields. That is the purpose of this document. Prior to equating the validity of any alternative standard to those of COMAR or ICNIRP, a similar analysis of the alternative should be done. One example of such an analysis is presented in [4].