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[Suppression of nonspecific resistance of the body under the effect of extremely high frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity].

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Kolomytseva MP, Gapeev AB, Sadovnikov VB, Chemeris NK. · 2002

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Even low-power millimeter wave radiation suppressed immune cell function by 50% in healthy mice, raising questions about 5G safety standards.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed mice to low-power millimeter wave radiation (42 GHz) for 20 minutes daily. The radiation suppressed immune cell function by 50% within hours and altered white blood cell counts after five days, suggesting brief exposures can compromise immune system defenses.

Why This Matters

This study demonstrates that millimeter wave frequencies - the same spectrum used in 5G networks - can suppress immune function at power levels well below current safety guidelines. The 0.15 mW/cm² exposure used here is relatively low, yet produced measurable immune suppression within hours. What makes this particularly concerning is that the effects weren't limited to the exposure period: immune changes persisted for days after treatment ended. The 44% increase in white blood cells after just 5 days of exposure suggests the body was mounting a stress response to the radiation. While this was an animal study, it adds to growing evidence that our current safety standards may not adequately protect immune function from radiofrequency exposures.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.15 µW/m²
Source/Device
42.0 GHz
Exposure Duration
20 min daily

Exposure Context

This study used 0.15 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 ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.15 µW/m²Extreme Concern1,000 uW/m2FCC Limit10M uW/m2Effects observed in the Slight Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 66,666,667x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Suppression of nonspecific resistance of the body under the effect of extremely high frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity

The dynamics of leukocyte number and functional activity of peripheral blood neutrophils under whole...

It was shown that the phagocytic activity of peripheral blood neutrophils was suppressed by about 50...

The results indicated that the whole-body exposure of healthy mice to low-intensity EHF EMR has a profound effect on the indices of nonspecific immunity.

Cite This Study
Kolomytseva MP, Gapeev AB, Sadovnikov VB, Chemeris NK. (2002). [Suppression of nonspecific resistance of the body under the effect of extremely high frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity]. Biofizika. 2002 Jan-Feb;47(1):71-7. Russian. PMID: 11855293.
Show BibTeX
@article{mp_2002_suppression_of_nonspecific_resistance_1068,
  author = {Kolomytseva MP and Gapeev AB and Sadovnikov VB and Chemeris NK.},
  title = {[Suppression of nonspecific resistance of the body under the effect of extremely high frequency electromagnetic radiation of low intensity].},
  year = {2002},
  
  url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11506928_Suppression_of_nonspecific_resistance_of_the_body_under_the_effect_of_extremely_high_frequency_electromagnetic_radiation_of_low_intensity?billing_country=US},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed mice to low-power millimeter wave radiation (42 GHz) for 20 minutes daily. The radiation suppressed immune cell function by 50% within hours and altered white blood cell counts after five days, suggesting brief exposures can compromise immune system defenses.