Microwave & Radio Frequency Radiation Hazards: Cellular Telecommunications Equipment

Since World War II, many significant technological advancements have occurred within the telecommunications and other industries. One of these is the increased use of radio frequency, i.e., microwave and radio wave radiation equipment. Such equipment is widely used in the broadcasting and communications fields in the form of cellular telephones and towers; in the health care industry for medical treatment; in the food industry for the processing and cooking of food; in the wood, textile, and glass fiber industries for drying materials; and in the automotive, electrical, rubber, and plastic products industries for fusing and sealing operations.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that millions of American workers work with and are exposed to radio frequency radiation equipment. CWA members who are exposed to radio frequency radiation include telecommunications microwave and radio wave service technicians and outside plant technicians, operators of cathode ray tube (CRT) computers, employees who use microwave ovens at work, radio frequency radiation equipment operators, manufacturing workers, and health care workers who come in contact with or who operate medical diathermy equipment.

Radio frequency, i.e., microwave and radio wave radiation, is a specific component of the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio frequency radiation is in the non-ionizing portion of the spectrum. Non-ionizing radiation includes the lower frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum such as ultraviolet and visible light, infrared, microwave and radio wave (See Chart Below).  For more information click here.