Formation of reactive oxygen species in L929 cells after exposure to 900 MHz RF radiation with and without Co-exposure to 3-Chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone.
Zeni O, Di Pietro R, d'Ambrosio G, Massa R, Capri M, Naarala J, Juutilainen, J, Scarfi M R. · 2007
View Original AbstractCell phone frequency radiation at typical exposure levels did not create cellular damage through oxidative stress in this controlled laboratory study.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed mouse cells to 900 MHz cell phone radiation for up to 30 minutes to test whether it creates harmful reactive oxygen species that damage cells. The study found no increase in these damaging molecules from RF exposure alone, suggesting this frequency may not cause oxidative cellular stress.
Why This Matters
This study provides important context in the ongoing debate about RF radiation and cellular damage. While some research has suggested that cell phone frequencies might cause oxidative stress (a key mechanism linked to various health problems), this carefully controlled experiment found no such effect at power levels of 0.3 and 1 W/kg. For perspective, these exposure levels are within the range of what your head absorbs during typical cell phone use, which can reach 1-2 W/kg depending on your device and signal strength. What makes this research particularly credible is that the researchers validated their experimental setup by showing they could detect oxidative stress when cells were exposed to a known toxin. The reality is that not every study will show biological effects from RF exposure, and that's actually valuable scientific information. This doesn't mean RF radiation is completely harmless, but it does suggest that if cellular damage occurs, it may require different conditions, longer exposures, or higher power levels than what was tested here.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.3 and 1 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 10 or 30 min
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The aim of this study was to investigate the induction of reactive oxygen species in murine L929 fibrosarcoma cells exposed to radiofrequency (RF) radiation at 900 MHz, with or without co-exposure to 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX), a potent environmental carcinogen produced during chlorination of drinking water.
Both continuous-wave and GSM mobile phone signals were applied for 10 or 30 min at specific absorpti...
The studied provided no indication that 900 MHz RF-field exposure, either alone or in combination wi...
Show BibTeX
@article{o_2007_formation_of_reactive_oxygen_1458,
author = {Zeni O and Di Pietro R and d'Ambrosio G and Massa R and Capri M and Naarala J and Juutilainen and J and Scarfi M R.},
title = {Formation of reactive oxygen species in L929 cells after exposure to 900 MHz RF radiation with and without Co-exposure to 3-Chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone.},
year = {2007},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17316071/},
}