Frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes in rat bone marrow exposure to 2.45 GHz radiation.
Trosic I, Busljeta I. · 2005
View Original AbstractMicrowave radiation at WiFi frequencies caused genetic damage to blood-forming bone marrow cells in rats at exposure levels comparable to everyday wireless devices.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed rats to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation (WiFi frequency) for 2 hours daily. After 15 days, the radiation caused genetic damage in bone marrow cells that produce blood, increasing DNA breaks even at non-heating power levels, raising concerns about wireless device safety.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that microwave radiation at 2.45 GHz can cause genetic damage to bone marrow cells, the very cells responsible for producing our blood supply. The power density used (5-10 mW/cm²) is within range of what you might encounter from WiFi routers, microwave ovens with door seal issues, or prolonged close contact with wireless devices. The formation of micronuclei in bone marrow cells is particularly concerning because it indicates chromosomal damage and DNA breaks in rapidly dividing cells. What makes this research especially relevant is that bone marrow continuously produces new blood cells throughout your lifetime, so any disruption to this process could have cascading health effects. The temporary nature of some effects shouldn't provide false reassurance - the fact that genetic damage occurred at all demonstrates that current safety standards may not adequately protect against non-thermal biological effects.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 5 to 10 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 2.45 GHz
- Exposure Duration
- 2 hours daily, 7 days weekly
Exposure Context
This study used 5 to 10 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 500Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 8.3Mx 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
The aim of this study is to investigate Frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes in rat bone marrow exposure to 2.45 GHz radiation.
Wistar rats were exposed to 2.45 GHz continuous, radiofrequency microwave (RF/MW) field 2 hours dail...
In comparison to the sham-exposed subgroups, the findings of polychromatic erythrocytes revealed sig...
Under the applied experimental conditions, RF/MW irradiation initiates transitory cytogenetic effect manifested with micronucleus formation in erythropoietic cells.
Show BibTeX
@article{i_2005_frequency_of_micronucleated_erythrocytes_1381,
author = {Trosic I and Busljeta I.},
title = {Frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes in rat bone marrow exposure to 2.45 GHz radiation.},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1238/Physica.Topical.118a00168},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1238/Physica.Topical.118a00168/pdf},
}