What is SAR?
SAR is the acronym for Specific Absorption Rate. It’s defined as the rate at which energy is absorbed by a unit of body tissue and can be expressed both as an average value for the whole body and as a value for a smaller portion of the body. Average SAR for the whole body is useful to characterise exposure caused by base station emissions, because aerials are usually at some distance away from the public. The basic restriction recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection for the general public is, in this case, 0.08 W/kg. Localised SAR is used when the transmitter is very close to the body and the energy is absorbed by a small portion of the body. This happens mainly with mobile phones, which are usually held next to the head or to members. The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection set the limit for the general public’s exposure of the head and upper body area to 2 W/kg and for members to 4 W/kg.
