Letter Report to the Department of the Air Force from the Committee to Assess Potential Health Effects from Exposure to PAVE PAWS Low-level Phased-array Radiofrequency Energy (2002)

An Assessment of Potential Health Effects from Exposures to PAVE PAWS Low-level Phasedarray Radiofrequency Energy

The committee will first determine whether continuous and pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy research data are adequate for determining the biological and potential health effects of the PAVE PAWS phased-array system. This determination will be communicated to the sponsor as a letter report. If the research data from continuous and pulsed RF energies are considered to be applicable for the determination of possible health effects of phased-array RF energy, the committee will use this information to update the 1979 National Research Council analysis of the exposure levels and potential biologic effects of the PAVE PAWS Radar System. If the data are not applicable, the committee will use other information that it determines to be relevant to phased array health effects to update the 1979 report. In this update the committee will evaluate potential biological and health effects, evaluate exposures of the public to electromagnetic energy from the PAVE PAWS system, and make recommendations for the need for, and focus of, additional scientific studies to address continued scientific uncertainty related to health outcomes and exposure to low-level radiofrequency energy emitted by the PAVE PAWS Radar System. At the completion of its work, the committee will provide an update of the 1979 Research Council report that includes a discussion of:

1. The applicability of, and the level of uncertainty associated with, using data derived from cell, animal, and epidemiological studies employing continuous-wave exposure for evaluation of potential adverse health effects following phased-array exposures;

2. The extent of the exposure of the public to electromagnetic energy from the PAVE PAWS system;

3. Potential biological and health effects of the PAVE PAWS Radar System, and

4. Recommendations for appropriate follow-on study design issues, including the strengths and limitations of the approaches suggested and the potential value of the proposed work.