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Are electromagnetic fields harmful to health?

Press Release, GreenFacts asbl Print version

Brussels, 23 September 2009. From mobile phones, through domestic appliances to power lines, equipment generating electromagnetic fields is an inescapable part of daily life. Concerns have been voiced that everyday exposure to some of these fields might be harmful to health. New scientific evidence has been examined by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) of the European Commission in order to update its previous scientific opinion on the topic.

At the request of the European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection, GreenFacts faithfully summarised this new scientific opinion on “Health Effects of Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)”.

The plain-language summary is now available from the EU Directorate General of Health and Consumers (http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions2/en/electromagnetic-fields/) in four languages: English, French, Spanish and German. It is also available from GreenFacts (www.greenfacts.org), a leading publisher of scientific information.

Highlights of the SCENIHR Opinion

The opinion looks at electromagnetic fields in different frequency ranges: radio frequencies such as those used in mobile telephony, intermediate frequencies like those from computer screens and anti- theft-devices, and extremely low frequencies like those from power lines and household appliances. Moreover it addresses static magnetic fields like those used in medical imaging.

• Self-reported symptoms like headaches or fatigue have not been linked to exposure to radio frequency fields, but may be due to the individuals’ expectation that such exposure is harmful. There is no evidence that the use of mobile phones for up to 10 years increases the risk of cancer.
  
  
• Possible health effects from long-term exposure to intermediate frequency fields should be properly assessed because exposure to such fields is increasing due to new technologies.
  
  
• The past conclusion that extremely low frequency magnetic fields are possibly carcinogenic is still valid. Indeed children exposed to relatively strong magnetic fields from power lines were found to be more likely to develop leukaemia. New studies suggest a possible increase in Alzheimer's disease arising from exposure to such fields. Experiments on animals and cell cultures have not been able to confirm or explain effects on childhood leukaemia or Alzheimer’s.
  
  
• New applications of strong static magnetic fields – such as MRI scanners used in medical imaging – will require risk assessments for people who use this technology at work.

For many of the possible effects of electromagnetic fields on humans, animals or plants, the data available are still very limited, especially for long-term low-level exposure.

About GreenFacts

GreenFacts asbl/vzw is an independent, multi-stakeholder non-profit organization based in Belgium. Our mission is to bring complex scientific reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-experts.

We publish faithful summaries of authoritative international scientific reports. The summaries are written in a language for non-specialists and presented in a reader-friendly Three-Level Structure of increasing detail. GreenFacts' publications are freely available in several languages on www.greenfacts.org.

GreenFacts was created in 2001 by individuals from scientific institutions, environmental and health organizations, and businesses, who called for wider access to unbiased information on health and the environment.

About SCENIHR

The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) was set up in 2004 by the European Commission to provide the Commission with unambiguous scientific advice on the safety of a series of issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of the risks, such as new technologies, medical devices, etc. The SCENIHR advice is intended to enable risk managers to take the adequate and required actions in order to guarantee consumer safety or public health.

The SCENIHR addresses questions concerning emerging or newly-identified risks and on broad, complex or multi-disciplinary issues such as antimicrobial resistance, nanotechnologies, tissue engineering, blood products, fertility reduction, cancer of endocrine organs, noise and electromagnetic fields.

About DG Health and Consumers

The role of Health and Consumers Directorate General of the European Commission is to make Europe's citizens healthier, safer and more confident. Over the years the European Union has established EU laws on the safety of food and other products, on consumers' rights and on the protection of people's health. The DG Health and Consumers has the task of keeping these laws up to date.

It also ensures that the national, regional or even local governments in EU countries apply the EU's health and consumer protection laws and make sure traders, manufacturers and food producers in their country observe the rules.

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For further details visit www.greenfacts.org or contact

Stephanie Mantell
Tel: +32(0)2 211 3489
press(at)greenfacts(dot)org