The International Electrotechnical Commission, which develops standards for electrical, electronic, and related technologies, has just released standard 62209-2, "Human exposure to radio frequency fields from hand-held and body-mounted wireless communication devices Human models, instrumentation, and procedures Part 2: Procedure to determine the specific absorption rate (SAR) for wireless communication devices used in close proximity to the human body (frequency range of 30 MHz to 6 GHz)."

IEC 62209-2:2010 is applicable to any wireless communication device capable of transmitting electromagnetic fields (EMF) intended to be used at a position near the human body, in the manner described by the manufacturer, with the radiating part(s) of the device at distances up to and including 200 mm from a human body, i.e. when held in the hand or in front of the face, mounted on the body, combined with other transmitting or non-transmitting devices or accessories (e.g. belt-clip, camera or Bluetooth add-on), or embedded in garments.

For transmitters used in close proximity to the human ear, the procedures of IEC 62209-1:2005 are applicable. IEC 62209-2:2010 is applicable for radio frequency exposure in the frequency range of 30 MHz to 6 GHz, and may be used to measure simultaneous exposures from multiple radio sources used in close proximity to human body. Definitions and evaluation procedures are provided for the following general categories of device types:

- body-mounted,
- body-supported,
- desktop,
- front-of-face,
- hand-held,
- laptop,
- limb-mounted,
- multi-band,
- push-to-talk,
- clothing-integrated.

The types of devices considered include but are not limited to mobile telephones, cordless microphones, auxiliary broadcast devices and radio transmitters in personal computers. IEC 62209-2:2010 gives guidelines for a reproducible and conservative measurement methodology for determining the compliance of wireless devices with the SAR limits.

Click here for the IEC Standards Web Store for 62209-2

Information sourced from IEC 62209-2 abstract