The correlation between the frequency of micronuclei and specific chromosome aberrations in human lymphocytes exposed to microwave radiation in vitro.
Garaj-Vrhovac V, Fucic A, Horvat D, · 1992
View Original AbstractMicrowave radiation at 7.7 GHz caused significant DNA damage in human blood cells at power levels as low as 0.5 mW/cm2.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human blood samples to microwave radiation at 7.7 GHz (similar to radar frequencies) and examined the genetic damage in white blood cells. They found significant increases in chromosome breaks and abnormalities, including micronuclei (fragments of damaged DNA) and dicentric chromosomes (chromosomes with two centers). This demonstrates that microwave radiation can directly damage human DNA even at relatively low power levels.
Why This Matters
This early but important study provides direct evidence that microwave radiation causes measurable genetic damage in human cells. The researchers used 7.7 GHz radiation, which falls within the range used by modern radar systems and some industrial applications. What makes this research particularly significant is that genetic damage occurred at all tested power levels, starting as low as 0.5 mW/cm2. The study demonstrates a clear dose-response relationship, meaning more radiation exposure caused more DNA damage. The presence of dicentric chromosomes is especially concerning because these specific abnormalities are considered reliable biomarkers of radiation exposure and are associated with increased cancer risk. While this was an in vitro study using isolated blood samples, it adds to the growing body of evidence showing that non-ionizing radiation can cause biological effects previously thought impossible.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 0.5, 10 and 30 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 7.7 GHz
- Exposure Duration
- 10, 30 and 60 min
Exposure Context
This study used 0.5, 10 and 30 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 50Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 833.3Kx 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 The correlation between the frequency of micronuclei and specific chromosome aberrations in human lymphocytes exposed to microwave radiation in vitro.
Human whole-blood samples were exposed to continuous microwave radiation, frequency 7.7 GHz, power d...
In all experimental conditions, the frequency of all types of chromosomal aberrations was significan...
The results of the study indicate that microwave radiation causes changes in the genome of somatic human cells and that the applied tests are equally sensitive for the detection of the genotoxicity of microwaves.
Show BibTeX
@article{v_1992_the_correlation_between_the_996,
author = {Garaj-Vrhovac V and Fucic A and Horvat D and},
title = {The correlation between the frequency of micronuclei and specific chromosome aberrations in human lymphocytes exposed to microwave radiation in vitro.},
year = {1992},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1371840/},
}