Electric fields are produced by voltage (electrical pressure) and exist whenever a device is plugged in, even if turned off. They are measured in volts per meter (V/m). Electric fields can be blocked by walls and most materials, but often concentrate near ungrounded wiring and electronics.
Based on Building Biology Institute guidelines (V/m (volts per meter)):
Showing 294 studies with measured electric fields exposure
Júnior LC et al. · 2014
Researchers exposed male Wistar rats to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation from a GSM cell phone (1·8 GHz) for 3 days. After exposure, behavioral tests including the open field and object recognition tests were performed. The exposed animals did not present anxiety patterns or working memory impairment, but stress behavior actions were observed.
Calvente I et al. · 2015
Researchers used spot measurements to characterize outdoor radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the frequency range 100kHz-6GHz around the dwellings of 123 families from the INMA-Granada birth cohort in Southern Spain. The arithmetic mean electric field was 195.79mV/m and the mean power density was 799.01µW/m(2), with median values of 148.80mV/m and 285.94µW/m(2) respectively. All recorded values were well below International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection reference levels. Exposure levels varied widely among different areas or towns/villages and also among seasons.
Roser K et al. · 2017
Researchers measured personal RF-EMF exposure in 90 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years using a portable ExpoM-RF device across 13 frequency bands from 470 to 3600 MHz for three consecutive days with a time-activity diary. Mobile phones contributed 67.2% and mobile phone base stations contributed 19.8% of total personal RF-EMF measurements averaging 63.2 μW/m² (0.15 V/m). WLAN at school and home accounted for 3.5% of total personal measurements. Environmental sources contributed on average 6.0% to the brain dose and 9.0% to the whole-body dose according to dose calculations.
Sagar S et al. · 2017
Gryz K, Karpowicz J, Leszko W, Zradziński P. · 2014
Researchers measured electromagnetic radiofrequency radiation exposure in 45 buildings in urban and rural areas across various regions of Poland. The main sources of exposure identified were mobile phone base transceiver stations and radio-television transmitters. Exposure of workers and the general public in locations comparable to offices was found to be well below international limits.
Joseph W, Verloock L, Goeminne F, Vermeeren G, Martens L. · 2012
Researchers measured radiofrequency exposure from various sources in Reading, United Kingdom, and developed a method to estimate worst-case LTE exposure. All measured electric field levels satisfied ICNIRP reference levels, with a maximum total electric field value of 4.5 V/m. LTE exposure averaged 0.2 V/m and reached a maximum of 0.5 V/m, contributing on average only 0.4% of total exposure. The worst-case extrapolated LTE field value was 1.9 V/m, which is 32 times below the ICNIRP reference levels.
Joseph W, Verloock L, Goeminne F, Vermeeren G, Martens L. · 2010
Researchers measured radiofrequency exposure from multiple sources, including LTE cellular base stations, at 30 locations in Stockholm, Sweden. LTE exposure levels reached up to 0.8 V/m, and the LTE signal accounted for an average of 4% of the total RF exposure measured. Total exposures ranged from 0.2 to 2.6 V/m and satisfied ICNIRP reference levels at every location.
Frei P et al. · 2009
Researchers measured RF-EMF exposure of 166 volunteers from Basel, Switzerland, using personal exposure meters carried for one week. Mean weekly exposure across all RF-EMF sources was 0.13 mW/m2, ranging across individuals from 0.014 to 0.881 mW/m2. Exposure varied considerably between persons and locations but was fairly consistent within persons.
Urbinello D, Joseph W, Verloock L, Martens L, Röösli M. · 2014
Measurements of RF-EMF exposure in 11 frequency bands from FM to WLAN were performed in three European cities over one year. Highest exposure levels occurred in public transports with arithmetic means of 0.84 V/m in Brussels, 0.72 V/m in Ghent, and 0.59 V/m in Basel. Outdoor exposure increased by 57.1% in Basel (p<0.001), 20.1% in Ghent (p=0.053), and 38.2% in Brussels (p=0.012) over one year. Exposure increases were most consistent in outdoor areas due to mobile phone base stations. Levels remained far below regulatory limits.
Joseph W, Vermeeren G, Verloock L, Heredia MM, Martens L · 2008
This study characterized personal radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure of the general public from 12 different sources. Indoor office exposure from WiFi reached 95th-percentile field values of 0.36 to 0.58 V m(-1), while DECT reached 0.33 V m(-1), and outdoor GSM and DCS downlink signals reached up to 0.52 V m(-1). The researchers proposed a method to relate measured field exposure to actual whole-body absorption and applied it to a GSM downlink signal, finding Fiftieth, 95th, and 99th percentiles of whole-body SAR of 0.58 microW kg(-1), 2.08 microW kg(-1), and 5.01 microW kg(-1) for a 95th percentile of 0.26 V m(-1).
Margaritis LH et al. · 2014
Researchers exposed newly emerged flies daily for 3-7 days to various EMF sources including mobile phone, DECT, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and others. All EMF sources produced statistically significant effects on fecundity and apoptotic cell death, even at very low intensity levels such as 0.3 V/m from Bluetooth. The study found no linear cumulative effect when increasing exposure duration or combining sources, and discussed the role of average versus peak electric field values.
Trosić I, Pavicić I. · 2009
The study aimed to determine the influence of mobile phone frequency radiation on proliferation, cytoskeleton structure, and mitotic index of V79 cells after 1, 2, and 3 hours of exposure. V79 cells were exposed to continuous-wave 935 MHz radiation at an electric field strength of (8.2+/-0.3) V m(-1) and a specific absorption rate of 0.12 W kg(-1). Cell proliferation declined in cells exposed for three hours when measured 72 hours after irradiation. Microtubule structure was clearly altered immediately after three hours of irradiation. The mitotic index in exposed cells did not differ from negative controls.
Gürler HS, Bilgici B, Akar AK, Tomak L, Bedir A. · 2014
Researchers studied oxidative damage and the protective effect of garlic in rats exposed to low-level electromagnetic fields at 2.45 GHz microwave radiation. Groups II and III were exposed to low-level EMF at 3.68 ± 0.36 V/m at 2.45 GHz for 1 hour/day for 30 consecutive days, with Group III also receiving 500 mg/kg garlic daily. Exposure increased 8-OHdG levels in both plasma and brain tissue and increased AOPP levels only in plasma, while garlic prevented the increase of 8-OHdG in brain tissue and AOPP in plasma.
Hatice Ş. Gürler et al. · 2014
Researchers exposed rats to WiFi-frequency radiation (2.45 GHz) for one hour daily over 30 days and measured damage to DNA and proteins in their brains. The radiation caused significant DNA damage in both brain tissue and blood, while also increasing harmful protein changes in the blood. Interestingly, rats given garlic supplements showed protection against these damaging effects.
Dode AC et al. · 2011
Researchers examined a spatial correlation between cellular base station clusters and deaths by neoplasia in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from 1996 to 2006. The study used a descriptive ecological-epidemiological approach with georeferencing, drawing on death records, base station registrations, and census data. Between 1996 and 2006, 7191 deaths by neoplasia occurred, and within 500 m of a base station the mortality rate was 34.76 per 10,000 inhabitants, with a decrease in deaths observed outside that area.
Aly AA et al. · 2008
Researchers studied how 900-MHz radio-frequency fields affect the ability of human neutrophils to follow concentration gradients of Cyclic Adenosine 3', 5'-Monophosphate (C-AMP). Blood from healthy adult donors was exposed in vitro to different temperatures and a 900-MHz RF field at approximately 0.4 V/m. When the 900-MHz RF field was applied, neutrophil speed increased above the value observed at the same temperature, and the maximum speed exceeded that measured at any temperature by approximately 50%. The direction of motion changed from along the concentration gradient and the electrical field lines to motion at right angles to the concentration gradient and the electric field.
Halgamuge MN. · 2015
Researchers measured radio frequency electric field levels from seven transmitters aboard a 40-metre, three-level marine ship at 12 different locations. A total of 528 electric field measurements were collected across three deck levels, with the lowest readings on the upper deck and the highest on the bridge roof. The ICNIRP and ARPANSA general-public limits were exceeded on the bridge roof, but occupational limits were respected everywhere.
Papageorgiou CC et al. · 2011
Fifteen male and fifteen female subjects, matched for age and education level, were investigated while performing a modified version of the Hayling Sentence Completion test adjusted to induce working memory. ERPs were recorded at 30 scalp electrodes, both without and with exposure to a Wi-Fi signal. Male subjects showed decreased P300 amplitudes compared to female subjects, but only in the presence of Wi-Fi EMF. The researchers concluded that Wi-Fi exposure may exert gender-related alterations on neural activity associated with attentional resources during a linguistic working-memory test.
Kottou S et al. · 2015
Researchers measured electromagnetic fields in indoor dwellings across Attica, Lesvos, and Zakynthos, taking 4540 measurements from 50 Hz to 2100 MHz. Significant differences in electric field values were also found between geographic locations. RF electric field maximums were mostly below 0.5 V/m but occasionally reached up to 5.6 V/m, while ELF magnetic fields stayed below 1 μT. The study states that it may be concluded that overall the observed indoor EMF intensity values remained well below domestic and European established limits.
Emre M, Cetiner S, Zencir S, Unlukurt I, Kahraman I, Topcu Z · 2011
Researchers investigated the effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure with pulse trains on lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in rat liver tissue. The study used 30 adult male Wistar rats and measured plasma enzyme and protein levels, as well as apoptotic and necrotic cell percentages in kidney extracts. Oxidative stress indicators increased, and necrotic cell percentages were significantly lower in exposed animals compared to unexposed or sham control groups, though DNA ladder analyses did not differentiate between the groups.
Panagopoulos DJ, Margaritis LH · 2010
Researchers examined whether the bioactivity windows for GSM 900 and 1800 MHz radiation depend on field intensity by measuring reproductive capacity in Drosophila melanogaster. They compared insects exposed at the window distances (30 cm for GSM 900, 20 cm for GSM 1800) to insects exposed closer (8 cm and 5 cm) behind a metal grid that shielded microwave and ELF fields while keeping intensities roughly equal. The decrease in reproductive capacity did not differ significantly between the two exposure groups. The bioactivity window seems to be due to the intensity of radiation-field (10 microW/cm(2), 0.6-0.7 V/m) at those distances.
Unknown authors
Akar A et al. · 2012
Researchers exposed adult male Wistar rats to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation at a SAR of 0.25 W/kg for 2 hours each day for 21 days and then measured corneal thickness using histological and stereological methods. Overall corneal thickness was 278.9 ± 54.5 μm in the control group and 272.4 ± 85.6 μm in the study group, with no statistically significant difference between groups. Anterior corneal epithelium thickness was 28.1 ± 4.9 μm in the control group and 31.7 ± 5.5 μm in the exposed group, a statistically significant difference. The researchers concluded that exposure to microwave radiation might cause alterations in the rat cornea.
Riddervold IS et al. · 2008
Forty adolescents and 40 adults were exposed to UMTS base station signals and sham conditions in a randomized, double-blinded cross-over design. Each exposure lasted 45 minutes while participants performed cognitive tasks and reported symptoms. No statistically significant differences were found between UMTS and sham conditions for the main cognitive test. An increase in headache rating was observed when combining both age groups, though this may reflect baseline differences.
James D. Fahnestock, Ralph W. Logan