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Lack of adverse effects of whole-body exposure to a mobile telecommunication electromagnetic field on the rat fetus.

No Effects Found

Takahashi S, Imai N, Nabae K, Wake K, Kawai H, Wang J, Watanabe S, Kawabe M, Fujiwara O, Ogawa K, Tamano S, Shirai T · 2010

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This study found no developmental harm from cell tower-level EMF exposure in rats, but more research is needed for definitive safety conclusions.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed pregnant rats to 2.14 GHz radiofrequency radiation (similar to cell tower signals) for 20 hours daily throughout pregnancy and nursing. They found no harmful effects on the mothers, their offspring, or the next generation, examining everything from growth and development to memory and reproductive function. This suggests that exposure levels similar to those from cell towers may not cause developmental problems in mammals.

Study Details

The recent steep increase in the number of users of cellular phones is resulting in marked increase of exposure of humans to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Children are of particular concern. Our goal was to evaluate potential adverse effects of long-term whole-body exposure to EMFs simulating those from base stations for cellular phone communication.

Pregnant rats were given low, high or no exposure. At the high level, the average specific absorptio...

No abnormal findings were observed in either the dams or the F(1) generation exposed to the EMF or i...

Thus, under our experimental conditions, whole-body exposure to 2.14GHz for 20h per day during gestation and lactation did not cause any adverse effects on pregnancy or the development of rats.

Cite This Study
Takahashi S, Imai N, Nabae K, Wake K, Kawai H, Wang J, Watanabe S, Kawabe M, Fujiwara O, Ogawa K, Tamano S, Shirai T (2010). Lack of adverse effects of whole-body exposure to a mobile telecommunication electromagnetic field on the rat fetus. Radiat Res. 173(3):362-372, 2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2010_lack_of_adverse_effects_3436,
  author = {Takahashi S and Imai N and Nabae K and Wake K and Kawai H and Wang J and Watanabe S and Kawabe M and Fujiwara O and Ogawa K and Tamano S and Shirai T},
  title = {Lack of adverse effects of whole-body exposure to a mobile telecommunication electromagnetic field on the rat fetus.},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://hero.epa.gov/hero/index.cfm/reference/details/reference_id/2770626},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers exposed pregnant rats to 2.14 GHz radiofrequency radiation (similar to cell tower signals) for 20 hours daily throughout pregnancy and nursing. They found no harmful effects on the mothers, their offspring, or the next generation, examining everything from growth and development to memory and reproductive function. This suggests that exposure levels similar to those from cell towers may not cause developmental problems in mammals.