I have been circulating abstracts of newly-published scientific papers on radio frequency and other non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) monthly since 2016. The collection contains more than 1,700 abstracts and links to more than 1,800 papers. Several hundred EMF scientists around the world receive these updates.
To download Volume 2 which contains abstracts of papers published since 2021 (including the new papers listed below) click on the following link (608 page pdf):
To download Volume 1 which contains abstracts of papers published from 2016 to 2020
click on the following link (875 page pdf):
The abstracts for recently published papers appear below.
The assumption of safety is being used to justify the rollout of 5G technologies
McCredden JE, Weller S, Leach V. The assumption of safety is being used to justify the rollout of 5G technologies. Frontiers in Public Health.
11. 2023. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.
No Abstract
Conclusions
The potential long-term health risks from global EMF continue to rise as exposures in the built environment increase in time and density. Mankind has chosen to base the justification for this rollout on shaky foundations, where there is minimal understanding of the impact of new radiofrequencies being introduced into the environment on long-term human and planetary health.
The evidence presented above suggests that there are credible risks of biological interference effects for frequencies planned for 5G, occurring well-below ICNIRP reference limits. Given the ubiquitous and often non-consensual nature of man-made wireless radiation exposures, the presence of even a small number of significant bioeffects requires follow up with more focused research.
The communication of existing investigations has not been fully clear or transparent. It is the responsibility of government review panels, regulatory bodies, scientists, public advocates, industry and policy makers to clearly communicate the research and its implications, so as to ensure that no fallacious conclusions can be drawn. If these are allowed to continue, both those delivering the message and the unsuspecting billions using their new 5G devices may be led in a direction that places global public and environmental health at risk.
The mmWave evidence base that has been made visible in this article suggests that plausible health effects cannot be ruled out, and that urgent action is needed on two fronts:
2. Precautionary actions to be taken by policy makers via use of risk aversion strategies such as the actions recommended in an EU commissioned report [(47), p. 152–153]. Risk aversion constitutes good leadership.
The limitations of scientific knowledge imply moral courage in taking precautionary action in time to avert harm [(17), p. 687].
The evidence presented above suggests that there are credible risks of biological interference effects for frequencies planned for 5G, occurring well-below ICNIRP reference limits. Given the ubiquitous and often non-consensual nature of man-made wireless radiation exposures, the presence of even a small number of significant bioeffects requires follow up with more focused research.
The communication of existing investigations has not been fully clear or transparent. It is the responsibility of government review panels, regulatory bodies, scientists, public advocates, industry and policy makers to clearly communicate the research and its implications, so as to ensure that no fallacious conclusions can be drawn. If these are allowed to continue, both those delivering the message and the unsuspecting billions using their new 5G devices may be led in a direction that places global public and environmental health at risk.
The mmWave evidence base that has been made visible in this article suggests that plausible health effects cannot be ruled out, and that urgent action is needed on two fronts:
1. Further sound scientific research, done carefully, using the best laboratory practices and sufficiently large samples to produce significant results, funded and overseen by trusted bodies with appropriate expertise (38).
2. Precautionary actions to be taken by policy makers via use of risk aversion strategies such as the actions recommended in an EU commissioned report [(47), p. 152–153]. Risk aversion constitutes good leadership.
The limitations of scientific knowledge imply moral courage in taking precautionary action in time to avert harm [(17), p. 687].
Open access paper: www.frontiersin.org/articles/
--
Incongruities in recently revised radiofrequency exposure guidelines and standards
Lin JC. Incongruities in recently revised radiofrequency exposure guidelines and standards. Environmental Research. 222, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.
Abstract
The currently promulgated RF exposure guidelines and standards cover the entire range of RF radiation and apply predominantly to restrict RF-induced short-term heating and in guarding against raising tissue temperatures, including the 5G frequencies. There are substantial abnormalities in these putative health safety protection guidelines and standards. Some of the safety limits are irrelevant, debatable, and absent of scientific justification from the standpoint of safety and public health protection. Also, the cellular mobile 5G technology is hailed as a speedier and more secure wireless communication technology than its predecessor systems. The key supporting architecture uses millimeter-wave (mm-wave) and antenna array technology to achieve better directivity, lower latency, and elevated data transmission rates. For radiation protection, it is not obvious whether the health effects of 5G mm-wave radiations would be analogous or not to radiations from previous generations (which was classified as possibly carcinogenic in humans by IARC). The interaction of mm-waves with the structure and function of pertinent cellular elements and cutaneous neuroreceptors in the skin are of special concern. The current scientific database is inadequate at mm wavelengths to render a trustworthy appraisal or to reach a judgment with confidence.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/
Excerpts
As mentioned, recently, both ICES and ICNIRP have published revisions of their recommendations for exposure limits (IEEE-ICES, 2019a, 2019b; ICNIRP, 2020). The revised limits are clearly tied to heating effects associated with measurable tissue temperature changes. They are based primarily on biological data from short-term (6 or 30 min) exposures to RF and microwave radiation and do little to placate the troubling questions on recommended limits for long-term, low-level exposures. The scenarios of a persistently expressed lack of confidence in these RF exposure guidelines are recurring in many parts of the world involving wireless and mobile telecommunication devices and installations (ICBE-EMF, 2022; Elkind, 2022; Investigate Europe, 2019; Koeppel, 2022).
Conclusion
The rapid proliferation of cellular mobile telecommunication devices and systems is raising public health concerns about the biological effects and safety of radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposure. There is also concern about the efficacy of promulgated health safety limits, rules, and recommendations for RF radiation used by these devices and systems. The recently revised RF exposure limits adjust only for heating with RF radiation. These limits are devised largely for restricting short-term heating by RF radiation to raise tissue temperatures. They disregarded decisions by scientific organizations such as IARC. Furthermore, the limits are based on obsolete information, circumvent important animal data, and even more so in the case of mm-wave radiation from 5G mobile communications for which there is a paucity of health effects studies in the published literature. They are flawed and are not applicable to long-term exposure at low levels. Instead of advances in science, they are predicated on misguided assumptions with outdated exposure metrics that do not adequately protect children, workers, and the public from exposure to the RF radiation or people with sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation from wireless devices and systems. Thus, many of the recommended limits are debatable and absent of scientific justification from the standpoint of safety and public health protection.
Cellphones and wireless mobile communication technologies have enriched human lives. It is difficult to imagine contemporary lives without them. The deployment of 5G mobile technology is well underway with it heralded mm-wave performances. It is not evident whether the health effects of 5G mm-wave radiations would be analogous or not to previous generations of cellphone and wireless communication technologies. Without dispute, cellphones have provided direct benefits to multiple arenas of human endeavor that includes helping to safeguard our personal security and safety. Nonetheless, for the judgment on the health and safety of billions of users who are subjected to repeated, unnecessary levels of RF radiation perhaps over their lifetimes, the verdict is still out. It is significant to note that current cellphones have SARs ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 W/kg (EMF Academy, 2022). Clearly, cellphones are operating at a fraction of the 2.0-W/kg SAR acceptable to ICNIRP and IEEE-ICES. It is conceivable that forthcoming developments could enable cellphone functions including data and video operations at much lower exposure levels. The practice of ALARA — as low as reasonably achievable — should be followed for RF health and safety when confronted with such divergent assessments of wireless RF radiation.
--
In Vivo Studies on Radiofrequency (100 kHz–300 GHz) Electromagnetic Field Exposure and Cancer: A Systematic Review
Abstract
The increasing exposure of the human population to radiofrequency
electromagnetic fields has increased concern about its possible health
effects. The aim of this systematic review is to provide an update of
the state of the research on this topic, through a quantitative
analysis, to assess the increased risk of tumor incidence in laboratory
animals (rodents) without limitations of species, strain, sex or
genotype. The review was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline and
individual studies were assessed by referring to the OHAT Risk of Bias
Rating Tool for Human and Animal Studies. A total of 27 studies were
considered eligible for the evaluation of tumor incidence; a
meta-analysis was carried out on 23 studies to assess the possible
increased risk of both malignant and benign tumors onset at the systemic
level or in different organs/tissues. A significant association between
exposure to RF and the increased/decreased risk of cancer does not
result from the meta-analysis in most of the considered tissues. A
significant increased/decreased risk can be numerically observed only in
heart, CNS/brain, and intestine for malignant tumors. Nevertheless, the
assessment of the body of evidence attributes low or inadequate
evidence for an association between RF exposure and the onset of
neoplasm in all tissues.
Conclusions
This systematic review analyzed the experimental data extracted from 27 eligible articles regarding the onset of neoplasms in laboratory rodents exposed to EMF-RF; a quantitative analysis (meta-analysis) was conducted on 23 papers. Each study was ex amined for possible methodological limits and the RoB was evaluated.
A total of 25 organs/tumors were analyzed for malignant tumors and 16 for benign tumors to assess the confidence in the body of evidence of the carcinogenic effects. Starting from a “high quality” grade, a general feature for randomized in vivo studies [5], all items underwent a quality downgrade due to “serious” or “very serious” limitations in the experimental design, mainly caused by a low number of animals in sham groups.
A further downgrade was determined by the classification of all studies as “some con cerns” for bias, even without taking into account the conflict of interest. The results obtained after subgrouping analysis by species (rats vs. mice) allowed an upgrade of the certainty of the evidence for many types of malignant and benign tumors. The lack of a dose–response relationship in all the analyzed samples did not allow for further upgrades.
Overall, these evaluations have determined a confidence rating from very low (heart sample for malignant tumors and CNS sample for benign ones) to moderate, resulting in 28 of 34 inadequate or insufficient health evidence for a definitive assessment of the association between EMF-RF exposure and carcinogenesis in vivo. This lack of certainty in the conclusions mainly derives from a very cautious GRADE approach, which does not appear entirely justified in this case given that the considered articles present a good homogeneity, both in the methods and in the results, providing adequate answers for the aims of this study. In this regard, it should be considered that, although in recent years the use of systematic reviews has been extended to experimental laboratory studies, the main guidelines [4,5] were developed considering the clinical tri- als. The different approach between clinical and laboratory works has highlighted some methodological difficulties for the application of grade procedures, which could be better analyzed in order to improve the guidelines for the future systematic reviews on animal studies. Furthermore, it should be considered that the inclusion of only English-language papers may have represented a limitation of this systematic review.
In conclusion, the inadequate/insufficient health evidence found does not allow this systematic review to give additional information for the integration of present regulatory frameworks. Otherwise, this review updates the state of the art of research on in vivo RF-EMF experiments related to carcinogenesis and, for future research in this field, it emphasizes the need of an appropriate experimental design that takes into account the animal number and the sample number used for the sham control groups.
Future work will be the update of this review as required in [4]; in fact, the question of this review is of continuing importance to decision makers and the availability of new data or new methods would have a meaningful impact on the review findings. Moreover, a review update provides an opportunity for the scope, eligibility criteria and methods used in the review to be revised.
This systematic review analyzed the experimental data extracted from 27 eligible articles regarding the onset of neoplasms in laboratory rodents exposed to EMF-RF; a quantitative analysis (meta-analysis) was conducted on 23 papers. Each study was ex amined for possible methodological limits and the RoB was evaluated.
A total of 25 organs/tumors were analyzed for malignant tumors and 16 for benign tumors to assess the confidence in the body of evidence of the carcinogenic effects. Starting from a “high quality” grade, a general feature for randomized in vivo studies [5], all items underwent a quality downgrade due to “serious” or “very serious” limitations in the experimental design, mainly caused by a low number of animals in sham groups.
A further downgrade was determined by the classification of all studies as “some con cerns” for bias, even without taking into account the conflict of interest. The results obtained after subgrouping analysis by species (rats vs. mice) allowed an upgrade of the certainty of the evidence for many types of malignant and benign tumors. The lack of a dose–response relationship in all the analyzed samples did not allow for further upgrades.
Overall, these evaluations have determined a confidence rating from very low (heart sample for malignant tumors and CNS sample for benign ones) to moderate, resulting in 28 of 34 inadequate or insufficient health evidence for a definitive assessment of the association between EMF-RF exposure and carcinogenesis in vivo. This lack of certainty in the conclusions mainly derives from a very cautious GRADE approach, which does not appear entirely justified in this case given that the considered articles present a good homogeneity, both in the methods and in the results, providing adequate answers for the aims of this study. In this regard, it should be considered that, although in recent years the use of systematic reviews has been extended to experimental laboratory studies, the main guidelines [4,5] were developed considering the clinical tri- als. The different approach between clinical and laboratory works has highlighted some methodological difficulties for the application of grade procedures, which could be better analyzed in order to improve the guidelines for the future systematic reviews on animal studies. Furthermore, it should be considered that the inclusion of only English-language papers may have represented a limitation of this systematic review.
In conclusion, the inadequate/insufficient health evidence found does not allow this systematic review to give additional information for the integration of present regulatory frameworks. Otherwise, this review updates the state of the art of research on in vivo RF-EMF experiments related to carcinogenesis and, for future research in this field, it emphasizes the need of an appropriate experimental design that takes into account the animal number and the sample number used for the sham control groups.
Future work will be the update of this review as required in [4]; in fact, the question of this review is of continuing importance to decision makers and the availability of new data or new methods would have a meaningful impact on the review findings. Moreover, a review update provides an opportunity for the scope, eligibility criteria and methods used in the review to be revised.
Open access paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-
--
Non-ionizing radiation as possible carcinogen (Review)
Gupta S, Sharma RS, Singh R. Non-ionizing radiation as possible carcinogen. Int J Environ Health Res. 2022;32(4):916-940. doi:10.1080/09603123.2020.
Abstract
The advent of wireless technologies has revolutionized the way we communicate. The steady upsurge in the use of mobile phone all over the world in the last two decades, while triggered economic growth, has caused substantial damage to the environment, both directly and indirectly. The electromagnetic radiation generated from mobile phones, radio-based stations, and phone towers, high-voltage power lines have been reported which leads to the variety of health scares such as the risk of cancer in human beings and adverse effects in animals, birds, etc. Though the usage of such radiation emitting from mobile phones has risen steeply, there is a lack of proper knowledge about the associated risks. The review provides the latest research evidence based both on in vitro studies, in vivo studies, and possible gaps in our knowledge. Moreover, the present review also summarizes available literature in this subject, reports and studies which will help to form guidelines for its exposure limits to the public.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the results of the investigations were inconclusive, and in fact, indicated little or no association between the exposure to RFR with that of radiation and cancer. But NTP reported that RFR causes cancer in experimental animals. Nevertheless, it should also be pointed out in several epidemiological studies where weak association between carcinogenicity and RFR was observed. All the more reasons that the effects and the risk associated with the exposure to mobile phones were not consistent and didn’t show any regular pattern. Studies on the exposure in children were also very limited. This discussion was intended to answer whether there’s a health risk involved with the use of mobile phones, but at this stage, the review has not all the answers. The good thing is, several researchers are working on this field, and with more studies we’ll surely get better clarity on the subject. Although there’s little doubt of the risks involved with mobile phone usage, and therefore, this review indicates that precautions are needed while using mobile phones. Although the available evidences do not provide a link between the exposure to RFR and microwave radiation and its effect on human health, at this moment, it’s not possible to state otherwise as well. In the case of cancer, only the studies that were conducted for more extended period of time able to indicate any association between the use of mobile phone and cancer, especially brain cancer. The above studies suggested that GSM operated mobile phones have significant effect in comparison to CDMA operated mobile phones. As mobile phones have become an integral part of our everyday life, and so, it’s even more critical today to study their effects on the human body. To conclude, it’s time for government agencies and concerned bodies to understand the potentially harmful effects of RFR and to consider preventive actions like use of good phone brands keeping health and safety at priorities, use of Bluetooth (hands-free devices) and mobile phones having minimum SAR value. Animal studies for longer period of time are needed to execute for the probable health effects. There are no useful data available regarding RF; thus only data suggest a health risk associated with RF so far and the research is still shapeless, about both the amount and quality of available data. Thus, it’s not possible to draw any conclusions yet and we must wait for future results.
--
Effect of Mobile Phone Radiation on Parotid and Submandibular Salivary Glands-An Ultrasonographic Study
Yendluru, MS. Rana P, Sekhar MC, Chakravarthi GD, Suresh D, Nagajyoki P, Meghana G, Solanke S. Effect of Mobile Phone Radiation on Parotid and Submandibular Salivary Glands-An Ultrasonographic Study. J Clinical Diagnostic Research. Oct 2022. 16 (10) , pp.ZC25-ZC30.
Introduction: In this era of digitalism, mobile phones have become a cultural accessory. Frequent smartphone usage results in possible adverse effects from low radiofrequency radiation and thermal effect emitted by these devices. One of the major concerns is salivary glands as the mobile phones are held against the side of face in close proximity to these glands. Aim: To assess the effect of cell phone radiation on the volume, systolic velocity, salivary flow rate of parotid and submandibular gland between the dominant and non dominant side of mobile phone users. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology with the sample size of 100 (50 males and 50 females). Inclusion criteria were based on the frequency of mobile phone usage of more than two hours per day. Mobile phone usage was determined based on patient's answer to the questionnaire. Ultrasonography (USG) of both parotid and submandibular gland was done bilaterally to measure the volume of the glands and Colour Doppler of external background-color:inherit"
--
Ranjitsingh AJA, Elizabeth MM, Dhasarathan P, Athinarayanan G. Electromagnetic radiations on the functional potential of spermatozoa. Res. J. Biotech. 17(10):12-17; 2022. doi: 10.25303/1710rjbt12017.
Abstract
The growing exposure to digital communication system and tools leads to radiation toxicity to the users. Unaware of the safety measures, even a kid at the age of one starts operating digital gadgets emitting radio frequency-electromagnetic radiations. Radiations from mobile phones, laptops, notepad, Wi-Fi or other devices are reported to be harmful beyond the permissible limit. So there is a growing concern for the overall health, reproductive and hormonal functions. Experimental studies were conducted by using a Wi-Fi network active laptop and live spermatozoa. The exposure of sperms to the source of EMF showed that the activity of the live sperms got reduced and mortality was observed depending on the exposure duration and the distance from EMF sources.
After 5h of exposure to RF-EMF source, the semen quality changed when compared with control. The vitality of sperm in the control was 95±1.0 after 2 hr and it was reduced to 60±1.5 percent at a distance of 1cm and 55 ±2.2 percent at a distance of 10 cm. After 5 hour exposure, the vitality was reduced to 63±1.86 at 1 cm distance and 70± 1.42 at 10 cm distance. The reduction in vitality of sperm after exposure to RFEMF source for 2 hour was 35% at 1cm and 40% at 10cm distance.
Conclusion
The present study on the impact of radiations from a laptop upon the functional mechanism of spermatozoa confirmed that operating the digital devices without precautionary measures and distance interferes with fertilizable ability of the sperms that may end in infertile marriage. The present users of laptop or other digital devices must be cautious about the possible fertility problems from such devices.
The present study on the impact of radiations from a laptop upon the functional mechanism of spermatozoa confirmed that operating the digital devices without precautionary measures and distance interferes with fertilizable ability of the sperms that may end in infertile marriage. The present users of laptop or other digital devices must be cautious about the possible fertility problems from such devices.
Open access paper: https://
--
Does exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR)
affect the circadian rhythm of rest-activity patterns and behavioral
sleep variables in humans?
Singh MM, Chandel P, Pati A, Parganiha
A. (2022)
Does exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR)
affect the circadian rhythm of rest-activity patterns and behavioral
sleep variables in humans? Biological Rhythm Research,
53:9,
1414-1438,
doi: 10.1080/09291016.2021.1945788.
Abstract
We evaluated the effects of the exposure to radio-frequency radiation emanating from the base transceiver station (BTS) on the characteristics of circadian rest-activity rhythm and behavioral sleep variables in humans. We performed this exploratory field study in a sample of 89 healthy subjects randomly chosen out of 1434 individuals surveyed for the purpose. We divided 89 subjects into five groups, including the control, as a function of distance from the BTS. The E-field strength was higher in the groups of the inter-tower region and between 0 and 150 m away from the BTS. The E-field (distance) did not significantly affect the circadian rhythm parameters and behavioral sleep variables, except a marginal delay in the peak timings of the rest-activity rhythm of subjects in the inter-tower and 300–500 m groups. Notable secondary effects of the factor gender were noticed on circadian amplitude, sleep efficiency, dichotomy index, and wake after sleep onset. We concluded that exposure to radiation from the BTS did not modulate actigraphy-based behavioral sleep variables of people residing around BTS installations. We recommend more extensive field-based studies with rigorous longitudinal designs to validate the effects of radiation from the BTS in humans.
--
Association of Autonomic Balance With Phone Call Duration in Healthy Individuals
Gangwar V, Gupta S, Verma M, et al. (January 09, 2023) Association of Autonomic Balance With Phone Call Duration in Healthy Individuals. Cureus 15(1): e33566. doi:10.7759/cureus.33566
Abstract
Background This study aimed to estimate the association of autonomic balance with the duration of phone calls in healthy individuals.
Methodology A total of 30 subjects aged between 18 and 30 years without any established systemic disease and using mobile phones for more than five years with minimum daily usage of 30 minutes were included in this analytical study. Heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded using a three-channel physiograph (AD Instruments South Asia (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India) with the software LabChart PROV8.1.8 with HRV Module version 2.0.3 for 10 minutes. Time domain parameters were recorded in terms of the standard deviation of normal to normal interval (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats (RMSSD), R-R intervals greater than 50 ms (pRR50), and mean heart rate (MHR), and frequency domain parameters were total power, low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), and the ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency power (LF/HF). HRV was recorded three times in each subject that included baseline HRV, HRV during the use of a mobile phone, and HRV after the use of a mobile phone.
Results A total of 30 subjects (14 males and 16 females) participated in this study. The mean age of participants was 31.93 ± 8.59 years (32.07 ± 9.87 years for males, and 31.81 ± 7.64 years for females). There were no findings of significant arrhythmia in any of the participants. There was a significant difference in pRR50 on comparing all three phases (p = 0.036). However, there was no significant variation in other parameters such as very low frequency (VLF, ms2), VLF (%), LF (ms2), LF (%), HF (ms2), HF (%), LF/HF, SDNN (ms), RMSSD (ms), Poincare plot standard deviation perpendicular to the line of identity (ms), Poincare plot standard deviation along the line of identity (ms), systolic blood pressure (mmHg), and diabolic blood pressure (mmHg) during, before, and after exposure to mobile phone calls. There was no significant difference in the value of all parameters between males and females (p < 0.05).
Conclusions Mobile phone calls may influence HRV and autonomic balance. This change may be affected by the electromagnetic field and by speaking as well.
--
Case
Report: The Microwave Syndrome after Installation of 5G Emphasizes the
Need for Protection from Radiofrequency Radiation
Abstract
In this case report two previously healthy persons, a man aged 63 years and a woman aged 62 years, developed symptoms of the microwave syndrome after installation of a 5G base station for wireless communication on the roof above their apartment. A base station for previous telecommunication generation technology (3G/4G) was present at the same spot since several years. Very high radiofrequency (RF) radiation with maximum (highest measured peak value) levels of 354 000, 1 690 000, and >2 500 000 µW/m2 were measured at three occasions in the bedroom located only 5 meters below the new 5G base station, compared to maximum (peak) 9 000 µW/m2 prior to the 5G deployment. The rapidly emerging symptoms after the 5G deployment were typical for the microwave syndrome with e.g., neurological symptoms, tinnitus, fatigue, insomnia, emotional distress, skin disorders, and blood pressure variability. The symptoms were more pronounced in the woman. Due to the severity of symptoms, the couple left their dwelling and moved to a small office room with maximum (peak) RF radiation 3 500 µW/m2. Within a couple of days, most of their symptoms alleviated or disappeared completely. This medical history can be regarded as a classic provocation test. The RF radiation levels in the apartment were well below the limit proposed to be “safe” below which no health effects would occur, recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP). These now presented symptoms of the microwave syndrome were caused by non-thermal effects from RF radiation and highlight that the ICNIRP guidelines used in most countries including Sweden do not protect human health. Guidelines based on all biological negative effects from RF radiation are urgently needed, as well as monitoring human health, not the least due to rapidly increasing levels of exposure.
Open access paper: https://www.gavinpublishers.
--
Status of the Neuroendocrine System in Animals Chronically Exposed to Electromagnetic Fields of 5G Mobile Network Base Stations
Perov SY, Rubtsova NB, Belaya OV. Status of the Neuroendocrine System in Animals Chronically Exposed to Electromagnetic Fields of 5G Mobile Network Base Stations. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s10517-023-05689-2.
Abstract
We studied the biological effect of chronic exposure to multifrequency electromagnetic fields simulating the effects of 5G NR/IMT-2020 mobile communication systems. Male Wistar rats were exposed to 24-h radiation (250 μW/cm2) for 4 months. The exploratory activity of the animals and blood concentrations of ACTH and corticosterone were evaluated at the end of each month of exposure and 1 month after exposure. The results suggest that exposure to multifrequency electromagnetic field simulating the effects of 5G systems affected functional activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and was stressful in nature.
Excerpts
The animals were divided into 5 experimental (exposure to EMF of 5G systems, power density (PD) 250 μW/cm2) and 5 control (sham exposure) groups (12 rats each). Exposure conditions: chronic experiment — exposure for 4 months (120 days; 24-h, 7 days per week) and 1-month (30 days) post exposure period (without irradiation). During exposure period, the animals of experimental groups were kept in radio transparent (plastic) cages. Exposure was carried out by 5G/IMT-2020 base stations with simultaneous use of radio channels with 3.6 GHz (n78 with 100 MHz channel bandwidth), 28 GHz (n257 with 100 MHz channel bandwidth) and 37 GHz (n260 with 400 MHz channel bandwidth) central frequencies....
The neuroendocrine system of rats responded to chronic 4-month EMF exposure by waveform changes of serum levels of ACTH and corticosterone. ACTH content had a tendency to increase after 3 months of the experiment (Fig. 1).
Changes in serum corticosterone content in exposed animals were more pronounced; significant differences from the control group were revealed after 1 and 2 months of exposure and the maximum increase was found 1 month after end of exposure (Fig. 2).
Chronic exposure induced changes in orientation and exploratory activity and emotional state of experimental animals. These changes were detected starting from 3rd month of exposure, but did not reach significance threshold, and 1 month after the end of irradiation, the excitation and inhibition processes in the CNS returned to normal.
Effects
of continuous prenatal and postnatal global system for mobile
communications electromagnetic waves (GSM-EMW) exposure on the oxidative
stress biomarkers in female rat liver
Salameh M, Zeitoun-Ghandour S, Sabra L, Ismail L, Daher A, Bazzi A, Khalil M, Joumaa WH. Effects of continuous prenatal and postnatal global system for mobile communications electromagnetic waves (GSM-EMW) exposure on the oxidative stress biomarkers in female rat liver. Heliyon. 2022 Dec 17;8(12):e12367. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12367.
Abstract
In light of the increased use of communication technologies, the harm
caused by continuous exposure to emitted radiation on pregnancy and
developing newborns is among the public concerns. Using Sprague-Dawley
rats, our study investigates the effects of 24 h/day prenatal and
postnatal 900 MHz radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR)
exposure of female rats on liver oxidative stress (OS) and other hepatic
parameters at postnatal days (PND) 1, 9, and 21. Our results showed
that RF-EMR exposure led to an increase in oxidative stress status as
indicated by a significant elevation in MDA level at PND9 and PND21, a
decrease in catalase (CAT) activity at all ages, a reduction (PND1 and
PND9) in catalase amounts and mRNA expression, in addition to a decrease
in GPx activity at PND21 in the exposed group. Current findings also
showed a significant increase in cytoSOD at PND9 and 21 and a reduction
in mitoSOD at PND21 in the exposed groups compared to the control
groups. However, significant increases in glutathione peroxidase (GPx)
level and mitoSOD activity were observed at all studied ages.
Furthermore, cytoSOD activity showed a significant reduction in PND1,
whereas in PND9 the value of this parameter increased compared to the
non-exposed group. Moreover, while SOD1 mRNA expression increased at
PND1, it decreased at PND9 and 21. However, GPx1 expression was shown to
be always decreased in the exposed group. In addition, at PND1 and 9,
exposed rats showed a similar response on Akt1, nuclear factor erythroïd
2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1
(ICAM-1) expression. Therefore, an increased oxidative stress status
produced from a continuous (24 h/day) GSM-modulated 900 MHz
radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) exposure during the
prenatal and postnatal periods may result in adverse health effects
during future life stages.
Excerpt
Briefly, animals were exposed to radiation emitted by a device similar to the antennas of mobile phone stations with a frequency equal to 900 MegaHertz. This device generally consists of a radiofrequency signal (RF) generator (model RFS 900–64, RFPA, Artigues-près-Bordeaux, France) accompanied with RF-EMF antennas (local made) supported by a stand, and placed horizontally 100 cm above the cages containing rats (Figure 1). The generator’s power was set to obtain a field intensity of 25 ± 0.4 V/m. A radiofrequency probe (PMM EP600, Narda Safety Test Solution, Hauppauge, NY, USA) monitored with computer software (Win EP 600, Narda Safety Test Solution) was used to check the level of RF-EMF exposure at 3 different periods (gestational day 1, PND1 and PND21). The liver-specific absorption rate (SAR) (0.783 W/kg) was calculated using the equation ....
Open access paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
--
Interstitial space between cells in the left and
right lobes of rat brains exposed to 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz
radiofrequency radiation
Dasdag S, Akdag MZ, Er H, Akpolat V, Deveci
E. (2023)
Interstitial space between cells in the left and
right lobes of rat brains exposed to 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz
radiofrequency radiation.
Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment,
37:1,
180-187,
doi: 10.1080/13102818.2023.2170828
Abstract
The head is the body part that is most exposed to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) during a mobile phone conversation. Therefore, it can be expected that brain cells will be positively or negatively affected by this physical agent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz on the interstitial space between cells in the right and left lobes of the brain. The study was carried out on 28 Wistar Albino rats, which were divided randomly into four groups (n: 7): sham control, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz exposure groups. The rats in the exposure groups were subjected to RFR for 3 h/day for one month. At the end of the last exposure, brains were immediately removed and prepared for electron microscopic examination. We determined the interstitial space (µm) between brain cells in the left and right lobes separately and compared them statistically. The results indicated that all three frequencies used in this study increased the interstitial space between cells in both brain lobes. The maximum effective frequencies were 1800 MHz for the right lobe and 2100 MHz for the left lobe. In conclusion, we observed that the RFR used in this study enhanced the interstitial space between cells in both lobes of the brain. Further studies are needed to confirm the results of this study, which we think will open different horizons.
Conclusions
Open access paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/
In this study, we observed that exposure of rats to 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz frequency RFRs resulted in increased interstitial space in the right and left lobes of the brain. This result may contribute to the treatment of some brain-related diseases, but we should not forget the research results that show RFRs can cause brain tumors. Due to the limited number of studies on the subject, further and more detailed new studies are needed for risk assessment and clarification of the observed effects.
--
The
HL-60 human promyelocytic cell line constitutes an effective in vitro
model for evaluating toxicity, oxidative stress and necrosis/apoptosis
after exposure to black carbon particles and 2.45 GHz radio frequency
Benavides RAS, Leiro-Vidal JM, Rodriguez-Gonzalez JA, Ares-Pena FJ, López-Martín E. The HL-60 human promyelocytic cell line constitutes an effective in vitro model for evaluating toxicity, oxidative stress and necrosis/apoptosis after exposure to black carbon particles and 2.45 GHz radio frequency. Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jan 9;867:161475. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.
Highlights
- • RF+ BC increase ROS production and have an oxidant-antioxidant effect on HL-60 cells.
- • RF or BC exposure activates expression of the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2a in HL-60 cells.
- • Cell necrosis due to BC was manifested at 24 h, while cell death (necrosis and/or apoptosis) due to irradiation and/or BC lasted up to 48 h.
- • Interaction between RF and BC enhanced cell toxicity in the promyelocytic cell line
Abstract
The cellular and molecular mechanisms by which atmospheric pollution
from particulate matter and/or electromagnetic fields (EMFs) may prove
harmful to human health have not been extensively researched. We
analyzed whether the combined action of EMFs and black carbon (BC)
particles induced cell damage and a pro-apoptotic response in the HL-60
promyelocytic cell line when exposed to 2.45 GHz radio frequency (RF)
radiation in a gigahertz transverse electromagnetic (GTEM) chamber at
sub-thermal specific absorption rate (SAR) levels. RF and BC induced
moderately significant levels of cell damage in the first 8 or 24 h for
all exposure times/doses and much greater damage after 48 h irradiation
and the higher dose of BC. We observed a clear antiproliferative effect
that increased with RF exposure time and BC dose. Oxidative stress or
ROS production increased with time (24 or 48 h of radiation), BC dose
and the combination of both. Significant differences between the
proportion of damaged and healthy cells were observed in all groups.
Both radiation and BC participated separately and jointly in triggering
necrosis and apoptosis in a programmed way. Oxidative-antioxidant action
activated mitochondrial anti-apoptotic BCL2a gene expression after 24 h
irradiation and exposure to BC. After irradiation of the cells for 48
h, expression of FASR cell death receptors was activated, precipitating
the onset of pro-apoptotic phenomena and expression and intracellular
activity of caspase-3 in the mitochondrial pathways, all of which can
lead to cell death. Our results indicate that the interaction between BC
and RF modifies the immune response in the human promyelocytic cell
line and that these cells had two fates mediated by different pathways:
necrosis and mitochondria-caspase dependent apoptosis. The findings may
be important in regard to antimicrobial, inflammatory and autoimmune
responses in humans.
Conclusions
Combined exposure to 2.45 Ghz RF and to BC over a period of 48 h caused very high levels of toxicity in a HL-60 cell line and triggered an antiproliferative effect that was dependent on the BC dose and exposure time. Activation the expression of antioxidant BCL2a and initial expression of the FAS cell death receptors, with no apparent activation of caspase-8, indicated mitochondrial cell damage due to triggering of apoptosis through a caspase-dependent pathway (increased caspase-3). However, cell death did not seem to be mediated by apoptosis alone, at least not caspase-dependent apoptosis, in any of the groups. This leads us to consider that other forms of programmed cell death may be activated by one or both stressors (Barati et al., 2021). The cell damage induced in vitro by the combination of both RF and BC in promyelocytic cells indicate ineffective antimicrobial function and increased immune or autoimmune tolerance (Glencross et al., 2020).
--
Assessment of Inflammation in 3D Reconstructed
Human Skin Exposed to Combined Exposure to Ultraviolet and Wi-Fi
Radiation
AbstractSzilágyi Z, Németh Z, Bakos J, Kubinyi G, Necz PP, Szabó E, Thuróczy G, Pinto R, Selmaoui B. Assessment of Inflammation in 3D Reconstructed Human Skin Exposed to Combined Exposure to Ultraviolet and Wi-Fi Radiation. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(3):2853. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032853.
In the human environment, the increasing exposure to radiofrequency (RF)
radiation, especially that emitted by wireless devices, could be
absorbed in the body. Recently, mobile and emerging wireless
technologies (UMTS, DECT, LTE, and Wi-Fi) have been using higher
frequencies than 2G GSM systems (900/1800 MHz), which means that most of
the circulating RF currents are absorbed into the skin and the
superficial soft tissue. The harmful genotoxic, cytotoxic, and mutagenic
effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the skin are well-known.
This study aimed at investigating whether 2422 MHz (Wi-Fi) RF exposure
combined with UV radiation in different sequences has any effect on the
inflammation process in the skin. In vitro experiments examined the
inflammation process by cytokines (IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8) and MMP-1 enzyme
secretion in a 3D full-thickness human skin model. In the first study,
UV exposure was immediately followed by RF exposure to measure the
potential additive effects, while in the second study, the possible
protective phenomenon (i.e., adaptive response) was investigated when
adaptive RF exposure was challenged by UV radiation. Our results suggest
that 2422 MHz Wi-Fi exposure slightly, not significantly increased
cytokine concentrations of the prior UV exposure. We could not detect
the adaptive response phenomenon.
Open access paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-
--
Modelling of daily radiofrequency electromagnetic field dose for a prospective adolescent cohort
Eeftens M, Shen C, Jana Sönksen J, Schmutz C, van Wel L, Liorni I, Vermeulen R, Cardis E, Wiart J, Toledano M, Röösli M. Modelling of daily radiofrequency electromagnetic field dose for a prospective adolescent cohort. Environment International. 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107737.
HighlightsAbstract
Introduction Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields originate from a variety of wireless communication sources operating near and far from the body, making it challenging to quantify daily absorbed dose. In the framework of the prospective cohort SCAMP (Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones), we aimed to characterize RF-EMF dose over a 2-year period.
Methods The SCAMP cohort included 6605 children from greater London, UK at baseline (age 12.1 years; 2014-2016) and 5194 at follow-up (age 14.2; 2016-2018). We estimated the daily dose of RF-EMF to eight tissues including the whole body and whole brain, using dosimetric algorithms for the specific absorption rate transfer into the body. We considered RF-EMF dose from 12 common usage scenarios such as mobile phone calls or data transmission. We evaluated the association between sociodemographic factors (gender, ethnicity, phone ownership and socio-economic status), and the dose change between baseline and follow-up.
Results Whole body dose was estimated at an average of 170 mJ/kg/day at baseline and 178 mJ/kg/day at follow-up. Among the eight tissues considered, the right temporal lobe received the highest daily dose (baseline 1150 mJ/kg/day, follow-up 1520 mJ/kg/day). Estimated daily dose [mJ/kg/day] increased between baseline and follow-up for head and brain related tissues, but remained stable for the whole body and heart. Doses estimated at baseline and follow-up showed low correlation among the 3384 children who completed both assessments. Asian ethnicity (compared to white) and owning a bar phone or no phone (as opposed to a smartphone) were associated with lower estimated whole-body and whole-brain RF-EMF dose, while black ethnicity, a moderate/low socio-economic status (compared to high), and increasing age (at baseline) were associated with higher estimated RF-EMF dose.
Conclusion This study describes the first longitudinal exposure assessment for children in a critical period of development. Dose estimations will be used in further epidemiological analyses for the SCAMP study.
- • First longitudinal study to estimate daily RF-EMF dose of 6152 U.K. adolescents at ages 12 and 14.
- • At baseline (age 12), mean daily whole body RF-EMF dose was 170 mJ/kg/day.
- • Two years later, whole body dose was similar, but brain dose increased (+32% for temporal lobe).
- • The main contributor to the head and brain was own device use, in particular 2G mobile calls.
- • Dose at baseline and follow-up were correlated between 0.25 and 0.36 for various tissues.
Introduction Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields originate from a variety of wireless communication sources operating near and far from the body, making it challenging to quantify daily absorbed dose. In the framework of the prospective cohort SCAMP (Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones), we aimed to characterize RF-EMF dose over a 2-year period.
Methods The SCAMP cohort included 6605 children from greater London, UK at baseline (age 12.1 years; 2014-2016) and 5194 at follow-up (age 14.2; 2016-2018). We estimated the daily dose of RF-EMF to eight tissues including the whole body and whole brain, using dosimetric algorithms for the specific absorption rate transfer into the body. We considered RF-EMF dose from 12 common usage scenarios such as mobile phone calls or data transmission. We evaluated the association between sociodemographic factors (gender, ethnicity, phone ownership and socio-economic status), and the dose change between baseline and follow-up.
Results Whole body dose was estimated at an average of 170 mJ/kg/day at baseline and 178 mJ/kg/day at follow-up. Among the eight tissues considered, the right temporal lobe received the highest daily dose (baseline 1150 mJ/kg/day, follow-up 1520 mJ/kg/day). Estimated daily dose [mJ/kg/day] increased between baseline and follow-up for head and brain related tissues, but remained stable for the whole body and heart. Doses estimated at baseline and follow-up showed low correlation among the 3384 children who completed both assessments. Asian ethnicity (compared to white) and owning a bar phone or no phone (as opposed to a smartphone) were associated with lower estimated whole-body and whole-brain RF-EMF dose, while black ethnicity, a moderate/low socio-economic status (compared to high), and increasing age (at baseline) were associated with higher estimated RF-EMF dose.
Conclusion This study describes the first longitudinal exposure assessment for children in a critical period of development. Dose estimations will be used in further epidemiological analyses for the SCAMP study.
Excerpts
A more critical issue for dose estimation is the type of mobile phone
network. The RF-EMF dose model puts the output power of calling on a
mobile phone on the 2G and 3G networks at 89.7 mW and 0.45 mW
respectively, which is a large difference and explains the relative
importance of the 2G calls for total dose. The model does not include a
scenario for 4G, but we assumed the emitted radiation to be equal to
that of 3G (Joshi, 2017).
We did not have information on proportion of 2G/3G/4G use in the cohort
(5G was still not relevant at the time of data collection), and assumed
that 2G, 3G and 4G were each used approximately one third of the time
for both baseline and follow-up, but this assumption could not be
validated. Considering the importance of 2G in dose modelling, any
change of this ratio within the two years would have noticeable impact
on the dose estimate. Thus, we cannot rule out that decrease in 2G use
over the study period may have overcompensated the increased usage,
which would mean that the RF-EMF dose would have actually decreased over
time....
Conclusion
This study in a large sample of adolescents confirms that mobile phone use is the main contributor to daily RF-EMF dose for the whole body and various brain regions. The correlation between individual dose estimates within two years was relatively low, likely reflecting both dynamic changes in mobile device usage in this age group, as well as uncertainty when estimating own wireless communication use. This calls for repeated exposure assessment in longitudinal studies on RF-EMF.
Research on Electromagnetic Radiation Safety Assessment of Co-construction and Sharing 5G Network
Senwen L, Zhizhong W, Huagang W, Shaochuan C. Research on Electromagnetic Radiation Safety Assessment of Co-construction and Sharing 5G Network. 2022 6th International Conference on Communication and Information Systems (ICCIS), 2022, pp. 27-34, doi: 10.1109/ICCIS56375.2022.
Abstract
Electromagnetic radiation safety of 5G base stations has been widely concerned by society and the public due to the accelerated development. This paper analyzes the electromagnetic radiation propagation characteristics of 5G mMIMO beam-forming, and monitors the field radiation level of the low-frequency 5G(Sub 6G) base station which co-constructed and shared by China Telecom and China Unicom in-situ real time, also studies and assesses the electromagnetic radiation safety of 5G co-construction and sharing network according to the international and China’s 5G electromagnetic radiation limit standards.
Excerpts
... Currently, the rated transmission power of commercial 5G macro station has specifications such as 160W, 200W, 240W and 320W, which is far more than the 40W to 60W transmission power of 4G macro stations.
At the same time, as 5G adopts a higher working frequency band and is affected by high-frequency attenuation, the coverage radius of 5G macro stations is about 300m to1500m, which is much smaller than the coverage radius of 4G macro stations of 1000m to 3500m, obviously, in order to ensure the same coverage quality, the number of 5G base stations is usually 3 to 5 times more than that of 4G....
As can be seen from Table I, for the 5G networks of these four operators in China, the maximum electromagnetic radiation limit (power density) of 5G(Sub 6G) base stations specified by China's national standard GB8702-2014 is between 40 μW/cm2 to 67 μW/cm2, and the maximum limit (power density) specified by HJ/T10.3-1996 in China's environmental protection industry is 8 μW/cm2 to 13.4 μW/cm2, but the maximum limit of electromagnetic radiation (power density) of 5G base stations specified by international standards ICNIRP2020 and IEEE C95.1-2019 can reach 1000 μW/cm2, obviously, the China's national standard of 5G base station radiation limit is 15 to 25 times harsher than that of other countries that mostly adopt international standard limits. If China's environmental protection industry standard HJ/10.3 is used, it is 75 to 125 times stricter than that of other countries that adopt international standards.
Conclusions
Although the beam-forming characteristic of the 5G mMIMO base station has strong beam directivity, and the electromagnetic radiation intensity of 5G base station also has a strong relationship with the user's download rate, however, in the most extreme application scenario of eMBB high-speed downlink lasting 6min without interruption, through frequency selection monitoring, the electromagnetic radiation level of 5G shared base stations with the maximum power of 320W and 200M working bandwidth in China's commercial network is far lower than China's national limit standard and international standard, which also shows that the high power, high frequency and high speed 5G network does not necessarily mean the safety problem of electromagnetic radiation. In fact, the electromagnetic environment quality of the sensitive area around the base station can still meet the national standard.
In addition, considering that China's national standard limit requirements are 15-25 times stricter than international standards, most countries have adopted more relaxed limit requirements for public exposure to 5G electromagnetic radiation, therefore, combined with the in-situ monitoring results obtained under the extreme eMBB application scenarios, which are far lower than the requirements of the national limit standard GB8702-2014, as long as the operators can timely do the pre-assessment of radiation risk before the base station construction and routine monitoring during operation, the electromagnetic radiation risk in sensitive areas covered by 5G
In addition, considering that China's national standard limit requirements are 15-25 times stricter than international standards, most countries have adopted more relaxed limit requirements for public exposure to 5G electromagnetic radiation, therefore, combined with the in-situ monitoring results obtained under the extreme eMBB application scenarios, which are far lower than the requirements of the national limit standard GB8702-2014, as long as the operators can timely do the pre-assessment of radiation risk before the base station construction and routine monitoring during operation, the electromagnetic radiation risk in sensitive areas covered by 5G
The temporal imprint of mobile phone emission level when running various applications in 4G versus 5G networks
Miclaus S, Deaconescu DB, Vatamanu D, Buda AM. The temporal imprint of mobile phone emission level when running various applications in 4G versus 5G networks. 2022 International Symposium on Electronics and Telecommunications (ISETC), Timisoara, Romania, 2022, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/ISETC56213.2022.
Abstract
Human exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile communications sources is dominated by the mobile phone radiation. Not only the dose of radiation is important, but also dose- or fluence-rate. In this regard, present research emphasizes the features of the dynamics of mobile terminal emission levels by means of statistics, nonlinear data analysis with recurrence quantification and time-frequency analyses. Time series of radiated electric field strengths were recorded and processed for a set of five mobile applications usage per communication standard. Both 4G-LTE emission channel of 20 MHz bandwidth and 5G-NR FR1 emission channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz were studied. Differences between 4G and 5G emissions variabilities are presented, and application-specific features of the time imprint are highlighted.
Conclusions
An original approach was applied here for extracting the temporal imprint of mobile phone emissions when it was successively connected to 4G and 5G (sub-6GHz) networks. The same five types of mobile applications were investigated while running, from the point of view of statistics, recurrence quantification and time-frequency plots of normalized E-field strengths emitted during 24s of use.
The most significant findings were: a) upload and video call showed the highest differences between 4G and 5G field level distributions; b) 5G emissions are highly concentrated in the lower levels end, with small differences between applications, which is very dissimilar from 4G emissions; c) video call in 4G conducted to the highest slope of field level local accumulation in time; the same was true in 5G, if compared with the other applications running in the same standard; d) on average the 5G emissions showed coefficient of variations of field levels 45% higher than 4G emissions; e) correlation between 4G and 5G strings of field levels was the largest for file upload but lack of correlation resulted for voice call; f) recurrence quantifications showed a degree of determinism present but no predictability; clear differences between 4G and 5G are emphasized while Poincare plots indicated that short-term variability is always consistently smaller than long-term variability in all 4G applications, and vice-versa is true for 5G emissions; h) time-frequency analysis emphasized again net differences between 4G and 5G emissions mainly for cases of upload, video call and streaming.
Both random and chaotic behaviour of emissions was emphasized so we conclude that too short time-series length might have hidden some significant features in the present preliminary results. Future work will be based on longer time- series data processing and analysis.
The most significant findings were: a) upload and video call showed the highest differences between 4G and 5G field level distributions; b) 5G emissions are highly concentrated in the lower levels end, with small differences between applications, which is very dissimilar from 4G emissions; c) video call in 4G conducted to the highest slope of field level local accumulation in time; the same was true in 5G, if compared with the other applications running in the same standard; d) on average the 5G emissions showed coefficient of variations of field levels 45% higher than 4G emissions; e) correlation between 4G and 5G strings of field levels was the largest for file upload but lack of correlation resulted for voice call; f) recurrence quantifications showed a degree of determinism present but no predictability; clear differences between 4G and 5G are emphasized while Poincare plots indicated that short-term variability is always consistently smaller than long-term variability in all 4G applications, and vice-versa is true for 5G emissions; h) time-frequency analysis emphasized again net differences between 4G and 5G emissions mainly for cases of upload, video call and streaming.
Both random and chaotic behaviour of emissions was emphasized so we conclude that too short time-series length might have hidden some significant features in the present preliminary results. Future work will be based on longer time- series data processing and analysis.
Evaluation of Chinese population exposure to environmental electromagnetic field based on stochastic dosimetry and parametric human modelling
Jiang Y, Wang H, Sun X, Li C, Wu T. Evaluation of Chinese populational exposure to environmental electromagnetic field based on stochastic dosimetry and parametric human modelling. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan 7. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-25153-y.
This study aimed to estimate the distribution of the whole-body averaged specific absorption rate (WBSAR) using several measurable physique parameters for Chinese adult population exposed to environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of current wireless communication frequencies, and to discuss the effects of these physique parameters in the frequency-dependent dosimetric results. The physique distribution of Chinese adults was obtained from the National Physical Fitness and Health Database comprising 81,490 adult samples. The number of physique parameters used to construct the surrogate model was reduced to three via mutual information analysis. A stochastic method with 40 deterministic simulations was used to generate frequency-dependent and gender-specific surrogate models for WBSAR via polynomial chaos expansion. In the simulations, we constructed anatomically correct models conforming to the targeted physique parameters via deformable human modelling technique, which was based on deep learning from the image database including 767 Chinese adults. Thereafter, we analysed the sensitivity of the physique parameters to WBSAR by covariance-based Sobol decomposition. The results indicated that the generated models were consistent with the targeted physique parameters. The estimated dosimetric results were validated using finite-difference time-domain simulations (the error was < 6% across all the investigated frequencies for WBSAR). The novelty of the study included that it demonstrated the feasibility of estimating the individual WBSAR using a limited number of physique parameters with the aid of surrogate modelling. In addition, the population-based distribution of the WBSAR in Chinese adults was firstly presented in the manuscript. The results also indicated that the different combinations of physique parameter, dependent on genders and frequencies, significantly influenced the WBSAR, although the general conservativeness of the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation and Protection can be confirmed in the surveyed population.
Conclusion
To characterise the statistical distribution of the WBSAR in the Chinese population, we established a surrogate model using stochastic dosimetry. We reconstructed parametric human models using deformable human models. The number of input variables was reduced to three via a correlation analysis of data obtained from the national population census, which were transformed to make them uncorrelated. We validated the parametric human modelling technique, surrogate models for WBSAR, and estimated WBSAR distribution for the Chinese population. A sensitivity analysis indicated that below 2.4 GHz, HC had the most significant effect on the WBSAR for males, whereas height had the most significant effect on the WBSAR for females. In the frequency range above 2.4 GHz, the influence of the HC for females increased with the frequency, but it decreased at 2.4 and 2.6 GHz for males. The identified morphological parameters can be used as reliable indicators of the individual WBSAR. The proposed method reduced significantly the time cost for numerical simulation and human modelling for individual WBSAR and, for the first time, presented the population-based distribution of WBSAR in Chinese adults. This study advanced our understanding of estimating populational exposure to RF‒EMF at the currently used frequencies.
Assessment of EMF Human Exposure Levels Due to Wearable Antennas at 5G Frequency Band
Gallucci S, Bonato M, Benini M, Chiaramello E, Fiocchi S, Tognola G, Parazzini M. Assessment of EMF Human Exposure Levels Due to Wearable Antennas at 5G Frequency Band. Sensors (Basel). 2022 Dec 22;23(1):104. doi: 10.3390/s23010104.
Background: This work aims to assess human exposure to EMF due to two different wearable antennas tuned to two 5G bands.
Methods: The first one was centered in the lower 5G band, around f = 3.5 GHz, whereas the second one was tuned to the upper 5G band, at 26.5 GHz. Both antennas were positioned on the trunk of four simulated human models. The exposure assessment was performed by electromagnetic numerical simulations. Exposure levels were assessed by quantifying the specific absorption rate averaged on 10 g of tissue (SAR10g) and the absorbed power density (Sab), depending on the frequency of the wearable antenna.
Results: the higher exposure values that resulted were always mainly concentrated in a superficial area just below the antenna itself. In addition, these resulting distributions were narrowed around their peak values and tended to flatten toward lower values in farther anatomical body regions. All the exposure levels complied with ICNIRP guidelines when considering realistic input power.
Conclusions: This work highlights the importance of performing an exposure assessment when the antenna is placed on the human wearer, considering the growth of wearable technology and its wide variety of application, particularly regarding future 5G networks.
Excerpt
To evaluate the interaction between the EMF emitted by the simulated
wearable antennas and human tissues, the specific absorption rate (SAR)
and the absorbed power density (Sab) were evaluated according to ICNIRP guidelines [28]. In more detail, the SAR was calculated as averaged over a cubical mass of 10 g (SAR10g), and the Sab was averaged over a square 4 cm2 surface area over the skin, that is, the most superficial tissue. Both SAR10g and Sab were obtained with the input power to the antenna set as 1 W. The choice to estimate the SAR over the Sab and vice versa depended on the frequency of the wearable antenna.
Open access paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Ntolkeras G, Jeong H, Zollei L, Dmytriw AA, Purvaziri A, Lev MH, Grant PE, Bonmassar G. A high-resolution pediatric female whole-body numerical model with comparison to a male model. Phys Med Biol. 2022 Dec 6. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aca950.
Objective: Numerical models are central in designing and testing novel medical devices and in studying how different anatomical changes may affect physiology. Despite the numerous adult models available, there are only a few whole-body pediatric numerical models with significant limitations. In addition, there is a limited representation of both male and female biological sexes in the available pediatric models despite the fact that sex significantly affects body development, especially in a highly dynamic population. As a result, we developed Athena, a realistic female whole-body pediatric numerical model with high-resolution and anatomical detail.
Approach: We segmented different body tissues through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) images of a healthy 3.5-year-old female child using 3D Slicer. We validated the high anatomical accuracy segmentation through two experienced sub-specialty-certified neuro-radiologists and the inter and intra-operator variability of the segmentation results comparing sex differences in organ metrics with physiologic values. Finally, we compared Athena with Martin, a similar male model, showing differences in anatomy, organ metrics, and MRI dosimetric exposure.
Main results: We segmented 267 tissue compartments, which included 50 brain tissue labels. The tissue metrics of Athena displayed no deviation from the literature value of healthy children. We show the variability of brain metrics in the male and female models. Finally, we offer an example of computing Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and Joule heating in a toddler/preschooler at 7T MRI.
Significance: This study introduces a female realistic high-resolution numerical model using MRI and CT scans of a 3.5-year-old female child, the use of which includes but is not limited to radiofrequency safety studies for medical devices (e.g., an implantable medical device safety in MRI), neurostimulation studies, and radiation dosimetry studies. This model will be open source and available on the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging website.
In this paper, an accurate and comprehensive model of the adult body tissues using the CST Studio Suite software is developed. The effect of EM radiation on the human body was studied for the frequency range of 4 to 12 GHz over a specified period of 6 min, 4 h and 30 days. It can be concluded that the effects are inversely related to the frequency increase. In other words, the longer the wavelength of the electromagnetic field can cause further penetration in the human body and severe effects in the vital organs of the body. The longer exposure time can cause a severe effect. In addition, by examining the pattern of wave propagation in the body, it was seen that in the oral cavities filled with the air, there is a loss of wavelength and the waves tend to fall into the inner tissues which have absorption coefficient. Excluding the body skin, the power loss in the other organs monolithically decreased with frequency increase, and the power loss increases by the exposure time so that for 30 days exposure, it has nearly 2 orders of magnitude more absorption at different organs. The power loss diagram, SAR diagram, and the body organs risk caused by radar waves show the rate of vulnerability of the abdominal cavity and the head. The risk of the body skin disease in the lower frequencies has increased. Furthermore, the skin surface is more vulnerable and the chance of skin complications increases at higher frequencies up to 12 GHz. It should also be emphasized that for the body of those people whose workplace interact with radar waves exceeding the limit point of -10.96 dB, the critical risk of the body’s vital organs increases. As a result, the standard limits should be considered for safety and health of the staff in the radar sites.
--
A high-resolution pediatric female whole-body numerical model with comparison to a male model
Ntolkeras G, Jeong H, Zollei L, Dmytriw AA, Purvaziri A, Lev MH, Grant PE, Bonmassar G. A high-resolution pediatric female whole-body numerical model with comparison to a male model. Phys Med Biol. 2022 Dec 6. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aca950.
Abstract
Objective: Numerical models are central in designing and testing novel medical devices and in studying how different anatomical changes may affect physiology. Despite the numerous adult models available, there are only a few whole-body pediatric numerical models with significant limitations. In addition, there is a limited representation of both male and female biological sexes in the available pediatric models despite the fact that sex significantly affects body development, especially in a highly dynamic population. As a result, we developed Athena, a realistic female whole-body pediatric numerical model with high-resolution and anatomical detail.
Approach: We segmented different body tissues through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) images of a healthy 3.5-year-old female child using 3D Slicer. We validated the high anatomical accuracy segmentation through two experienced sub-specialty-certified neuro-radiologists and the inter and intra-operator variability of the segmentation results comparing sex differences in organ metrics with physiologic values. Finally, we compared Athena with Martin, a similar male model, showing differences in anatomy, organ metrics, and MRI dosimetric exposure.
Main results: We segmented 267 tissue compartments, which included 50 brain tissue labels. The tissue metrics of Athena displayed no deviation from the literature value of healthy children. We show the variability of brain metrics in the male and female models. Finally, we offer an example of computing Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and Joule heating in a toddler/preschooler at 7T MRI.
Significance: This study introduces a female realistic high-resolution numerical model using MRI and CT scans of a 3.5-year-old female child, the use of which includes but is not limited to radiofrequency safety studies for medical devices (e.g., an implantable medical device safety in MRI), neurostimulation studies, and radiation dosimetry studies. This model will be open source and available on the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging website.
Open access paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/
--
Human
Health Risk Assessment of 4-12 GHz Radar Waves using CST STUDIO SUITE
Software
Fereidouni F, Mohammadi ST, Faramarzi Shahraki V, Jahantigh F. Human
Health Risk Assessment of 4-12 GHz Radar Waves using CST STUDIO SUITE
Software. J Biomed Phys Eng. 2022 Jun 1;12(3):285-296. doi:
10.31661/jbpe.v0i0.1272.
Background:
The application of radar systems in telecommunications and
aerospace science is important. However, engineering department's staff
various tissues are always under chronic radiation generated by the
radar fields which may affect health.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the risk of radar wave exposure and to explore the effects and limitations.
Material and methods: In this simulation study, an adult body model versus 1 watt source with a distance of 50 centimeters exposure has been simulated using the CST STUDIO SUITE. Furthermore, various physical and electrical properties of each tissue and organ for different frequencies and exposure times have been studied. The exposure dose limitations have been considered using the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) safety and health guide report.
Results: Total body absorbed doses for 4 GHz, 8 GHz, and 12 GHz frequency, and 6 min, 4 h, and 30 days exposure time, have been calculated as 1.136×10-5, 1.598×10-5, 1.58×10-3, 1.521×10-5, 3.122×10-5, 4.52×10-3, 4.1×10-5, 10-4, and 10-2, respectively.
Conclusion: It has shown that the internal organs of the body and head will be under more risk by reducing radar frequencies from 12 GHz to 4 GHz. On the other hand, the higher frequency can cause a higher risk to the human skin. In addition, the maximum Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) for each case has been calculated. The results show that for this normalized source, the safety criteria have been respected, but for a higher source, the calculations must be repeated.
Conclusion
In this paper, an accurate and comprehensive model of the adult body tissues using the CST Studio Suite software is developed. The effect of EM radiation on the human body was studied for the frequency range of 4 to 12 GHz over a specified period of 6 min, 4 h and 30 days. It can be concluded that the effects are inversely related to the frequency increase. In other words, the longer the wavelength of the electromagnetic field can cause further penetration in the human body and severe effects in the vital organs of the body. The longer exposure time can cause a severe effect. In addition, by examining the pattern of wave propagation in the body, it was seen that in the oral cavities filled with the air, there is a loss of wavelength and the waves tend to fall into the inner tissues which have absorption coefficient. Excluding the body skin, the power loss in the other organs monolithically decreased with frequency increase, and the power loss increases by the exposure time so that for 30 days exposure, it has nearly 2 orders of magnitude more absorption at different organs. The power loss diagram, SAR diagram, and the body organs risk caused by radar waves show the rate of vulnerability of the abdominal cavity and the head. The risk of the body skin disease in the lower frequencies has increased. Furthermore, the skin surface is more vulnerable and the chance of skin complications increases at higher frequencies up to 12 GHz. It should also be emphasized that for the body of those people whose workplace interact with radar waves exceeding the limit point of -10.96 dB, the critical risk of the body’s vital organs increases. As a result, the standard limits should be considered for safety and health of the staff in the radar sites.
Open access paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
--
Grounding (earthing) as related to electromagnetic hygiene: An integrative review
Jamieson IA. Grounding (earthing) as related to electromagnetic hygiene: An integrative review. Biomedical Journal, 2022, doi:10.1016/j.bj.2022.11.005.
Abstract
There are a growing number of studies investigating how grounding (earthing) the body may benefit biological performance and aid the treatment of non-communicable diseases. Research also indicates how biological grounding initiatives can sometimes be compromised, or inappropriate, and the need to take additional factors into account as potential contributory factors, or confounders, to expected results. It is proposed that expanding electromagnetic hygiene measures beyond biological grounding alone may help reduce spread of communicable diseases, incidence of respiratory conditions, neurodegenerative disease and all-cause mortality. Identifying potential synergies that exist could enable multilevel interventions to further increase the efficacy of measures. It is hoped that this review will help act as a catalyst to inspire and inform multi-disciplinary research within these topic areas, best practices and policies to help drive medical innovation, reduce health burdens, improve bioelectromagnetic-based therapies, and influence the general design of the built environment and next-generation technologies.
Open access paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/
Jamieson IA. Grounding (earthing) as related to electromagnetic hygiene: An integrative review. Biomedical Journal, 2022, doi:10.1016/j.bj.2022.11.005.
Abstract
There are a growing number of studies investigating how grounding (earthing) the body may benefit biological performance and aid the treatment of non-communicable diseases. Research also indicates how biological grounding initiatives can sometimes be compromised, or inappropriate, and the need to take additional factors into account as potential contributory factors, or confounders, to expected results. It is proposed that expanding electromagnetic hygiene measures beyond biological grounding alone may help reduce spread of communicable diseases, incidence of respiratory conditions, neurodegenerative disease and all-cause mortality. Identifying potential synergies that exist could enable multilevel interventions to further increase the efficacy of measures. It is hoped that this review will help act as a catalyst to inspire and inform multi-disciplinary research within these topic areas, best practices and policies to help drive medical innovation, reduce health burdens, improve bioelectromagnetic-based therapies, and influence the general design of the built environment and next-generation technologies.
Open access paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/
--
Assessment of the Electromagnetic Radiation Exposure at
Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities
Bae H, Park S. Assessment of the Electromagnetic Radiation Exposure at
EV Charging Facilities. Sensors (Basel). 2022 Dec 23;23(1):162. doi:
10.3390/s23010162
Abstract
As the number of electric vehicles (EV) increases, the number of EV
chargers also increases. Charging infrastructure will be built into our
close environment. Because of this, the assessment of the
electromagnetic field exposure generated from the charger is an
important issue. This paper valuates the electromagnetic field exposure
of six EV chargers. To assess the level of exposure of EV chargers, the
electromagnetic fields from six chargers were measured and analyzed. In
addition, measured electromagnetic field exposure levels were evaluated
against ICNIRP guidelines. Higher electromagnetic fields were measured
with standard chargers than with fast chargers. For the fast charger in
the charging state, the magnetic field increased with the charging
current. Electromagnetic field exposures for all six chargers did not
exceed standard limits. The results of the assessment of the
electromagnetic field exposure of the six EV chargers will contribute to
the establishment of standards for the evaluation of the
electromagnetic field exposure of the EV chargers in the future.
Conclusion
In this study, electromagnetic field exposure assessment results of six EV chargers were presented. These results show the location where the electromagnetic field is the highest measured among electric vehicle chargers in the charging situation. They also show the correlation between changes in the electromagnetic field and changes in the SoC. The measured value of the electromagnetic field was analyzed by comparing it with domestic and global electromagnetic field intensity standard. The domestic electromagnetic field intensity standards were in agreement with the ICNIRP guidelines revised in 1998 and were analyzed based on them.
Six EV chargers were selected for measurement. The level of exposure to electromagnetic fields was confirmed by precisely measuring six types of chargers in RMS mode under charging conditions. In addition, the electromagnetic field changed as the SoC changed. Because of RMS precision measurement, a relatively higher electromagnetic field was emitted from a standard charger than from a fast charger. The maximum electric field was measured at the standard stand-type B handle, and it was 430 V/m, corresponding to an EI of 10%. The maximum magnetic field was measured on a standard wall-mounted body and was 46 A/m, corresponding to an EI of 69%. None of the six chargers exceeded the electromagnetic field protection standard.
Changes in electric and magnetic fields were confirmed by the changes in the SoC [state of charge] of six chargers. In the case of fast charging facilities, as the charging power and current gradually decreased, it was confirmed that the level of magnetic field strength decreased accordingly. In the case of standard charging facilities, the correlation between charging power, voltage, current, and electric and magnetic field strength could not be confirmed. In addition, changes in the electromagnetic field were observed with changes in the SoC. Generally, the maximum value of the electromagnetic field was measured in the measurement results by the change in the SoC. This result indicates the need to verify electromagnetic field measurements as the change in the SoC.
Because of these results, the measurement procedure when preparing a method to evaluate the amount of exposure to electromagnetic fields in EV charging facilities is worth reviewing in the future. When charging an EV, the measurement location of maximum electromagnetic field exposure is necessary. Therefore, first, an understanding of the overall electromagnetic field strength of the charging facility is necessary. The maximum value after measurements according to the change from 0% to 100% of the SoC at the location of maximum exposure is worth recording.
Open access paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
--
Electromagnetic Radiation Safety on Far-Field Wireless Power Transfer in IoT
Ma F, Liu X, Ansari N. Electromagnetic Radiation Safety on Far-field Wireless Power Transfer in IoT. GLOBECOM 2022 - 2022 IEEE Global Communications Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2022, pp. 4995-5000, doi: 10.1109/GLOBECOM48099.2022.
Abstract
Nowadays, Far-field Wireless Power Transfer (FWPT) has attracted many
research efforts to conveniently power the Internet of Things (IoT)
devices. Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) safety in FWPT has brought much
attention from the public. Existing works on FWPT mainly focus on
improving the remote charging efficiency but overlooking the effects of
EMR. A few works consider EMR safety but do not present accurate EMR
quantization analysis because there lacks an accurate EMR computing
model in IoT wireless charging scenario. In this paper, in order to
evaluate and avoid the EMR's harmful impact, we first propose an
accurate theoretical calculation equation for EMR and the concept of
Charging Restricted Area (CRA). In the wireless charging area on a
2-dimensional plane, according to the EMR computing model, we further
maximize the overall charging power by adjusting the power of chargers
and ensure that the EMR in this area is lower than the EMR safety
threshold. The wireless charging EMR safety problem is formulated as a
linear programming problem with infinite constraints. To re-express the
wireless charging EMR safety problem as a typical linear programming
problem with finite constraints, the Sampling Safety Charging (SSC)
algorithm is proposed. We have conducted extensive experiments to
validate our proposed algorithm; the simulation results show that the
performance achieved by our algorithm outperforms that achieved by the
distributed RObustlySafE (ROSE) algorithm.
--
Coverage factors for efficient demonstration
of compliance of low-frequency magnetic near-field exposures with basic
restrictions
Xi J, Christ A, Kuster N. Coverage factors for efficient demonstration
of compliance of low-frequency magnetic near-field exposures with basic
restrictions. Phys Med Biol. 2022 Dec 2. doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aca875.
Abstract
Regulators require that wireless power transfer (WPT) systems and other
strong magnetic field sources are compliant with the basic restrictions
(BR) defined as the limits of the fields induced in the human body,
i.e., the induced electric field/current density/specific absorption
rate limits. This can be achieved by demonstrating compliance with the
reference levels (RL) defined in air without the human body, i.e., the
incident electric/magnetic field limits. Local sources, such as WPT
transmitters, generate non-uniform fields that can locally exceed the RL
while the induced fields are still well below the BR. In these cases,
robust compliance with BR can be demonstrated, generally requiring a
large number of simulations. In this study, we proposed an efficient
evaluation using a homogeneous phantom and applying a coverage factor to
account for the local field enhancements caused by the dielectric
contrasts of the highly inhomogeneous human tissues. The generally
applicable coverage factors were derived from a statistical analysis of
the field enhancements observed on four magnetic near-field sources
placed at different separation distances (2-80 mm) and locations on the
back of 12 anatomical models. The field enhancements were characterized
by the ratios between the peak induced fields in the anatomical models
and those in the homogeneous half-space phantom (εr= 55, σ = 0.75 S/m, ρ = 1,000 kg/m3)
at the same distance. The resulting 99th percentile coverage factors
range from 1 and 9 depending on the dosimetric quantity. The use of
these coverage factors reduces the compliance testing effort from
hundreds of simulations to only one, and makes experimental testing
feasible without the support of simulations. The study also demonstrates
that running only a few use-case simulations with anatomical models may
underestimate the exposure by more than 10 dB.
--
Estimating exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields near
high-voltage power lines and assessment of possible increased cancer
risk among Slovenian children and adolescents
Zagar T, Valic B, Kotnik T, Korat S, Tomsic S, Zadnik V, Gajsek P.
Estimating exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields near
high-voltage power lines and assessment of possible increased cancer
risk among Slovenian children and adolescents. Radiol Oncol. 2023 Jan 8.
doi: 10.2478/raon-2023-0002.
Abstract
Background: Some previous research showed that average daily exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MF) of more than 0.3 or 0.4 μT could potentially increase risk of childhood leukaemia.
Materials and methods: To allow calculations of ELF MF around high voltage (HV) power lines (PL) for the whole Slovenia, a new three-dimensional method including precision terrain elevation data was developed to calculate the long-term average ELF MF. Data on population of Slovenian children and adolescents and on cancer patients with leukaemia's aged 0-19 years, brain tumours at age 0-29, and cancer in general at age 0-14 for a 12-year period 2005-2016 was obtained from the Slovenian Cancer Registry.
Results: According to the large-scale calculation for the whole country, only 0.5% of children and adolescents under the age of 19 in Slovenia lived in an area near HV PL with ELF MF density greater than 0.1 μT. The risk of cancer for children and adolescents living in areas with higher ELF MF was not significantly different from the risk of their peers.
Conclusions: The new method enables relatively fast calculation of the value of low-frequency magnetic fields for arbitrary loads of the power distribution network, as the value of each source for arbitrary load is calculated by scaling the value for nominal load, which also enables significantly faster adjustment of calculated estimates in the power distribution network.
Materials and methods: To allow calculations of ELF MF around high voltage (HV) power lines (PL) for the whole Slovenia, a new three-dimensional method including precision terrain elevation data was developed to calculate the long-term average ELF MF. Data on population of Slovenian children and adolescents and on cancer patients with leukaemia's aged 0-19 years, brain tumours at age 0-29, and cancer in general at age 0-14 for a 12-year period 2005-2016 was obtained from the Slovenian Cancer Registry.
Results: According to the large-scale calculation for the whole country, only 0.5% of children and adolescents under the age of 19 in Slovenia lived in an area near HV PL with ELF MF density greater than 0.1 μT. The risk of cancer for children and adolescents living in areas with higher ELF MF was not significantly different from the risk of their peers.
Conclusions: The new method enables relatively fast calculation of the value of low-frequency magnetic fields for arbitrary loads of the power distribution network, as the value of each source for arbitrary load is calculated by scaling the value for nominal load, which also enables significantly faster adjustment of calculated estimates in the power distribution network.
Open access paper: https://sciendo.com/article/
--
Evaluation of cognitive functions and EEG records in rats exposed to 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field
Yucel H, Dundar NO, Doguc DK, Uguz C, Celik O, Aksoy FT, Nazıroglu M, Comlekci S, Dundar B. Evaluation of cognitive functions and EEG records in rats exposed to 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field.
Int J Radiat Res 2022, 20(4): 753-760.
Abstract
Background: Electromagnetic fields may primarily affect cognitive functions. It has not been elucidated how electromagnetic radiation affects the brain, particularly in the young age group. We aimed to examine the cognitive function, expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDA), and EEG alterations in weaned rats exposed to a 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-one weaned (21 days old) male Wistar Albino rats were divided into two groups as experimental group (n=12) and control group (n=9). Animals in the experimental group were exposed to a 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field for one hour a day for more than 28 days. At the end of this period, rats were subjected to training and learning test using Morris Water Maze. After obtaining EEG records, hippocampi were removed. 2A and 2B subunits of NMDA receptors were studied in hippocampal homogenates using the Western Blot method.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in measures of latency to target quadrant, time spent in the target quadrant, and average swim speed as compared in Morris water maze. However, the time to arrive at the visible platform was significantly longer in experimental animals. There were no statistically significant differences in expression of 2A and 2B subunits of NMDA receptors between the two groups. Evaluation of EEG records revealed that spike frequency was significantly higher and time to first spike was significantly shorter in the experimental group.
Conclusion: These results indicated that a 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field might negatively affect EEG, motivation, and attention, particularly in the young age group.
Open access paper: http://ijrr.com/article-1-
--
Effects of ELF-PEMF
exposure on spontaneous alternation, anxiety, motor co-ordination and
locomotor activity of adult wistar rats and viability of C6 (Glial)
cells in culture
Tekam CKS, Majumdar S, Kumari P, Prajapati SK, Sahi AK, Shinde S, Singh
R, Samaiya PK, Patnaik R, Krishnamurthy S, Mahto SK. Effects of ELF-PEMF
exposure on spontaneous alternation, anxiety, motor co-ordination and
locomotor activity of adult wistar rats and viability of C6 (Glial)
cells in culture. Toxicology. 2022 Dec 24;485:153409. doi:
10.1016/j.tox.2022.153409.
Abstract
The effects of ELF-PEMF exposure on spontaneous alternation, anxiety,
motor coordination, and locomotor activity have been discussed in
various pre-clinical and clinical settings. Several epidemiological and
experimental studies have demonstrated the potential effects of ELF-PEMF
when exposed > ∼1 h/day; however, very few studies have focused on
understanding the influence of ELF-PEMF exposure of 1-3 mT with an
exposure duration of < 1 h/day on spontaneous alternation, anxiety,
motor coordination, and locomotor activity. Hence, we attempted to study
the effects of ELF-PEMF exposure of 1-3 mT, 50 Hz with an exposure
duration of 20 min each with a 4 h gap (2 times) on the cellular
proliferation and morphologies of C6 (Glial) cells and spontaneous
alternation, anxiety, motor coordination and locomotor activity of
Wistar rats under in vitro and in vivo conditions, respectively. The
results showed that ELF-PEMF exposure did not induce any significant
levels of cellular fragmentation and changes in the morphology of glial
cells. Also, the outcomes revealed no noticeable effects on spontaneous
alternation, anxiety, motor coordination, and locomotor activity in
PEMF-exposed groups compared with the control. No undesirable side
effects were observed at the highest dose (B=3 mT). We also performed
histological analysis of the selected brain sections (hippocampus and
cortex) following ELF-PEMF exposure. Incidentally, no significant
changes were observed in cortical cell counts, tissue structure, and
morphology.
--
Influence of
electromagnetic fields on the circadian rhythm: Implications for human
health and disease
Martel J, Chang SH, Chevalier G, Ojcius DM, Young JD. Influence of
electromagnetic fields on the circadian rhythm: Implications for human
health and disease. Biomed J. 2023 Jan 18:S2319-4170(23)00003-3. doi:
10.1016/j.bj.2023.01.003.
Abstract
Living organisms have evolved within the natural electromagnetic fields
of the earth which comprise atmospheric electricity, Schumann resonances
and the geomagnetic field. Research suggests that the circadian rhythm,
which controls several physiological functions in the human body, can
be influenced by light but also by the earth's electromagnetic fields.
Cyclic solar disturbances, including sunspots and seasonal weakening of
the geomagnetic field, can affect human health, possibly by disrupting
the circadian rhythm and downstream physiological functions. Severe
disruption of the circadian rhythm increases inflammation which can
induce fatigue, fever and flu-like symptoms in a fraction of the
population and worsen existing symptoms in old and diseased individuals,
leading to periodic spikes of infectious and chronic diseases. Possible
mechanisms underlying sensing of the earth's electromagnetic fields
involve entrainment, light-dependent radical pair formation in retina
cryptochromes, and paramagnetic magnetite nanoparticles. Factors such as
electromagnetic pollution from wireless devices and antennas, shielding
by non-conductive materials used in shoes and buildings, and local
geomagnetic anomalies may also affect sensing of the earth's
electromagnetic fields by the human body and contribute to circadian
rhythm disruption and disease development.
--
The Effects
of Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to 50-Hz and 3 mT Electromagnetic
Field on Rat Testicular Development
Ersoy N, Acikgoz B, Aksu I, Kiray A, Bagriyanik HA, Kiray M. The Effects
of Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to 50-Hz and 3 mT Electromagnetic
Field on Rat Testicular Development. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022 Dec
29;59(1):71. doi: 10.3390/medicina59010071.
Abstract
Background and objectives: It has been shown that electromagnetic
fields (EMFs) have negative effects on the reproductive system. The
biological effects of EMF on the male reproductive system are
controversial and vary depending on the frequency and exposure time.
Although a limited number of studies have focused on the structural and
functional effects of EMF, the effects of prenatal and postnatal EMF
exposure on testes are not clear. We aimed to investigate the effects of
50-Hz, 3-mT EMF exposure (5 days/wk, 4 h/day) during pre- and postnatal
periods on testis development. Materials and Methods: Pups from
three groups of Sprague-Dawley pregnant rats were used: Sham, EMF-28
(EMF-exposure applied during pregnancy and until postnatal day 28),
EMF-42 (EMF-exposure applied during pregnancy and until postnatal day
42). The testis tissues and blood samples of male offspring were
collected on the postnatal day 42. Results: Morphometric analyses
showed a decrease in seminiferous tubule diameter as a result of
testicular degeneration in the EMF-42 group. Follicle-stimulating
hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were decreased in the
EMF-42 group. Lipid peroxidation levels were increased in both EMF
groups, while antioxidant levels were decreased only in the EMF-28
group. We found decreased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor
(VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) in the EMF-42 group, and
decreased levels of the SRC homology 3 (SH3) and multiple ankyrin repeat
domain (SHANK3) in the EMF-28 group in the testis tissue. Conclusions:
EMF exposure during pre- and postnatal periods may cause deterioration
in the structure and function of testis and decrease in growing factors
that would affect testicular functions in male rat pups. In addition to
the oxidative stress observed in testis, decreased SHANK3, VEGF, and
IGF1 protein levels suggests that these proteins may be mediators in
testis affected by EMF exposure. This study shows that EMF exposure
during embryonic development and adolescence can cause apoptosis and
structural changes in the testis.
Open access paper: https://www.mdpi.com/1648-
--
Effects of 150 kHz intermediate frequency electromagnetic radiation on fertility indicators in male rats
Sundaram V, Mohammed S, Zyuzikov N. Effects of 150 kHz intermediate frequency electromagnetic radiation on fertility indicators in male rats. Heliyon. 8(12). 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12228.
Abstract
Background The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of whole-body exposure to 150 kHz Intermediate-frequency electromagnetic radiation (IF EMR) on fertility indicators of male rats since human exposure to this frequency has increased in recent years. Fourteen adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The rats were randomly divided into a control and an EMR group (n = 7/group). The EMR group was continuously irradiated with 150 kHz EMR for 8 weeks. Male fertility indicators, body mass, testicular mass, rectal temperature, testicular histology, histometry, sperm analysis, and serum gonadotrophic hormone levels were evaluated.
Sundaram V, Mohammed S, Zyuzikov N. Effects of 150 kHz intermediate frequency electromagnetic radiation on fertility indicators in male rats. Heliyon. 8(12). 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12228.
Abstract
Background The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of whole-body exposure to 150 kHz Intermediate-frequency electromagnetic radiation (IF EMR) on fertility indicators of male rats since human exposure to this frequency has increased in recent years. Fourteen adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The rats were randomly divided into a control and an EMR group (n = 7/group). The EMR group was continuously irradiated with 150 kHz EMR for 8 weeks. Male fertility indicators, body mass, testicular mass, rectal temperature, testicular histology, histometry, sperm analysis, and serum gonadotrophic hormone levels were evaluated.
Results The study showed no negative effect on body mass (grams) (323.78 ± 37.09 to 305.09 ± 26.36; p = 0.72), rectal temperature (Control: 34.5 °C–35.8 °C; EMR: 34.4 °C–36.1 °C; p < 0.05), and testicular histology. There were significant reductions in left and right testicular mass (1.04 ± 0.10 to 0.96 ± 0.32: p = 0.03 and 1.02 ± 0.08 to 0.96 ± 0.35 p = 0.04, respectively), interstitial cell count/1000 μm2 (5.33 ± 0.56 to 4.47 ± 0.48; p = 0.01), sperm motility trajectories (p = 0.05) and sperm distal cytoplasmic droplet (%) (2.27 ± 2.28 to 6.84 ± 5.01; p = 0.05). A significant increase in follicle-stimulating hormone levels was observed (13.44 ± 6.38 IU/ml to 26.96 ± 8.07 IU/ml; p = 0.01).
Conclusions Most male fertility parameters of rats in the present study were not affected by 8 weeks of whole-body exposure to 150 kHz EMR. However, significant decreases in testicular mass, interstitial cell count/1000 μm2, sperm motility trajectories, and distal cytoplasmic droplets were observed, as well as an increase in FSH level.
Open access paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/
--
Magnetic fields produced by subsea high-voltage direct current cables
reduce swimming activity of haddock larvae
Cresci A, Durif CMF, Larsen T, Bjelland R, Skiftesvik AB, Browman HI.
Magnetic fields produced by subsea high-voltage direct current cables
reduce swimming activity of haddock larvae (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). PNAS Nexus. 2022 Aug 27;1(4):pgac175. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac175.
Abstract
High-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables are used to transport
power between locations and from/to nearshore and offshore facilities.
HVDC cables produce magnetic fields (B-fields) that could impact marine
fish. Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) is a demersal
fish that is at risk of exposure to anthropogenic B-fields. Their larvae
drift over the continental shelf, and use the Earth's magnetic field
for orientation during dispersal. Therefore, anthropogenic magnetic
fields from HVDC cables could alter their behavior. We tested the
behavior of 92 haddock larvae using a setup designed to simulate the
scenario of larvae drifting past a B-field in the intensity range of
that produced by a DC subsea cable. We exposed the larvae to a B-field
intensity ranging from 50 to 150 µT in a raceway tank. Exposure to the
B-field did not affect the spatial distribution of haddock larvae in the
raceway. Larvae were categorized by differences in their exploratory
behavior in the raceway. The majority (78%) of larvae were
nonexploratory, and exposure to the artificial B-field reduced their
median swimming speed by 60% and decreased their median acceleration by
38%. There was no effect on swimming of the smaller proportion (22%) of
exploratory larvae. These observations support the conclusion that the
swimming performance of nonexploratory haddock larvae would be reduced
following exposure to B-field from HVDC cables. The selective impact on
nonexploratory individuals, and the lack of impact on exploratory
individuals, could have population-scale implications for haddock in the
wild.
Open access paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
--
Magnetic fields generated by submarine power cables have a
negligible effect on the swimming behavior of Atlantic lumpfish
Durif CMF, Nyqvist D, Taormina B, Shema SD, Skiftesvik AB, Freytet F,
Browman HI. Magnetic fields generated by submarine power cables have a
negligible effect on the swimming behavior of Atlantic lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) juveniles. PeerJ. 2023 Jan 23;11:e14745. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14745.
Abstract
Submarine power cables carry electricity over long distances. Their
geographic distribution, number, and areal coverage are increasing
rapidly with the development of, for example, offshore wind facilities.
The flow of current passing through these cables creates a magnetic
field (MF) that can potentially affect marine organisms, particularly
those that are magnetosensitive. The lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)
is a migratory species that is widely distributed in the North Atlantic
Ocean and Barents Sea. It migrates between coastal spawning grounds and
pelagic offshore feeding areas. We tested whether lumpfish respond to
MFs of the same intensity as those emitted by high voltage direct
current (HVDC) submarine power cables. Laboratory experiments were
conducted by placing juvenile lumpfish in an artificial MF gradient
generated by a Helmholtz coil system. The intensity of the artificial MF
used (230 µT) corresponded to the field at 1 m from a high-power
submarine cable. The fish were filmed for 30 min with the coil either on
or off. Swimming speeds, and presence in the different parts of a
raceway, were extracted from the videos and analyzed. Juvenile lumpfish
activity, defined as the time that the fish spent swimming relative to
stationary pauses (attached to the substrate), and the distance
travelled, were unaffected by exposure to the artificial MF. The
swimming speed of juvenile lumpfish was reduced (by 16%) when the coil
was on indicating that the fish could either sense the MF or the induced
electric field created by the movement of the fish through the magnetic
field. However, it seems unlikely that a 16% decrease in swimming speed
occurring within 1 m of HVDC cables would significantly affect Atlantic
lumpfish migration or homing.
Open access paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
--
Geomagnetic disturbance associated
with increased vagrancy in migratory landbirds
Tonelli BA, Youngflesh C, Tingley MW. Geomagnetic disturbance associated
with increased vagrancy in migratory landbirds. Sci Rep. 2023 Jan
9;13(1):414. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26586-0.
Abstract
Rare birds known as "accidentals" or "vagrants" have long captivated
birdwatchers and puzzled biologists, but the drivers of these rare
occurrences remain elusive. Errors in orientation or navigation are
considered one potential driver: migratory birds use the Earth's
magnetic field-sensed using specialized magnetoreceptor structures-to
traverse long distances over often unfamiliar terrain. Disruption to
these magnetoreceptors or to the magnetic field itself could potentially
cause errors leading to vagrancy. Using data from 2 million captures of
152 landbird species in North America over 60 years, we demonstrate a
strong association between disruption to the Earth's magnetic field and
avian vagrancy during fall migration. Furthermore, we find that
increased solar activity-a disruptor of the avian
magnetoreceptor-generally counteracts this effect, potentially
mitigating misorientation by disabling the ability for birds to use the
magnetic field to orient. Our results link a hypothesized cause of
misorientation to the phenomenon of avian vagrancy, further
demonstrating the importance of magnetoreception among the orientation
mechanisms of migratory birds. Geomagnetic disturbance may have
important downstream ecological consequences, as vagrants may experience
increased mortality rates or facilitate range expansions of avian
populations and the organisms they disperse.
Open access paper: https://www.nature.com/
