Effects of radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones on electromagnetic hypersensitive subjects.

BACKGROUND: With the use of the third generation (3 G) mobile phones on the rise, social concerns have arisen concerning the possible health effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) mobile phones in humans. The number of people with self-reported electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), who complain of various subjective symptoms such as headache, dizziness and fatigue, has also increased. However, the origins of EHS remain unclear. METHODS: In this double-blind study, two volunteer groups of 17 EHS and 20 non-EHS subjects were simultaneously investigated for physiological changes (heart rate, heart rate variability, and respiration rate), eight subjective symptoms, and perception of RF-EMFs during real and sham exposure sessions. Experiments were conducted using a dummy phone containing a WCDMA module (average power, 24 dBm at 1950 MHz; specific absorption rate, 1.57 W/kg) within a headset placed on the head for 32 min. RESULTS: WCDMA RF-EMFs generated no physiological changes or subjective symptoms in either group. There was no evidence that EHS subjects perceived RF-EMFs better than non-EHS subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the analyzed physiological data, the subjective symptoms surveyed, and the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed, 32 min of RF radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones demonstrated no effects in either EHS or non-EHS subjects.ope

Effects of short-term radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones on teenagers and adults

BACKGROUND: With the rapid increasing use of third generation (3 G) mobile phones, social concerns have arisen concerning the possible health effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) mobile phones in humans. The number of people, who complain of various symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue, has also increased. Recently, the importance of researches on teenagers has been on the rise. However, very few provocation studies have examined the health effects of WCDMA mobile phone radiation on teenagers. METHODS: In this double-blind study, two volunteer groups of 26 adults and 26 teenagers were simultaneously investigated by measuring physiological changes in heart rate, respiration rate, and heart rate variability for autonomic nervous system (ANS), eight subjective symptoms, and perception of RF-EMFs during sham and real exposure sessions to verify its effects on adults and teenagers. Experiments were conducted using a dummy phone containing a WCDMA module (average power, 250 mW at 1950 MHz; specific absorption rate, 1.57 W/kg) within a headset placed on the head for 32 min. RESULTS: Short-term WCDMA RF-EMFs generated no significant changes in ANS, subjective symptoms or the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the analyzed physiological data, the subjective symptoms surveyed, and the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed, 32 min of RF radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones demonstrated no effects in either adult or teenager subjects.ope

Short-term effects of radiation emitted from smart mobile phones on autonomic nervous system of teenagers and adults

의과대학/석사With the rapid increasing use of third generation (3 G) mobile phones, social concerns have arisen concerning the possible health effects of radio frequency-electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) mobile phones in humans. The number of people, who complain of various symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue, has also increased. Recently, the importance of researches on teenagers has been on the rise. However, very few provocation studies have examined the health effects of WCDMA mobile phone radiation on teenagers. In this double-blind study, two volunteer groups of 26 adults and 26 teenagers were simultaneously investigated by measuring physiological changes in heart rate, respiration rate, and heart rate variability for autonomic nervous system (ANS), eight subjective symptoms, and perception of RF-EMFs during sham and real exposure sessions to verify its effects on adults and teenagers. Experiments were conducted using a dummy phone containing a WCDMA module (average power, 250 mW at 1950 MHz; specific absorption rate, 1.57 W/kg) within a headset placed on the head for 32 min. Short-term WCDMA RF-EMFs generated no significant changes in ANS, subjective symptoms or the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed in either group. Considering the analyzed physiological data, the subjective symptoms surveyed, and the percentages of those who believed they were being exposed, 32 min of RF radiation emitted by WCDMA mobile phones demonstrated no effects in either adult or teenager participants.ope

Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on sleep quality

The use of wireless communication devices, which emit radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), has increased in the past decades. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) mobile phone use is ubiquitous with an estimated 4.6 billion subscriptions globally. The missing knowledge about a biological mechanism and the attribution of non-specific symptoms of ill health to RF-EMF has led to an increased public concern about possible adverse health effects from this radiation. One of the most often reported symptoms due to RF-EMF exposure are sleep disturbances. In several randomised double-blind human laboratory studies, changes in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) after exposure to RF-EMF were observed. The impact of these small changes on sleep quality and therefore on general well-being is unclear. Previous epidemiological studies have used a cross-sectional design, which is not appropriate for establishing causal relationships between exposure and outcome. Studies with a cohort design are therefore needed. Additionally, exposure assessment was mostly inadequate or only parts of the real exposure situation were taken into account. Personal measurement devices (exposimeters) have become available a few years age. In large epidemiological studies, it is very time-consuming and costly to use such devices. Other exposure assessment methods are therefore needed. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the association between personal RF-EMF exposure and sleep quality by using objective as well as subjective data. To predict personal exposure to RF-EMF a comprehensive exposure assessment method was applied. This thesis was part of the QUALIFEX project (a prospective cohort study on radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure and health related quality of life) which is embedded in the National Research Program 57 (NRP-57) about non-ionising radiation. The health effect of RF-EMF exposure was investigated in a cohort study which consisted of a baseline survey in May 2008 and a follow-up survey one year later. Questionnaires entitled „Environment and Health“ were sent out to 1375 randomly selected study participants in the region of Basel (Switzerland). Information on sleep quality, on exposure relevant factors and on various confounding factors was collected. By means of a pre-study, which was not part of this thesis, a comprehensive exposure assessment method was developed. To predict personal exposure to far-field RF-EMF (e.g mobile phone base stations or radio transmitters), a validated full exposure prediction model was used which was developed based personal exposure measurements of 166 study participants who took part in a pre-study. Exposure to close to body sources was assessed using self-reported data on mobile phone and cordless phone use. Objective data of mobile phone use from network operators for participants who gave informed consent were additionally collected. For a nested sleep study, 120 participants out of the baseline survey took part in a nested sleep study to verify our previous results. Sleep quality and sleep behavior was assessed using actigraphy and exposure to RF-EMF was measured by means of personal exposimeters. For the baseline survey, mean calculated RF-EMF exposure to all relevant sources of all 1375 study participants was 0.12 mW/m2 (0.21 V/m). Exposure at the follow-up survey was 0.13 mW/m2 (0.22 V/m) and therefore comparable with the baseline exposure. No consistent association between RF-EMF exposure and self-reported sleep quality neither in the baseline analysis (cross-sectional analysis) nor in the cohort analysis (longitudinal analysis) was observed. In the nested sleep study, objective data on exposure and sleep quality did not yield any association between exposure and sleep quality. The QUALIFEX project was the first study which applied a cohort design to investigate the association between RF-EMF exposure and sleep quality. Additionally, we were able to verify our results of the cohort study with objective data obtained in a nested sleep study. Overall, we found no consistent association between self-reported as well as objectively measured sleep quality and exposure to relevant RF-EMF sources in everyday life. Our results increase the evidence for a true absence of an effect of RF-EMF exposure on sleep quality. Our study used a very comprehensive exposure assessment method which included far-field sources as well as close to body sources. In general, exposure levels were very small and changes between the baseline and the follow-up survey were marginal. Hence, with our study no conclusions can be drawn regarding potential health effects of higher exposure levels. In future studies, more data on long-term effects have to be collected. Additionally, the exposure situation in everyday life should be monitored because new technologies operating with RF-EMF are continuously arising

Recent Research on EMF and Health Risk, Twelfth report from SSM's Scientific Council on Electromagnetic Fields, 2017

Background: The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority's (SSM) Scientific Council on Electromagnetic Fields monitors current research on potential health risks with a correlation to exposure to electromagnetic fields, and provides the Authority with advice on assessing possible health risks. The Council gives guidance when the Authority must give an opinion on policy matters when scientific testing is necessary. The Council is required to submit a written report each year on the current research and knowledge situation. Objective: The report has the objective of covering the previous year's research in the area of electromagnetic fields (EMF). The report gives the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority an overview and provides an important basis for risk assessment. Results: The present annual report is the twelfth in this series and covers studies published from October 2015 up to and including March 2017. The report covers different areas of EMF (static, low frequency, intermediate, and radio frequency fields) and different types of studies such as biological, human and epidemiological studies. No new health risks have been identified. Whether mobile phone use causes brain tumours or not was mainly addressed using time trends studies in the last two years. The results were not entirely consistent but mainly point towards a lack of association. Some cell and animal studies indicate that EMF exposure may cause oxidative stress even at low exposure levels. It is unclear what relevance this may have when it comes to direct health effects in humans. A striking result was that some studies showed a stronger association between memory functions and radio wave exposure than other usage variables. The annual report also has a section covering other relevant scientific reports published recently

The Public\u27s Reactions to Precaution - On the Effects of Health Recommendations Regarding Wireless Communication Technologies

Kommen neue Technologien auf den Markt, ist oft nicht eindeutig geklärt, ob diese möglicherweise negative Effekte haben, zum Beispiel auf die Gesundheit ihrer Nutzer. Häufig werden dann Forderungen nach Vorsorge laut. Das Spektrum entsprechender Vorsorgemaßnahmen reicht von Moratorien über striktere Grenzwerte oder Kontrollen hin zu Empfehlungen, was Nutzer selbst tun können, um mögliche Risiken zu verringern. Derartige „Vorsorgeempfehlungen“ und ihre Effekte auf ihre Rezipienten stehen im Fokus der vorliegenden Arbeit. Technologien zur drahtlosen Kommunikation haben unser Zusammenleben im Laufe der letzten 25 Jahre tiefgreifend verändert. Handys, Laptops, Tablets und andere drahtlose Geräte emittieren elektromagnetische Felder im Radiofrequenzbereich (RF EMF), die mit dem menschlichen Körper wechselwirken. Weltweit sind die meisten Gesundheitsbehörden der Auffassung, dass es keine hinreichenden Nachweise für schädliche Gesundheitseffekte von RF EMF gibt. Jedoch existieren noch wissenschaftliche Unsicherheiten. Dies spiegelt sich auch in der Bewertung der International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) wider: Die IARC bewertet RF EMF von Mobiltelefonen als „möglicherweise krebserregend“. Basierend auf dieser Sachlage empfehlen viele Strahlenschutzbehörden weltweit Vorsorge. Der wesentliche Nutzen solcher Empfehlungen besteht in einem besseren Gesundheitsschutz im Falle, dass tatsächlich gesundheitliche Risiken bestehen. Vorsorgeempfehlungen bringen jedoch auch Kosten mit sich: Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde eine Meta-Analyse aller Studien zur Wirkung von Vorsorgeempfehlungen auf die Risikowahrnehmung ihrer Rezipienten durchgeführt. Dabei zeigte sich, dass die Risikowahrnehmung bezüglich Mobiltelefonen und Mobilfunk-Basisstationen durch die Empfehlungen steigt. Während der wesentliche Nutzen der Empfehlungen möglicherweise gar nicht existiert, gibt es damit offenkundig auch Kosten. Unklar sind jedoch Tragweite und Auswirkungen der durch die Vorsorgeempfehlungen gestiegenen Risikowahrnehmung. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war, diesen Effekt genauer zu beleuchten, um die mit ihm verbundenen Kosten besser eingrenzen zu können. Dazu wurden drei Forschungsfragen formuliert: (i) Bei wem erhöht sich die Risikowahrnehmung durch die Rezeption von Vorsorgeempfehlungen? (ii) Können Vorsorgeempfehlungen so verändert werden, dass sie die Risikowahrnehmung ihrer Rezipienten nicht mehr erhöhen? (iii) Was sind die Auswirkungen der durch die Vorsorgeempfehlungen erhöhten Risikowahrnehmung? Diese Fragen wurden im Rahmen von drei Experimenten untersucht. In den Experimenten lasen Probanden verschiedene Texte, die entweder Vorsorgeempfehlungen enthielten oder nicht. Anschließend wurden verschiedene Variablen erhoben und die Ergebnisse statistisch ausgewertet. Bezogen auf die erste Forschungsfrage wurde untersucht, ob Vorsorgeempfehlungen auf Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Persönlichkeiten verschieden wirken. „Trait anxiety“ (generelle Ängstlichkeit) stellte sich als wichtige Variable heraus. Vorsorgeempfehlungen erhöhten speziell bei Menschen mit niedriger trait anxiety die Risikowahrnehmung bezüglich RF EMF von Mobiltelefonen. Einschränkend muss erwähnt werden, dass dieser Befund komplexer wird, wenn die Risikowahrnehmung bezogen auf bestimmte, situationale Bedingungen erhoben wird. In einer der durchgeführten Studien sollten die Probanden ihre Risikowahrnehmung unter zwei verschiedenen, hypothetischen Bedingungen einschätzen: einmal, wenn Vorsorge angewendet und einmal, wenn sie nicht angewendet wird. Ein wichtiger methodischer Befund der vorliegenden Arbeit ist, dass diese Art der Erfassung der Risikowahrnehmung zusätzliche, hilfreiche Erkenntnisse liefert. In Bezug auf die zweite Forschungsfrage wurden Vorsorgeempfehlungen auf zwei verschiedene Arten ergänzt: Erstens wurde das Motiv dafür erklärt, Vorsorge zu kommunizieren (besorgten Menschen Mittel zur Expositionsreduktion an die Hand zu geben). Diese Erklärung des Motivs hatte keinen Effekt auf die Risikowahrnehmung. Zweitens wurde erklärt, warum die empfohlenen Maßnahmen die Exposition in effektiver Weise reduzieren. Diese Erklärung erhöhte die Risikowahrnehmung (unter der Bedingung eingeschätzt, dass keine Vorsorge getroffen wird) beträchtlich. Während eine der Ergänzungen also keine Wirkung hatte, bewirkte die andere gar eine zusätzliche Erhöhung der Risikowahrnehmung. Im Rahmen der dritten Forschungsfrage wurden zwei mögliche Implikationen des Effekts von Vorsorgeempfehlungen auf die Risikowahrnehmung untersucht. Zum einen wurde die von renommierten Wissenschaftlern aufgestellte, jedoch nie überprüfte Annahme untersucht, dass Vorsorgeempfehlungen Ängste schüren. Zum anderen zeigen Studien, dass Probanden unter Scheinexposition mit EMF teilweise Symptome entwickeln (Nocebo-Effekt). In der vorliegenden Arbeit zeigte sich nach der Rezeption von Vorsorgeempfehlungen weder eine erhöhte state anxiety (momentane Ängstlichkeit), noch ein Nocebo-Effekt unter Scheinexposition von einer angeblichen WLAN-Antenne. Diesen Ergebnissen zufolge sind die mit Vorsorgeempfehlungen verbundenen Kosten also klar begrenzt. Risikowahrnehmung ist in der Gesundheitspsychologie als guter Prädiktor von Verhalten und Verhaltensintention bekannt. Aus den Ergebnissen der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Schlussfolgerung gezogen, dass die mit der Rezeption von Vorsorgemaßnahmen verbundene Erhöhung der Risikowahrnehmung zu gering ausfällt, um weitere Effekte nach sich zu ziehen. Es bleibt offen, inwieweit sich die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit auf andere mögliche Risiken übertragen lassen

Engaging with risks : citizens, science and policy in mobile phone mast siting controversies

In the past, Dutch and Flemish citizens have protested the placement of mobile phone masts. The debate often centred on whether people can get sick from the radiation these masts emit. Following extensive research in six municipalities, Marijke Hermans suggests that focusing on health risks may mask other important concerns, such as lack of involvement and visual pollution. The focus on health may have placed the issue too firmly in the realm of science, with polarisation as a result. Science itself is becoming part of the public arena, but citizens are falling to the wayside. They are not fundamentally against the placement of phone masts, they simply want more input. They also want scientific uncertainties to be taken into account, instead of being swept under the carpet

The Largest Unethical Medical Experiment in Human History

This monograph describes the largest unethical medical experiment in human history: the implementation and operation of non-ionizing non-visible EMF radiation (hereafter called wireless radiation) infrastructure for communications, surveillance, weaponry, and other applications. It is unethical because it violates the key ethical medical experiment requirement for “informed consent” by the overwhelming majority of the participants. The monograph provides background on unethical medical research/experimentation, and frames the implementation of wireless radiation within that context. The monograph then identifies a wide spectrum of adverse effects of wireless radiation as reported in the premier biomedical literature for over seven decades. Even though many of these reported adverse effects are extremely severe, the true extent of their severity has been grossly underestimated. Most of the reported laboratory experiments that produced these effects are not reflective of the real-life environment in which wireless radiation operates. Many experiments do not include pulsing and modulation of the carrier signal, and most do not account for synergistic effects of other toxic stimuli acting in concert with the wireless radiation. These two additions greatly exacerbate the severity of the adverse effects from wireless radiation, and their neglect in current (and past) experimentation results in substantial under-estimation of the breadth and severity of adverse effects to be expected in a real-life situation. This lack of credible safety testing, combined with depriving the public of the opportunity to provide informed consent, contextualizes the wireless radiation infrastructure operation as an unethical medical experiment

Environmental Effects on Health: Ignorance and Undone Science

Considerable research has been completed showing that environmental exposures can have significant effects on people’s health, especially in terms of autoimmune conditions, cancers, and neurological and psychological conditions. Health effects are possible at exposure levels far below those generally considered safe by orthodox health authorities. A prime example is multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), where sufferers themselves have made clear, short-term associations between health effects and low-level environmental exposures. The condition of MCS is not clearly definable and significantly overlaps with other, largely unrecognised health conditions including fibromyalgia (FMS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), electro hypersensitivity syndrome (EHS) and chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS). The orthodox medical diagnostic process is implicated in the production of ignorance on such health conditions. Despite the large amount of research showing health effects from low level environmental exposures, there remains much “undone science” in the field - research that could be done but isn’t. The reasons for undone science and the consequent societal ignorance are generally due to society’s ingrained desire for technological improvements. Industry, responsible for technological developments the use of chemical products or radiation devices, is not interested in possible health effects, so expensive scientific research into them is left undone. When subsequent research or firsthand experiences of health effects start to be realised there is ample evidence that the industries responsible for environmental exposures then become active in generating ignorance. Due to close ties with industry, medical and health systems become complicit in industry’s strategy, and knowledge is manipulated by the industry funding of scientific studies, which then influences the conclusions of the research. The support of industry products by institutions, including regulatory agencies, due to conflicts of interest also contributes to knowledge manipulation. Common industry strategies of generating ignorance also include using doubt, blame, power, industry shills, astroturfing, smear campaigns, media manipulation and fact checking services. Future generations of children who inherit contaminants from their conception will be most affected by the gross neglect of their effect on health. The carry-through of health effects and their magnification in subsequent generations is a tragedy in the making