Alteration of life span of mice chronically exposed to 2.45 GHz CW microwaves.
Liddle CG, Putnam JP, Huey OP · 1994
View Original AbstractChronic microwave exposure at levels near wireless devices reduced mouse lifespan by 19%, suggesting long-term EMF exposure may accelerate aging.
Plain English Summary
EPA researchers exposed female mice to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation (the same frequency used in WiFi and microwave ovens) for one hour daily throughout their lives. Mice exposed to higher power levels lived significantly shorter lives - an average of 572 days compared to 706 days for unexposed mice, representing a 19% reduction in lifespan. This suggests chronic microwave exposure may accelerate aging or increase mortality risk.
Why This Matters
This EPA study provides compelling evidence that chronic microwave exposure can shorten lifespan, even at power levels that don't cause obvious heating effects. The 2.45 GHz frequency used is identical to what powers your WiFi router and microwave oven. While the exposure levels (3-10 mW/cm²) are higher than typical household WiFi, they're within ranges that can occur near wireless routers or cell towers. What makes this research particularly significant is that it examined lifetime exposure - the kind of chronic, daily exposure we now experience from our wireless devices. The fact that mice exposed to lower power levels actually lived slightly longer than controls suggests a complex dose-response relationship, but the clear mortality increase at higher exposures should concern anyone regularly exposed to wireless radiation. This study adds to growing evidence that we can't simply dismiss EMF health effects as 'thermal only' - the biological impacts may be cumulative and only apparent over extended timeframes.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 2, 6.8 W/kg
- Power Density
- 3 or 10 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 2.45 GHz
Exposure Context
This study used 3 or 10 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 300Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 5Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
This study used 2, 6.8 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 5x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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 Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Alteration of life span of mice chronically exposed to 2.45 GHz CW microwaves.
Female CD1 mice were exposed from the thirty-fifth day of age for the remainder of their lives to 2....
The average life span of animals exposed at 10 mW/cm2 was significantly shorter than that of sham-ex...
Show BibTeX
@article{cg_1994_alteration_of_life_span_1153,
author = {Liddle CG and Putnam JP and Huey OP},
title = {Alteration of life span of mice chronically exposed to 2.45 GHz CW microwaves.},
year = {1994},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8074734/},
}