Is the sustainability of exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation possible?

Authors: Calvente I, Núñez MI

Year: 2024

Category: Public Health, Environmental Health

Journal: Medicina Clínica (English Edition)

DOI: 10.1016/j.medcle.2023.11.016

URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2387020624001268

Abstract

Overview

Technological advances have led to an increase in artificially generated sources of electromagnetic fields (EMF), resulting in the permanent exposure of people and the environment—a phenomenon termed electromagnetic pollution. Published studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the health effects of this exposure. This review aims to assess scientific literature on EMF, providing a global and retrospective perspective on the association between human exposure to non-ionizing radiation (NIR, mainly radiofrequency-EMF) and its health and environmental impacts.

Findings

  • Studies on the health effects of 5G radiation exposure lack sufficient statistical power to draw definitive conclusions, partly due to short exposure periods and limited data on exposure intensity and latency.
  • Current safety standards focus only on thermal effects and ignore non-thermal biological effects of EMF exposure.
  • There is an urgent need to increase public education regarding the risks of RF-EMF exposures and to inform healthcare professionals so that diseases linked to these exposures can be prevented.
  • The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines are limited; they only consider thermal effects and use Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) as a metric, neglecting non-thermal effects. The guidelines are updated infrequently, with the last revision in 2020, which is not adequate given the accelerating advance in technology.
  • Some countries (Italy, Belgium, Austria (Salzburg), Switzerland, Russia, China) have stricter regulations than those internationally recommended and show more concern about EMF-related health effects.

Conclusion

Given the divergent evaluations of wireless RF radiation, the principle of ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) should guide practice for RF health and safety. Both the potential health and environmental risks should be considered when determining the sustainability of electromagnetic field exposure.

electromagnetic fields non-ionizing radiation radiofrequency 5G health effects environmental exposure safety standards
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