# Precautionary principle (as applied to EMF)

> The basis for values set below the level justified by established effects, such as the Swiss installation limits and building-biology bands.

- Canonical URL: https://emfbase.com/glossary/precautionary-principle
- Collection: Glossary
- Record id: `glossary:precautionary-principle`
- Status: verified
- Last verified: 2026-08-12
- JSON: https://emfbase.com/api/glossary/precautionary-principle

## Key values

- **Category:** regulation

## Definition

Applied to EMF, the precautionary principle supports reducing exposure where it can be done at reasonable cost, even without established harm at the levels concerned. It explains why Switzerland's legally binding installation values, Building Biology's evaluation bands and EUROPAEM's targets sit far below ICNIRP reference levels. Precautionary values are policy or professional judgements, not findings of harm, and this site labels them as such throughout.

## Sources

- `ch-onir` Swiss Confederation (2000). *Ordinance relating to Protection from Non-Ionising Radiation (ONIR / NISV, SR 814.710)*. https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2000/38/en — regulation, link checked 2026-08-12
- `sbm-2024` Institut für Baubiologie + Nachhaltigkeit (IBN) (2024). *Building Biology Evaluation Guidelines for Sleeping Areas (SBM-2024)*. https://buildingbiology.com/site/downloads/SBM-2024_EVALUATION_GUIDELINES_EN.pdf — ngo, link checked 2026-08-12
- `europaem-2016` European Academy for Environmental Medicine (2016). *EUROPAEM EMF Guideline 2016 for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EMF-related health problems*. https://europaem.eu/en/library/blog-en/97-europaem-emf-guideline-2016 — ngo, link checked 2026-08-12

Data licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Dataset version 2026.08.1. Retrieved from EMFBase, https://emfbase.com.

This record is reference data, not medical or legal advice. Regulatory limits, scientific guidelines and precautionary values are labelled separately and answer different questions.