Objective. The objective is to assess the development of approaches to RF EMF regulation in populated areas on the example of Ukrainian legislation.
Materials and methods. Regulatory documents, guidelines and scientific publications were studied by the method of literature analysis.
Results. Systematic studies on hygienic assessment of RF EMF were first conducted at the O.M. Marzieiev Kyiv Research Institute of General and Communal Hygiene under the leadership and supervision of Yu.D. Dumansky. The research was carried out in order to develop the hygienic standards – the EMF maximum permissible level, to develop the protective measures to reduce the impact of EMF exposure on the health of the population, in particular, to calculate the borders of sanitary protection zones and zones of building restrictions, and for predicting the electromagnetic situation. From the very beginning of their research, foreign, primarily American, researchers adhered to the idea of only the thermal mechanism of the biological action of electromagnetic fields. The most well-known international scientific organization, the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), issues recommendations that take into account only the thermal effect of EMF and do not take into account non-thermal effects of low-level EMF.
Conclusions. Using the ICNIRP contradictory guidelines instead of conducting our own scientific research on hygienic assessment of RF EMF means undermining efforts to develop public health as a system of social, economic, and medical measures aimed at maintaining and improving the level of public health. In addition, it means the loss of Ukraine's scientific sovereignty.

Electromagnetic fields, radio frequency (RF) range, hygienic regulation, exposure limits.

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Gotz AV, Dumansky VYu, Semashko PV, Nikitina NG, Akimenko VYa, Bitkin SV, Halak SS, Serdyuk YeA, Zotov SV, Bezverkha AP, Yarigin AV. [The development of approaches to RF EMF regulation in populated areas on the example of Ukrainian legislation]. Hygiene of Populated Places. 2023;73:96-103. Ukrainian.