2. TITLE AND ABSTRACT
2.1 Title
Radio frequency radiation exposure while using portable radios; awareness and educational training among fire fighters.
2.2 Abstract
Fire fighters are issued with portable radios for communication when line of sight communications are impractical. On emergency incidents fire fighters use portable radios as primary communication source, without them controlling and managing these incidents would be impossible. This day to day use of the portable radio makes fire fighters more susceptible to radio frequency radiation emitted by these devices. It is therefore very important to ensure the necessary precautions are implemented against this type of exposure.
3. BACKGROUND On …show more content…
An advantage of assigning portable radios to each crew member is that all members will be able to hear fire ground radio traffic and keep apprised of changes on the fire ground. This will minimize the risk that a message critical to the safety of the crew will be missed entirely (Varone, 2003:2). On average a fire fighters career may stretch over a period of thirty to thirty five years, this equals the time he or she will be responsible for carrying and communicating with a portable radio.
Fire fighters are exposed to radio frequency from transmitters which are at times located in the firehouse. Fire vehicles and trucks area also equipped with two-way radio systems which can expose vehicle occupants to radio frequency radiation, and personal transceivers expose the fire fighters to radio frequency radiation while communicating at the fire scene (Milham, 2009: 788-789)
According to a leading portable radio instruction manual all users are subjected to Radio Frequency radiation especially while transmitting. One of their precautionary measures states that a user should not transmit more than the rated transmit duty cycle. As fire fighters we normally do not think or worry about this technical lingo. This then begs the question how much radio frequency radiation are we as fire fighters exposed to over the span of our …show more content…
The increased use of electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, laptops, television sets radios and Global positioning devices has necessitated the need for further study. According to Mina, Hyoungjune, Mihye, Hyun, Byung-Chan, Yoon-Myoung and Jeong-Ki (2007:279), there was an increased risk of lymphocytic leukaemia among children with higher levels of exposure to radio frequency radiation from Amplitude modulation (AM) radio broadcasting; than among children with lower levels of exposure. Soviet investigators have also indicated that long-term radio frequency exposure may result in hypotension and bradycardia or tachycardia (Jauchem: 1997: 9-21).
It is expected that the level of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields will increase as talking time on radios and other devices increases. It is however not practical to only concentrate on the time spend on these devices as there are other contributing factors as well: factors such as the power output of these devices, which is dependent on the distance from the nearest base station antenna (Stewart, 2000:
2.1 Title
Radio frequency radiation exposure while using portable radios; awareness and educational training among fire fighters.
2.2 Abstract
Fire fighters are issued with portable radios for communication when line of sight communications are impractical. On emergency incidents fire fighters use portable radios as primary communication source, without them controlling and managing these incidents would be impossible. This day to day use of the portable radio makes fire fighters more susceptible to radio frequency radiation emitted by these devices. It is therefore very important to ensure the necessary precautions are implemented against this type of exposure.
3. BACKGROUND On …show more content…
An advantage of assigning portable radios to each crew member is that all members will be able to hear fire ground radio traffic and keep apprised of changes on the fire ground. This will minimize the risk that a message critical to the safety of the crew will be missed entirely (Varone, 2003:2). On average a fire fighters career may stretch over a period of thirty to thirty five years, this equals the time he or she will be responsible for carrying and communicating with a portable radio.
Fire fighters are exposed to radio frequency from transmitters which are at times located in the firehouse. Fire vehicles and trucks area also equipped with two-way radio systems which can expose vehicle occupants to radio frequency radiation, and personal transceivers expose the fire fighters to radio frequency radiation while communicating at the fire scene (Milham, 2009: 788-789)
According to a leading portable radio instruction manual all users are subjected to Radio Frequency radiation especially while transmitting. One of their precautionary measures states that a user should not transmit more than the rated transmit duty cycle. As fire fighters we normally do not think or worry about this technical lingo. This then begs the question how much radio frequency radiation are we as fire fighters exposed to over the span of our …show more content…
The increased use of electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, laptops, television sets radios and Global positioning devices has necessitated the need for further study. According to Mina, Hyoungjune, Mihye, Hyun, Byung-Chan, Yoon-Myoung and Jeong-Ki (2007:279), there was an increased risk of lymphocytic leukaemia among children with higher levels of exposure to radio frequency radiation from Amplitude modulation (AM) radio broadcasting; than among children with lower levels of exposure. Soviet investigators have also indicated that long-term radio frequency exposure may result in hypotension and bradycardia or tachycardia (Jauchem: 1997: 9-21).
It is expected that the level of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields will increase as talking time on radios and other devices increases. It is however not practical to only concentrate on the time spend on these devices as there are other contributing factors as well: factors such as the power output of these devices, which is dependent on the distance from the nearest base station antenna (Stewart, 2000: