6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
All Exposure Types

Radio Frequency (RF)

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Radio frequency electromagnetic fields are produced by wireless communication devices and broadcast signals. They range from about 3 kHz to 300 GHz and include frequencies used by cell phones, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 5G. RF is typically measured in microwatts per square meter (µW/m²) or milliwatts per square centimeter (mW/cm²).

Concern Level Thresholds

Based on Building Biology Institute guidelines (µW/m² (microwatts per square meter)):

No Concern
< 0.1 µW/m²
Slight Concern
0.1 – 10 µW/m²
Severe Concern
10 – 1,000 µW/m²
Extreme Concern
> 1,000 µW/m²

See where common exposures fall on the scale:

A logarithmic scale showing your reading relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and FCC regulatory limits.Your RF Exposure in ContextNo ConcernSlightSevereExtreme0.1101,000FCC Limit →0.01100,000 µW/m²

Showing 736 studies with measured radio frequency (rf) exposure

Cancer & Tumors209 citations

Cancer incidence and mortality and proximity to TV towers.

Hocking B, Gordon IR, Grain HL, Hatfield GE · 1997

Researchers compared cancer incidence and mortality from 1972 to 1990 in nine municipalities, three of which surround TV towers and six of which are further away. Among children, the rate ratio for leukaemia incidence was 1.58 and for mortality it was 2.32. Brain cancer incidence and mortality were not increased. The researchers found an association between increased childhood leukaemia incidence and mortality and proximity to TV towers.

Brain & Nervous SystemNo Effects Found

Does exposure to environmental radiofrequency electromagnetic fields cause cognitive and behavioral effects in 10-year-old boys?

Calvente I et al. · 2016

Spanish researchers measured radiofrequency radiation around the homes of 123 ten-year-old boys and tested their cognitive abilities and behavior. While most measures showed no effects, boys living in areas with higher RF exposure (though still below safety guidelines) had lower verbal skills and higher rates of anxiety-related behaviors compared to those in lower exposure areas. The researchers cautioned that study limitations prevent drawing definitive conclusions.

Whole Body / General
Not an original health-effects study

Outdoor characterization of radio frequency electromagnetic fields in a Spanish birth cohort.

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.

STUDY OF VARIATIONS OF RADIOFREQUENCY POWER DENSITY FROM MOBILE PHONE BASE STATIONS WITH DISTANCE.

Ayinmode BO, Farai IP. · 2013

Researchers studied how radiofrequency radiation power density varied with distance around mobile phone base stations at ten randomly selected locations in Ibadan, western Nigeria. Measurements were made with a calibrated hand-held spectrum analyser. The result of this study demonstrates that exposure of people to RF radiation from phone base stations in Ibadan city is far less than the recommended limits by international scientific bodies.

Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

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.

IMMUNOLOGICAL REACTIVITY OF ANIMALS IN PROLONGED IRRADIATION BY ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY RADIOWAVES

I. S. Dronov, A. D. Kiritseva · 1972

This 1972 Soviet research examined how prolonged ultra high frequency (UHF) radio wave exposure affected the immune system function of laboratory rabbits. The study specifically measured changes in phagocytic activity (the ability of immune cells to engulf harmful particles) and complement levels (proteins that help fight infections). This represents early scientific investigation into whether radiofrequency radiation could weaken immune defenses.

GSM 900 MHz radiation inhibits ants' association between food sites and encountered cues

Cammaerts MC et al. · 2012

Researchers studied how GSM 900 MHz radiation affected the ability of the ant Myrmica sabuleti to associate food sites with olfactory and visual cues. During exposure, no association between food and either olfactory or visual cues occurred. After a recovery period, the ants could form associations again but never reached the expected score. Ants that had partially recovered and were exposed again lost all that they had memorized within a few hours, and kept no visual memory at all.

Whole Body / General
Not an original health-effects study

Pace Alert - A Microwave Radiation Warning Device For Pacemaker Patients

Unknown authors

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare reported that implanted pacemaker dysfunction has been observed near electrocautery, radar, communications systems, electric shavers, spark coils, and gasoline ignition systems. The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation stated that interference signals mimicking a heartbeat can be misinterpreted by pacemakers and change their output. Even microwave ovens complying with leakage limits of 0.0001 mW/cm2 at 5cm may cause electromagnetic interference within a few meters.

Melatonin modulates wireless (2.45 GHz)-induced oxidative injury through TRPM2 and voltage gated Ca(2+) channels in brain and dorsal root ganglion in rat.

Nazıroğlu M et al. · 2012

Researchers divided rats into four groups: a cage control, a sham control, a group exposed to 2.45 GHz electromagnetic radiation, and a group exposed to the same radiation while also receiving melatonin. The radiation-exposed groups received that exposure for 60 minutes per day for 30 days, after which brain cortex and dorsal root ganglion samples and EEG recordings were collected. Lipid peroxidation, cell viability, and cytosolic calcium values in dorsal root ganglion neurons were higher in the radiation-only group than in the control groups. The melatonin-plus-radiation group showed lower EEG spike numbers and higher brain cortex vitamin E concentration compared with the radiation-only group.

Radio Frequency
Not an original health-effects study

Potential health risks due to telecommunications radiofrequency radiation exposures in Lagos State Nigeria.

Aweda MA et al. · 2009

Researchers measured radiofrequency radiation output power densities from commonly used GSM handsets and wireless phones across Lagos State, Nigeria. Over 1100 handsets of different makes and models as well as wireless phones were sampled across all local government areas of the state. GSM handset power density values ranged from a minimum of 1.294 Wm-2 with Siemens model R228 to a maximum of 16.813 Wm-2 with Samsung model C140. The study concluded that the population in Lagos State may be at risk due to significant radiofrequency radiation exposures from GSM use.

Resonance effect of microwaves on the genome conformational state of E. coli cells.

Belyaev IYa, Alipov YD, Shcheglov VS, Lystsov VN · 1992

Researchers studied the effect of low-intensity microwaves on the conformational state of the genome of X-irradiated E. coli cells using the method of viscosity anomalous time dependencies. The frequency dependence of the observed effect had a resonance nature within the ranges of 51.62-51.84 GHz and 41.25-41.50 GHz, with a resonance half-width of the order of 100 MHz. A power density of 1 microW/cm2 was sufficient to suppress radiation-induced repair of the genome conformational state, across a tested range of 0.1-200 microW/cm2.

Food collection and response to pheromones in an ant species exposed to electromagnetic radiation

Cammaerts MC, Rachidi Z, Bellens F, De Doncker P · 2013

Researchers used the ant species Myrmica sabuleti to study how electromagnetic waves affect the insects' responses to pheromones and food collection. Workers' responses to trail, area-marking, and alarm pheromones were measured under normal conditions and then again while under the influence of electromagnetic waves. Under exposure, ants followed trails for only short distances, no longer arrived at marked areas, and no longer orientated themselves to a source of alarm pheromone. The number of ants collecting food increased only slightly and slowly, and after 180 hours of exposure their colonies deteriorated.

Reproductive Health147 citations

RF radiation-induced changes in the prenatal development of mice.

Magras, IN, Xenos, TD · 1997

Researchers measured RF power densities between 168 nW/cm2 and 1053 nW/cm2 at several locations around an antenna park. Twelve pairs of mice divided into two groups were placed in locations of different power densities and mated five times. The number of newborns per dam decreased progressively until irreversible infertility occurred, but crown-rump length, body weight, and vertebral counts improved.

GSM 900 MHz microwave radiation affects embryo development of Japanese quails.

Tsybulin O, Sidorik E, Kyrylenko S, Henshel D, Yakymenko I. · 2012

Researchers exposed fresh fertilized Japanese quail eggs to GSM 900 MHz cell phone radiation at 0.2 μW/cm² for either 38 hours or 14 days. The 38-hour exposure significantly increased the number of differentiated somites, and the 14-day exposure significantly increased total embryo survival. Hatchlings from exposed eggs showed significantly higher levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in brain and liver tissue.

Overproduction of free radical species in embryonal cells exposed to low intensity radiofrequency radiation.

Burlaka A et al. · 2013

Researchers exposed developing quail embryos to extremely low-level cell phone radiation (900 MHz GSM) at power levels 4,000 times weaker than current safety limits. The exposure caused persistent overproduction of harmful free radicals and direct DNA damage in the developing embryos. The study demonstrates that even very weak radiofrequency radiation can trigger oxidative stress and genetic damage during critical developmental periods.

Overproduction of free radical species in embryonal cells exposed to low intensity radiofrequency radiation

Burlaka A et al. · 2013

Researchers exposed Japanese quail embryos in ovo to GSM 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation at 0.25 µW/cm2 for 158 to 360 hours on a discontinuous schedule. The exposure produced a significant persistent overproduction of superoxide and nitrogen oxide in embryo cells throughout the analysis period. Exposed embryo cells also showed significantly increased levels of TBARS and 8-oxo-dG alongside significantly decreased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities.

GSM 900 MHz cellular phone radiation can either stimulate or depress early embryogenesis in Japanese quails depending on the duration of exposure.

Tsybulin O et al. · 2013

Japanese quail embryos were exposed in ovo to GSM 900 MHz radiation for 38 hours or 158 hours with a 48-second on, 12-second off cycle at an average power density of 0.25 μW/cm(2) and a specific absorption rate of 3 μW/kg. The number of differentiated somites was assessed microscopically and DNA damage was assessed by an alkaline comet assay. After 38 hours the number of differentiated somites increased and DNA strand breaks decreased, while after 158 hours the number of differentiated somites decreased and DNA damage increased.

Oxidative and mutagenic effects of low intensity GSM 1800 MHz microwave radiation.

Yakymenko I et al. · 2018

Researchers used developing quail embryos to assess the oxidative and mutagenic effects of GSM 1800 MHz microwave radiation from a commercial smartphone. The embryos were exposed in ovo to 0.32 µW/cm2, discontinuously, for 5 days before and 14 days through the incubation period. Exposure resulted in a 2-fold increase in superoxide generation rate, an 85% increase in nitrogen oxide generation rate, and up to twice increased levels of 8-oxo-dG in cells of 1-day old chicks from the exposed embryos. The exposure also resulted in a significant, almost twice, increase of embryo mortality.

Cognitive impairment in rats after long-term exposure to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation.

Nittby H et al. · 2008

Researchers exposed rats to GSM-900 mobile phone radiation for 2 hours each week for 55 weeks at SAR levels of 0.6 and 60 mW/kg, then compared them to sham-exposed controls. GSM-exposed rats had impaired memory for objects and their temporal order of presentation compared to sham-exposed controls (P = 0.02). Detecting the place in which an object was presented was not affected by GSM exposure, and no difference in exploratory behaviour was seen in the open-field test.

Cellular EffectsNo Effects Found

Extremely high frequency electromagnetic fields at low power density do not affect the division of exponential phase Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

Gos, P, Eicher, B, Kohli, J, Heyer, WD · 1997

Researchers exposed exponentially growing Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to electromagnetic fields from 41.682 GHz to 41.710 GHz in 2 MHz increments at power densities of 0.5 and 50 microW/cm2. Cell division was assessed by time-lapse photography using two identical chambers that allowed concurrent control and exposure experiments. Control experiments showed the cells were dividing at submaximal rates, ensuring that any increase or decrease in division rate could be observed. No consistently significant differences were found between exposed and unexposed cells across multiple independent experiment series.

Blood-brain barrier permeability and nerve cell damage in rat brain 14 and 28 days after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones

Eberhardt JL, Persson BR, Brun AE, Salford LG, Malmgren LO · 2008

Researchers exposed rats to GSM microwave signals in the 900 MHz band and measured blood-brain barrier permeability and signs of neuronal damage after recovery periods of 14 or 28 days. Non-anaesthetized rats were sham exposed or exposed to microwaves for 2 hours at whole-body specific absorption rates of 0.12, 1.2, 12, or 120 mW/kg. Albumin leakage and its uptake into neurons was enhanced after 14 days but not after the 28-day recovery period, while the occurrence of dark neurons was enhanced after 28 days.

Radio Frequency
Measurement survey

Survey of RF exposure levels from mobile telephone base stations in Australia.

Henderson SI, Bangay MJ. · 2006

Researchers measured radiofrequency signals from 60 base stations across five Australian cities at distances ranging from 50 to 500 m. All recorded exposure levels were well below the general public exposure limits of the ICNIRP guidelines and the Australian radiofrequency standard (ARPANSA RPS3). The highest level recorded from any single base station was 7.8 x 10(-3) W/m(2), which translates to 0.2% of the general public exposure limit.