BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS IN RODENTS EXPOSED TO PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
W. D. Skidmore, S. J. Baum · 1973
Rodents exposed to electromagnetic pulses of 447 kV/m for 20 weeks showed no apparent acute injuries.
Plain English Summary
This 1973 Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute report exposed rodents to electromagnetic pulse (EMP) radiation, five pulses per second at a peak electric field intensity of 447 kV/m, during 20 weeks of nearly continuous exposure. Bone marrow, blood, chromosome, embryology, histology, leukemia, and mammary tumor assays indicated no apparent acute injuries. Reticulocyte counts in exposed rats were nearly always greater than in nonexposed rats, and platelet counts occasionally were lower.
Why This Matters
This 1973 report tested the hypothesis that rapid changes in electric and magnetic fields would induce injuries in biological systems with high cell turnover rates, such as bone marrow and the embryo. The exposure exceeded by several orders of magnitude the conditions normally encountered by humans who operate EMP facilities, and the exposed rodents showed no apparent acute injuries. Reticulocyte counts in exposed rats were nearly always greater than in nonexposed rats, and platelet counts occasionally were decreased.
The authors note that, because the experiment ran for only 20 weeks after the onset of exposure, no assessment could be made of late somatic effects such as tumors and cancers. They suggest that existing proposed safety standards might be reevaluated, particularly in regard to acute effects.
Finding
Exposures of rodents under these conditions indicated no apparent acute injuries. A tentative prediction can be made that humans exposed to EMP in industrial situations would show no acute biological injuries.
In their words
“Exposures of rodents under these conditions indicated no apparent acute injuries. A tentative prediction can be made that humans exposed to EMP in industrial situations would show no acute biological injuries.”
Exposure Details
- Electric Field
- 447 kV/m
- Exposure Duration
- 20 weeks
Exposure Context
This study used 447 kV/m for electric fields:
- 1.5Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.3 V/m
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Study Details
To test the hypothesis that rapid changes in electric and magnetic fields would induce injuries in biological systems with high cell turnover rates.
The AFRRI EMP simulator provided five pulses per second with a peak electric field intensity of 447 ...
The reticulocyte count in exposed rats was nearly always greater than in nonexposed. However, there ...
Exposures of rodents under these conditions indicated no apparent acute injuries. A tentative prediction can be made that humans exposed to EMP in industrial situations would show no acute biological injuries. It is suggested that existing safety standards might be reevaluated, particularly in regard to acute effects. However, since the present experiment has been conducted for only 20 weeks after the onset of EMP radiation exposure, no assessment could be made for the appearance of late somatic effects (e.g., tumors and cancers) possibly induced early by damage at the molecular level.
Show BibTeX
@article{biological_effects_in_rodents_exposed_to_pulsed_electromagnetic_radiation_g6846,
author = {W. D. Skidmore and S. J. Baum},
title = {BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS IN RODENTS EXPOSED TO PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION},
year = {1973},
}