# Thermal effect

> Tissue heating from absorbed RF energy — the established mechanism that RF exposure limits are set to prevent, with a safety margin.

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

## Key values

- **Category:** health

## Definition

Absorbed RF energy raises tissue temperature. ICNIRP and FCC limits are derived from the exposure that produces a defined temperature rise, then reduced by a safety factor — typically 50 for the general public relative to the threshold for established effects. Claims of 'non-thermal' effects concern mechanisms below this threshold and are the substance of the scientific dispute in this field.

## Sources

- `icnirp-2020` International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (2020). *Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)*. https://www.icnirp.org/en/publications/article/rf-guidelines-2020.html — guideline, link checked 2026-08-12
- `fcc-1310` U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR). *47 CFR § 1.1310 — Radiofrequency radiation exposure limits*. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/section-1.1310 — regulation, 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.