Science & wireless

ACEBR ordinarily holds annual Science and Wireless events to help communicate the science to the Australian community, government, academic and industry sectors. Unfortunately this didn’t eventuate in 2020 due to COVID-19, and we will have to wait until our COVID lockdown situation improves.

Our most recent Science and Wireless event was held on December 2, 2019 at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne. The event was well-attended by members of the public, researchers and industry and government representatives, and was split into two parts

Part 1 of Science and Wireless 2019 was a technical lecture on the ‘New ICNIRP Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)’, presented by the chairman-elect of ICNIRP and ACEBR chief investigator Professor Rodney Croft.

Part 2 of Science and Wireless 2019 consisted of a series of brief presentations in a Public Forum – ‘Everything You Need to Know About 5G’. The first presentation ‘What is 5G?’ was given by Dr Ken Karipidis from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA), summarising the technical and physical aspects of 5G technology and how ARPANSA protects the public. Next, Professor Andrew Wood of ACEBR presented ‘A Summary of the Research’, which succinctly outlined the research that has been conducted to date on 5G technologies and millimetre waves. Following this, Chris Althaus of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association gave a presentation on the ‘Benefits of 5G’ which outlined how 5G technology may be utilised in the future to drive industry and the economy. Finally, Associate Professor Sarah Loughran addressed frequently asked questions regarding radiofrequency electromagnetic fields and human health in her presentation on ‘5G Community Concerns’.

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion in which all of the speakers were on hand to answer questions from the audience. The questions were many and varied and centred around 5G technology and specific questions regarding personal exposure assessments and electro-hypersensitivity research.

We thank all attendees once again for their contribution to this event, and we welcome suggestions from the public for topics of interest for future Science and Wireless events. All of the Science and Wireless presentations are available to download below.

1. New ICNIRP Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz) (pdf)
2. What is 5G? (pdf)
3. Benefits of 5G (pdf)
4. 5G Community Concerns (pdf)