EMF Research Studies

SAGE first interim assessment: Power Lines and Property, Wiring in Homes, and Electrical Equipment in Homes

Unknown authors · 2007

Effect of frequency on insulin response to electric field stress

Unknown authors · 2007

Researchers subjected insulin chain-B to oscillating electric fields of different frequencies. Lower-frequency fields produced static-field-like behavior that constrained the peptide's intrinsic flexibility. This constraint potentially restricted access to the protein's active state.

Estimating risk of cancer associated with radiation exposure from 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography, JAMA. 2007 Jul 18;298(3):317-23

Unknown authors · 2007

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis comparing CTPA and MRA for diagnosing pulmonary embolism. The search included PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library databases for English full-text articles. MRA showed a high positive predictive value of 94.7% for pulmonary embolism compared with CTPA. Some analyses indicated MRA has low specificity. CTPA remains the gold standard, with MRA as a secondary test when CTPA is contraindicated.

Paternal occupational exposure to electro-magnetic fields as a risk factor for cancer in children and young adults: a case-control study from the North of England

Unknown authors · 2007

Researchers conducted a case-control study using 4,723 cases from the Northern Region Young Persons' Malignant Disease Registry matched to controls from two independent sources. An increased risk of leukemia was observed in offspring of men in occupations likely associated with EMF or radiation exposure (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02–1.69), with a stronger association in males under six years (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.19–2.75). Increased risks were also seen for chondrosarcoma (OR 8.7, 95% CI 1.55–49.4) and renal carcinoma (OR 6.75, 95% CI 1.73–26.0), and associations were consistent between control groups and remained after adjustment for socio-economic status.

Residential exposure to electric power transmission lines and risk of lymphoproliferative and myeloproliferative disorders: a case-control study

Unknown authors · 2007

Radiofrequency exposure from wireless LANs utilizing Wi-Fi technology

Unknown authors · 2007

Researchers measured radiofrequency fields from wireless local area networks using Wi-Fi technology against background RF fields in the frequency range 75 MHz to 3 GHz. They conducted 356 measurements at 55 sites including residences, commercial spaces, healthcare and educational institutions, and other public spaces in the U.S., France, Germany, and Sweden. Measurements were taken under conditions that would result in the higher end of exposures, including close to Wi-Fi access points and at a distance of approximately 1 m from a laptop uploading and downloading large files. In all cases, measured Wi-Fi signal levels were very far below international exposure limits (IEEE C95.1-2005 and ICNIRP) and in nearly all cases far below other RF signals in the same environments.

A possible effect of electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone base stations on the number of breeding house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Unknown authors · 2007

Researchers studied the effect of long-term exposure to low-intensity electromagnetic radiation from GSM base stations on house sparrows during breeding season in six Belgian residential districts. They sampled 150 point locations across the six areas to examine variation in male house sparrow numbers and electromagnetic radiation strength. The number of male house sparrows was negatively and highly significantly related to electric field strength from 900 and 1800 MHz downlink bands. This negative relationship was consistent across all six study areas despite differences in bird numbers and radiation levels.

Prevalence of subjective poor health symptoms associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields among university students

Unknown authors · 2007

Ornithine decarboxylase activity is affected in primary astrocytes but not in secondary cell lines exposed to 872 MHz RF radiation

Unknown authors · 2007

Researchers exposed murine L929 fibroblasts, rat C6 glioblastoma cells, human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, and rat primary astrocytes to 872 MHz RF radiation. Cells were exposed for 2, 8, or 24 hours to continuous wave or GSM-modulated signals at specific absorption rates of 1.5, 2.5, or 6.0 W/kg. ODC activity in rat primary astrocytes decreased significantly at 1.5 and 6.0 W/kg with both signal types. Secondary cell lines showed generally no change in ODC activity.

Frequency spectra from current vs. magnetic flux density measurements for mobile phones and other electrical appliances.

Straume A, Johnsson A, Oftedal G, Wilén J · 2007

Researchers compared the frequency spectrum of magnetic flux density measured near a mobile phone with the frequency spectrum of the supply current in the range 217 Hz to 2.4 kHz. Similar measurements were done for an electric drill, a hair dryer, and a fluorescent desk lamp. The two measurement methods gave different frequency distributions, with current measurements overestimating mobile phone exposure by up to 2.2 times and underestimating the other devices' exposure by up to 2.3 times. The researchers concluded that accurate exposure evaluation requires direct measurement of the magnetic flux density spectrum. There was no indication that the devices would exceed reference levels at normal working distances.

Lymphoma development in mice chronically exposed to UMTS-modulated radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

Sommer AM, Bitz AK, Streckert J, Hansen VW, Lerchl A · 2007

GSM and DCS wireless communication signals: combined chronic toxicity/carcinogenicity study in the Wistar Rat.

Smith P, Kuster N, Ebert S, Chevalier HJ · 2007

Researchers exposed 1170 Han Wistar rats to GSM or DCS signals at three nominal SARs of 0.44, 1.33 and 4.0 W/kg for 2 h/day, 5 days/week for up to 104 weeks. No significant differences were found in primary neoplasm incidence, multiplicity, latency, metastases, or benign and malignant neoplasm counts between exposed and sham-exposed rats. The study included sham-exposed groups for each modulation and an unrestrained cage control group, with interim sacrifice at 52 weeks and terminal sacrifice at 104 weeks.

Lack of promoting effects of chronic exposure to 1.95-GHz W-CDMA signals for IMT-2000 cellular system on development of N-ethylnitrosourea-induced central nervous system tumors in F344 rats.

Shirai T et al. · 2007

Pregnant F344 rats received a single dose of ENU on gestational day 18. Rats were exposed to a 1.95-GHz W-CDMA signal for 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 104 weeks starting at 5 weeks of age. Brain average specific absorption rates were designed to be .67 and 2.0 W/kg for low and high exposures, respectively. The incidence and numbers of brain tumors in female rats exposed to 1.95-GHz W-CDMA signals showed tendencies to increase but without statistical significance, and overall no significant increase in incidences or numbers was detected in either males or females.

High-resolution numerical model of the middle and inner ear for a detailed analysis of radio frequency absorption.

Schmid G et al. · 2007

A numerical model of the human middle and inner ear was developed at 0.1 mm resolution based on a real human tissue sample. The model was inserted into a commercial head model and FDTD computations were run for handheld device exposures from 400 to 3700 MHz. Highest absorption occurred at 400 MHz with 166 microW in the labyrinth and 12 microW in the vestibulocochlear nerve for a 500 mW device. For typical mobile phone frequencies (900 MHz and 1850 MHz) and output power values (250 mW and 125 mW), absorbed RF power was more than one order of magnitude lower than the values given above. The researchers concluded that temperature-related biologically relevant effects from typical handheld devices are unlikely.

The dielectric properties of human pineal gland tissue and RF absorption due to wireless communication devices in the frequency range 400-1850 MHz.

Schmid G et al. · 2007

Researchers measured the dielectric properties of 20 freshly removed human pineal glands less than 20 hours after death. They developed a high-resolution numerical model of the brain region around the pineal gland based on a real human tissue sample. FDTD computations were performed for handheld device exposures close to the head at 400-1850 MHz. The highest absorption was at 400 MHz with 11 microW absorbed in a 96 mg gland from a 500 mW device. At 900 MHz and 1850 MHz, absorption was lower by factors of 4.2 and 36 respectively.

Effects of exposure of newborn patched1 heterozygous mice to GSM, 900 MHz.

Saran A et al. · 2007

Two hundred Ptc1+/- mice and wild-type siblings were enrolled, and newborns were exposed to 900 MHz radiation at 0.4 W/kg average SAR for 5 days, 0.5 hours twice daily, or sham exposed. GSM-simulated RF fields did not affect survival, with no statistically significant differences between exposed and sham groups. No effects were seen on cerebellar tumors, rhabdomyosarcomas, or skin proliferative lesions.

In Vitro Study of the Stress Response of Human Skin Cells to GSM-1800 Mobile Phone Signals Compared to UVB Radiation and Heat Shock.

Sanchez et al. · 2007

The study investigated heat-shock protein expression and apoptosis in human primary keratinocytes and fibroblasts. The exposure used a GSM-1800 signal at 1800 MHz with 217 Hz modulation for 48 hours at an SAR of 2 W/kg. The GSM-1800 exposure produced no effect on either cell type, while UVB radiation and heat shock injured cells. The authors concluded that the GSM-1800 signal does not act as a stress factor on human primary skin cells in vitro.

Effects of Subchronic Exposure to Radio Frequency From a Conventional Cellular Telephone on Testicular Function in Adult Rats.

Ribeiro EP, Rhoden EL, Horn MM, Rhoden C, Lima LP, Toniolo L · 2007

Researchers randomly divided 16 male Wistar rats into experimental and control groups; the experimental group was exposed to GSM radiofrequency (1,835–1,850 MHz) for 1 hour daily over 11 weeks. They measured rectal temperature, testicular and epididymal weight, lipid peroxidation, serum testosterone, sperm count, and histopathological endpoints. No statistically significant differences were found between exposed and control groups in any measured endpoint.

Health response of two communities to military antennae in Cyprus.

Preece AW, Georgiou AG, Dunn EJ, Farrow S · 2007

Field strengths in exposed villages reached up to 0.30 (Volts/Vm(-1) metre) from the 17.6 MHz military transmissions and up to 1.4 Vm(-1) from other sources, while the control village measured below 0.01 Vm(-1). Compared with the control village, exposed residents reported significantly more migraine, headache, and dizziness, and had poorer scores on all eight SF-36 health domains. The authors noted heightened risk perception, especially for noise and electromagnetic pollution, and suggested the symptom excess was more likely due to antenna visibility or aircraft noise.

Effects of GSM Cellular Phones on Human Hearing: The European Project "GUARD".

Parazzini M et al. · 2007

The GUARD project involved nine European centers and aimed to assess potential changes in auditory function from low-intensity EMFs produced by GSM cellular phones. Participants were healthy young adults without any evidence of hearing or ear disorders. Auditory function was assessed immediately before and after EMF exposure using hearing threshold level, transient otoacoustic emissions, distortion product otoacoustic emissions, and auditory brainstem response. The study used a double-blind design with genuine and sham exposures separated by at least 24 hours. Exposure consisted of speech at a typical conversational level delivered via an earphone to one ear, plus genuine or sham EMF exposure from a consumer cellular phone at full power for 10 min.

Effects of mobile phone exposure on time frequency fine structure of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions.

Paglialonga A et al. · 2007

Mobile phone headache: a double blind, sham-controlled provocation study.

Oftedal G, Straume A, Johnsson A, Stovner L · 2007

Seventeen eligible individuals who experienced symptoms in an open provocation test took part in a double-blind, randomized provocation study with cross-over design. Sixty-five pairs of sham and mobile phone RF exposures were conducted. The increase in pain or discomfort on visual analogue scales was 10.1 in RF sessions and 12.6 in sham sessions (P=0.30). Changes in heart rate or blood pressure were not related to the type of exposure (P: 0.30-0.88). The study gave no evidence that RF fields from mobile phones may cause head pain or discomfort or influence physiological variables.

Carcinogenicity Study of 217 Hz Pulsed 900 MHz electromagnetic fields in pim1 transgenic mice.

Oberto G et al. · 2007

Researchers conducted an 18-month carcinogenicity study in Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHz RF radiation at whole-body SAR levels of 0.5, 1.4, or 4.0 W/kg. A total of 500 mice, 50 per sex per group, were exposed, sham-exposed, or used as cage controls, and the study was conducted blind. The study found no effect of the RF radiation on tumor incidence at any site and did not confirm the earlier report of increased lymphomas in Repacholi et al.

Effects of acute exposure to a 1439 MHz electromagnetic field on the microcirculatory parameters in rat brain.

Masuda H et al. · 2007

Researchers exposed rat heads to 1439 MHz RF-EMF for 10 minutes at three intensity doses of 0.6, 2.4, and 4.8 W/kg BASAR. They measured blood-brain barrier permeability, leukocyte behavior, plasma velocity, and vessel diameter using a closed cranial window method. No extravasation of intravenously injected dyes from pial venules was found at any BASAR level. No significant changes in the number of endothelial-adhering leukocytes after exposure were found. Plasma velocities and vessel diameters remained constant within the physiological range throughout each exposure.

Effects of subchronic exposure to a 1439 MHz electromagnetic field on the microcirculatory parameters in rat brain.

Masuda H et al. · 2007

Researchers exposed the heads of rats for four weeks (60 min/day, 5 days/week) to RF-EMF at 2.4 W/kg of brain averaged specific absorption rate (BASAR). They measured blood-brain barrier permeability, leukocyte behavior, and plasma velocity using a closed cranial window method. No extravasation of dyes from pial venules was found, no significant changes in endothelial-adhering leukocytes occurred, and plasma velocity remained constant within the physiological range. These findings suggest that there were no effects on the cerebral microcirculation under the given RF-EMF exposure conditions.