Efficiency of autonomic thermoregulation during resonant microwave exposure

Autonomic mechanisms of heat production and heat loss were measured in adult male squirrel monkeys during whole-body exposure to 450 MHz CW microwave fields in cool, neutral and warm environments. Power densities from 0 to 15 mW/cm/sup 2/, representing SARs from 0 to 6.1 W/kg, were tested to determine the efficiency with which deep body temperature was regulated at a stable level in the steady state. The most critical response was sweating, which limited effective thermoregulation in the warm (32/spl deg/C) environment to SARs equivalent to, or less than, the animals' resting heat production.<>