8,700 Studies Reviewed. 87.0% Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body
Whole Body / General

Effects of Exposure to GSM mobile phone base station signals on salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and Immunoglobulin A.

Bioeffects Seen

Augner C, Hacker GW, Oberfeld G, Florian M, Hitzl W, Hutter J, Pauser G. · 2010

View Original Abstract
Share:

Cell tower radiation triggered measurable stress responses at levels thousands of times below current safety guidelines.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed 57 people to cell tower signals at different power levels and measured stress hormones in their saliva. They found that exposure to radiofrequency radiation increased cortisol (a stress hormone) and alpha-amylase (a stress enzyme) at power levels far below current safety guidelines. This suggests that even low-level cell tower radiation may trigger biological stress responses in the human body.

Why This Matters

This study provides compelling evidence that cell tower radiation affects human stress biology at exposure levels considered 'safe' by regulatory agencies. The power densities that triggered stress responses were thousands of times lower than current ICNIRP guidelines, ranging from just 5.2 to 2,127 microwatts per square meter. To put this in perspective, these are levels you might encounter living near a cell tower or in areas with strong cellular coverage. What makes this research particularly significant is that it measured objective biological markers rather than relying on self-reported symptoms. The elevation of cortisol and alpha-amylase indicates the body's stress response system is being activated by RF exposure, even when people aren't consciously aware of it. This adds to a growing body of evidence showing that current safety standards, which only consider heating effects, may be inadequate to protect public health from the non-thermal biological effects of wireless radiation.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.00000052, 0.00001536, 0.00021268 µW/m²
Source/Device
900-MHz

Exposure Context

This study used 0.00000052, 0.00001536, 0.00021268 µW/m² for radio frequency:

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.

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.00000052, 0.00001536, 0.00021268 µW/m²Extreme Concern - 1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit - 10M uW/m2Effects observed in the No Concern rangeFCC limit is 19,230,769,230,769x higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The present study aimed to test whether exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile phone base stations may have effects on salivary alpha-amylase, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and cortisol levels.

Fifty seven participants were randomly allocated to one of three different experimental scenarios (2...

In scenario 3 from session 4 to session 5 (from "low" to "high" exposure), an increase of cortisol w...

RF-EMF in considerably lower field densities than ICNIRP-guidelines may influence certain psychobiological stress markers.

Cite This Study
Augner C, Hacker GW, Oberfeld G, Florian M, Hitzl W, Hutter J, Pauser G. (2010). Effects of Exposure to GSM mobile phone base station signals on salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and Immunoglobulin A. Biomed Environ Sci. 23(3):199-207, 2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{c_2010_effects_of_exposure_to_827,
  author = {Augner C and Hacker GW and Oberfeld G and Florian M and Hitzl W and Hutter J and Pauser G.},
  title = {Effects of Exposure to GSM mobile phone base station signals on salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and Immunoglobulin A.},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20708499/},
}
PubMed: 20708499

Cited By (51 papers)

View all 51 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, research shows cell tower radiation can increase stress hormones. A 2010 study found that exposure to 900-MHz signals from cell towers increased cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in saliva at power levels far below current safety guidelines.
Cell phone tower radiation does affect cortisol levels according to scientific research. A controlled study of 57 people found that exposure to radiofrequency signals increased cortisol, a key stress hormone, even at low power levels.
Cell tower radiation may trigger stress responses, but this study found no significant effects on immunoglobulin A, an important immune marker. However, increased stress hormones like cortisol could potentially impact immune function over time.
Cell tower exposure can cause measurable biological effects including increased stress hormones. Research demonstrates that 900-MHz radiofrequency radiation increases cortisol and alpha-amylase levels at power densities below current international safety guidelines.
Radiofrequency radiation impacts stress markers by increasing cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in saliva. These biological changes occur at exposure levels considerably lower than current safety guidelines, suggesting the body responds to low-level radiation.