What are the safe limits for EMFs? Who is providing the recommendations? What does industry say compared to the medical literature?
Its easy to feel confused after seeing the discrepancies between the ‘safe limits’ we’re told by policy makers and then what much of the scientific community view as ‘safe’. Countries set their own national standards for exposure to electromagnetic fields. However, the majority of these national standards draw on the guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) from 1998.
This policy was based only on established short-term thermal (heating) effects from RF radiation neglecting non-thermal biological effects. Numerous health hazards are disregarded such as cancer effects on neurotransmitters, blood-brain-barrier, cognition, psychological addiction, sleep, behavioral problems, and sperm quality. The exposure from mobile phone base stations, Wi-Fi access points, smart phones, laptops and tablets can be long-term, sometimes around the clock, both at home and at school. For children this risk may be accentuated because of a cumulative effect during a long lifetime and as developing and immature cells can also be more sensitive to exposure to RF radiation.
In the case of potential long-term effects of exposure, such as an increased risk of cancer, ICNIRP concluded that available data are insufficient to provide a basis for setting exposure restrictions. ICNIRP is a private organisation (NGO) and new expert members can only be elected by members of ICNIRP. Many of ICNIRP members have ties to the industry that is dependent on the ICNIRP guidelines. The guidelines are of huge economic and strategic importance to the military, telecom/IT and power industry. It’s important to take this into consideration when examining their recommendations.
EMF Home