Our salaries are not paid by the industry

The electromagnetic impact of new technologies: this is the objective of the platform Pheline (electromagnetic phenomena and interactions with the environment), inaugurated Friday last in Grenoble. This facility, unique in Europe according to its designers, is available to industry, local communities and non-governmental organizations. These customers will be able do evaluate electromagnetic fields caused by electronic devices (mobile phones, communicating objects, sensors...), and the exposure that they generate for people. Pheline may also measure the impact on the level of exposure of the use of any material in these devices, but also in homes, offices, factories.

"Industrial targets are large enough, said Vincent Billot, information technology and engineering of Floralis, the company responsible for managing Pheline, subsidiary of the University Joseph - Fourier (UJF).". Everything from pre-qualification standards Wi - Fi of communicating objects to the study of impacts of towers for mobile phones, in the microwave.

Pheline was created by two institutes in Grenoble: UJF and the scientific and technical building Centre (CSBT), a public institution founded in 1947 to help the industrial and construction professionals. Both partners have a long legitimacy in the field of the wave. "For 15 years, we are each on our side to electromagnetic fields, said Christophe Martinsons, one of the leaders of the CSTB." And here are four years that we work together on these issues.

Independent provider

The CSTB is, for example, one of two developers of the Mithras-Rem, selected software, a few weeks ago, by the Brussels-capital region, in Belgium, to simulate the electromagnetic fields produced by mobile telephony antennas. And UJF and the CSBT co-authored several reports. Including a study commissioned by the French Agency of health safety (Afsset) work on radiation and environmental low-frequency electromagnetic induced in buildings by electrical installations, and another for Agency of environment and energy management (Ademe) control, the impact of compact fluorescent lamps.

Market which Pheline tackles is carrier: electromagnetic fields - in particular those emitted by mobile phones and their towers - concerned. All information on this subject is immediately taken by the media, as evidenced by the controversy over the results, published on 17 may, the European investigation intercom. Industry therefore need independent agencies to evaluate their devices.

The great originality of Pheline is to combine technical tools to human skills. "200 Metres square at the CSTB, provides platform details Christophe Martinsons." Here, we assembled our shared resources, including an anechoic chamber to measure electromagnetic fields emitted by a device and two electromagnetic reverberant rooms joined, to assess the electromagnetic properties of a material. "In total, more than 500,000 euros of materials have been purchased or renovated and moved to the premises of Pheline.

"Being perfect".

Side expertise, UJF may draw the needs in the skills of its 70 laboratories. "Half of them are likely to intervene, in biology, to evaluate the effect of waves on living tissue, to physics, to develop new electronic devices", calculates Vincent Billot.

The difficulty for Pheline will be to defend its independence from its customers, so that his work appears not biased. "We have an exclusively scientific position, defending Christophe Martinsons. Our salaries are not paid by the industry. ""The CSBT has a true willingness to be flawless scientifically,"reflects Etienne ashtray, spokesman Robin of roofs, an association that militates for more safety in wireless technologies.