Operations and Management of Government Owned - Contractor Operated Microwave Exposure Facility. Volume 1. Effects of High Power Pulsed Microwaves on Rats Responding at High, Moderate, and Low Response Rates

摘要

In recent years, the relationship between high peak power microwave irradiation and biological systems has generated considerable interest. The relative effects of microwave fields are a function of the exposure fields power density, and specific absorption rate (SAR). Behavior is just as important a determinant of change as is the RF field itself, however, sufficient characterization and comparison requires an analysis that extends over a range of behavior. After training established stable baseline levels, rats were tested pre and post exposure for various microwave dose levels (including sham exposure). Analysis of cumulative response records and video taped exposures failed to show any effects other than thermal for the various pulsed exposures when compared with equivalent average power exposures. This included the highest dose level (108W) which raised the rat's core temperatures up to 2.9 degrees C, and disrupted all activity. However, after approximately 10 minutes, an average decrease of 1.8 degrees allowed the animals to resume their schedules. Keywords: Radiation effects; Exposure physiology; Response biology. (kt)