ABSTRACT
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the intermediate frequency (IF) range (3 kHz–10 MHz) share characteristics with extremely low-frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) EMF (ICNIRP, 1998a, 2009). Up to 10 MHz, the main effect of the interaction between EMF and the body is nerve electrical stimulation. Above this frequency, the main effect is tissue heating. 56However, between 100 kHz and 10 MHz both effects occur.1 * IF EMF have been traditionally considered within the low part of the RF range and very few studies exist until now which focused exclusively on this frequency range (SCENIHR, 2015; Sienkiewicz et al., 2010). IF EMF sources are commonly used for article surveillance (e.g., anti-theft gates) and heating (e.g., induction stoves), although some ELF and RF sources may also emit within this frequency. RF EMF are characterized by their high frequency (10 MHz–300 GHz) and energy which gives them the capacity to heat matter. Sources of RF EMF may also emit in other frequencies, including static, ELF, and/or IF (e.g., mobile phones and other transmitters can emit both RF and ELF EMF), although main emissions are produced within the RF range (Hitchcock, 2015; Hitchcock and Patterson, 1995; Mann, 2011). Microwaves are traditionally considered as the highest extreme of the RF range (300 MHz–300 GHz).
