Research showed Monday that a five-year-old takes in 1.5 times more electromagnetic waves than a 20-year-old.

According to research conducted by a team at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, children’s maximum specific absorption ratio for the waves was much higher than for adults.

The maximum SAR for a five-year-old boy was 124 microwatts per kilogram, while the figure was 83 microwatts per kilogram for a 20-year-old man.

The research team said five-year-old males possibly absorbed larger amounts of electromagnetic waves because they had a lower body mass index. The age-group reportedly has the lowest BMI among Korean males.

However, scientists have not reached a conclusion on whether electromagnetic waves are harmful to the human body, according to the ETRI’s research team. But it said that experimentation on animals had revealed temperature rises with mass absorption of electromagnetic waves, creating various disorders.

As a result, some are calling for safety standards to be put in place to protect children who could be impacted by exposure to the waves.

“There is a low possibility of taking in more electromagnetic waves than the recommended figures in people’s daily lives,” said Lee Ae-kyeong, a researcher who participated in the study. “However, some of the radio frequency ranges that are currently in use were found inappropriate when exposed to children.”

By Cho Ji-hyun(sharon@heraldcorp.com)