Acute low-intensity microwave exposure increases DNA single-strand breaks in rat brain cells
Lai H, Singh NP · 1995
View Original AbstractBrain cells showed DNA damage from 2-hour microwave exposure at levels 10 times lower than current cell phone safety limits.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to WiFi-frequency microwave radiation at extremely low power levels for 2 hours. They found significant DNA damage in brain cells, with breaks appearing either immediately or 4 hours later depending on exposure type, at levels 10 times below current safety limits.
Why This Matters
This landmark 1995 study by Lai and Singh represents one of the most significant early demonstrations that radiofrequency radiation can damage DNA at power levels far below current safety standards. The SAR levels of 0.6 and 1.2 W/kg are roughly 10 times lower than the FCC's current limit of 1.6 W/kg for cell phones, yet still produced measurable genetic damage in brain tissue. What makes this research particularly compelling is that DNA strand breaks are a fundamental mechanism of cellular damage that can potentially lead to cancer and other health problems. The fact that damage occurred with both continuous and pulsed exposures, and that some effects were delayed by 4 hours, suggests complex biological responses that current safety standards don't account for. This study helped establish the scientific foundation for concerns about long-term EMF exposure, particularly to the brain during cell phone use.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.6 & 1.2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- low‐intensity 2450 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 2h
Exposure Context
This study used 0.6 & 1.2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 1.5x 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
To investigate whether acute low‐intensity microwave exposure increases DNA single‐strand breaks in rat brain cells.
Levels of DNA single‐strand break were assayed in brain cells from rats acutely exposed to low‐inten...
Immediately after 2 h of exposure to pulsed (2 μs width, 500 pulses/s) microwaves, no significant ef...
Show BibTeX
@article{h_1995_acute_lowintensity_microwave_exposure_53,
author = {Lai H and Singh NP},
title = {Acute low-intensity microwave exposure increases DNA single-strand breaks in rat brain cells},
year = {1995},
doi = {10.1002/bem.2250160309},
url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bem.2250160309/abstract},
}