Thermophysiological responses of human volunteers to whole body RF exposure at 220 MHz.
Adair ER, Blick DW, Allen SJ, Mylacraine KS, Ziriax JM, Scholl DM · 2005
View Original AbstractRF exposure at 220 MHz triggers nervous system responses through deep brain sensors, not just skin heating effects.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed six volunteers to 220 MHz radio waves for 45 minutes at power levels similar to radio transmitters. The exposure triggered vigorous sweating and increased blood flow even with minimal body temperature changes, showing that radiofrequency energy directly activates the nervous system's temperature control mechanisms.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that radiofrequency energy directly stimulates the nervous system's temperature control mechanisms, particularly sensors in the brainstem and spinal cord. The researchers found that 220 MHz exposure produced stronger sweating responses than equivalent exposures at 100 MHz, suggesting frequency-specific effects on neural thermoregulation. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates measurable biological responses at power densities that, while higher than typical consumer devices, are within ranges encountered near radio transmission equipment. The science demonstrates that your nervous system responds to RF energy in measurable ways, even when overall body heating remains minimal. This adds to the growing body of evidence showing that biological effects from RF exposure extend beyond simple tissue heating.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.045 W/kg
- Power Density
- 9, 12, and 15 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 220 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 45-min
Exposure Context
This study used 9, 12, and 15 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 900Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 15Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
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
Since 1994, our research has demonstrated how thermophysiological responses are mobilized in human volunteers exposed to three radio frequencies, 100, 450, and 2450 MHz. A significant gap in this frequency range is now filled by the present study, conducted at 220 MHz.
Thermoregulatory responses of heat loss and heat production were measured in six adult volunteers (f...
No changes in M occurred under any test condition, while T(esoph) showed small changes (< or =0.35 d...
It is clear that these responses are controlled by neural signals from thermosensors deep in the brainstem and spinal cord, rather than those in the skin.
Show BibTeX
@article{er_2005_thermophysiological_responses_of_human_794,
author = {Adair ER and Blick DW and Allen SJ and Mylacraine KS and Ziriax JM and Scholl DM},
title = {Thermophysiological responses of human volunteers to whole body RF exposure at 220 MHz.},
year = {2005},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15906370/},
}