December 2012 - URSI

The workshop on human exposure to electromagnetic
fields organized during the last day of the conference
consisted of presentations about some recent biological
studies and discussions on the means to evaluate compliance
of both local and whole body exposure with regard to
current limits. A first study from India showed that the 10
GHz field has an injurious effect on the fertility potential
of male exposed rats. Another study from the same country
showed that chronic, intermittent amplitude modulated RF
(73.5 MHz) exposure to the peripubertal rat increases the
emotional component of phasic pain over a basal eaualgesic
state, while late response to tonic pain decreased. The case
of an accidental exposure to high-levels of RF radiation (85-
100 MHz) during work on a transmission mast in Finland
was reported. The results of an international survey of
mobile phone users’ knowledge of specific absorption rate
(SAR) were presented. They show that there is generally a
low level of concern about possible health risks from using
mobile phones and widespread misunderstanding of SAR.
Case studies from India where the government is currently
developing RF exposure limits and standards were presented.
Since all marketed mobile phones are expected to be SAR
compliant (e.g. less than 2 W/kg in Europe), the meaning
and display of the relative SAR values of mobile phones
measured in laboratory conditions were debated since they
do not reflect the real life exposure scenarii.
Before the closing ceremony of the conference,
prizes and certificates were awarded to young scientists
and students. Three young scientists benefited from
partial financial support from Union Radio Scientifique
Internationale (URSI) to attend RADIO 2012. First and
second best paper prizes were awarded to two students.
Following the success of RADIO 2012 and numerous
requests from foreign delegates, the local organizing
committee is considering the organization of the next edition
of the conference again in Mauritius in 2014.
Vikass MONEBHURRUN
General Chair, RADIO Conference
CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
COSPAR 2014
Moscow, Russia, 2 - 10 August 2014
Topics
Approximately 120 meetings covering the fields of COSPAR
Scientific Commissions (SC) and Panels:
- SC A: The Earth’s Surface, Meteorology and Climate
- SC B: The Earth-Moon System, Planets, and Small
Bodies of the Solar System
- SC C: The Upper Atmospheres of the Earth and Planets
Including Reference Atmospheres
- SC D: Space Plasmas in the Solar System, Including
Planetary Magnetospheres
- SC E: Research in Astrophysics from Space
- SC F: Life Sciences as Related to Space
- SC G: Materials Sciences in Space
- SC H: Fundamental Physics in Space
- Panel on Satellite Dynamics (PSD)
- Panel on Scientific Ballooning (PSB)
- Panel on Potentially Environmentally Detrimental
Activities in Space (PEDAS)
- Panel on Radiation Belt Environment Modelling
(PRBEM)
- Panel on Space Weather (PSW)
- Panel on Planetary Protection (PPP)
- Panel on Capacity Building (PCB)
- Panel on Education (PE)
- Panel on Exploration (PEX)
- Special events: interdisciplinary lectures, round table,
etc.
Scientific Program Chair
Prof. M.I. Panasyuk, Moscow State University
Abstract Deadline
Mid-February 2014 : Selected papers published in Advances
in Space Research, a fully refereed journal with no deadlines
open to all submissions in relevant fields
Contact
COSPAR Secretariat, c/o CNES
2 place Maurice Quentin
75039 Paris Cedex 01, France
Tel: +33 1 44 76 75 10
Fax: +33 1 44 76 74 37
cospar@cosparhq.cnes.fr
http://www.cospar-assembly.org
38 The Radio Science Bulletin No 343 (December 2012)