Absorption of microwave radiation by the anesthetized rat: Electromagnetic and thermal hotspots in body and tail

Technical Report · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6213453

D'Andrea, J A; Emmerson, R Y; DeWitt, J R; Gandhi, O P

Anatomic variability in the deposition of radiofrequency electromagnetic energy in mammals has been well documented. A recent study reported specific absorption rat (SAR) hotspots in the brain, rectum and tail of rat carcasses exposed to 360- and to 2,450-MHz microwave radiation. Regions of intense energy absorption are generally thought to be of little consequence when predicting thermal effects of microwave irradiation because it is presumed that heat transfer via the circulatory system promptly redistributes localized heat to equilibrate tissue temperature within the body. Experiments on anesthetized, male Long-Evans rats (200-260 g) irradiated for 10 or 16 min with 2,450, 700, or 360 MHz radiation at SARs of 2 W/kg, 6 W/kg, or 10 W/kg indicated that postirradiation localized temperatures in regions previously shown to exhibit high SARs were appreciably above temperatures at body sites with lower SARs. The postirradiation temperatures in the rectum and tail were significantly higher in rats irradiated at 360 MHz and higher in the tail at 2,450 MHz than temperatures resulting from exposure to 700 MHz. The effect was found for whole-body-averages SARs as low as 6 W/kg at 360 MHz and 10 W/g at 2,450 MHz.

• Research Organization: Utah Univ., Salt Lake City, UT (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6213453
• Report Number(s): PB-91-109157/XAB; CNN: EPA-68-02-3456; R01-ES02509-01
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Pub. in Bioelectromagnetics, Vol. 8, No. 3, 385-396(Jul 1987)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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