May 10, 2012

Statements from Governments and Expert Panels Concerning Health Effects
and Safe Exposure Levels of Radiofrequency Energy (2000- 2012)

1. U.K. Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP) (2000)
IEGMP, "Mobile Phones and Health," Independent Expert Group on Mobile
Phones," c/o National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot," Oxon, UK.
www.iegmp.org.uk
o "The balance of evidence to date suggests that exposures to RF radiation below
NRPB and ICNIRP guidelines do not cause adverse health effects to the general
population..." (p. 3).

2. World Health Organization (2000)
Fact Sheet N193
http://www.who.int/docstore/peh-emf/publications/facts_press/efact/efs193.html
o "Cancer: Current scientific evidence indicates that exposure to RF fields, such as
those emitted by mobile phones and their base stations, is unlikely to induce or
promote cancers."
o "Other health risks: Scientists have reported other effects of using mobile phones
including changes in brain activity, reaction times, and sleep patterns. These
effects are small and have no apparent health significance."
o "None of the recent reviews have concluded that exposure to the RF fields from
mobile phones or their base stations causes any adverse health consequence."

3. Japanese Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications
(MPHPT) (2001)
Interim Report by Committee to Promote Research on the Possible Biological Effects
of Electromagnetic Fields (30 January 2001), MPHPT Communications News, Vol.
11, No. 23.
http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/Releases/NewsLetter/Vol11/Vol11_23.pdf
o "Research into the effects of radio waves on the human body has been conducted
for more than 50 years in countries around the world, including Japan. Based on
voluminous findings from those studies, exposure guidelines including the
Japanese guideline of the `Radio Radiation Protection Guidelines for Human
Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields' has been developed with a safety margin
enough to protect human health from adverse effects of radio waves." (summary
point 1, p. 3)

4. Singapore Health Sciences Authority (2002)
Pulse@HSA (Health Sciences Authority), Frequently Asked Questions about EME &
Mobile Phones http://www.hsa.gov.sg/docs/fullversion.pdf

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o "Up to the present time, all international and national committees that have
evaluated this whole body of evidence have reached the same conclusions: that
there are no established health effects from EMF exposures below the
international guidelines limits." (p. 12)

5. Australian Government, Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency,
Committee on Electromagnetic Energy Public Health Issues (2003)
Fact Sheet EME Series No 1 "Electromagnetic Energy and Its Effects"
http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/eme_comitee/fact1.pdf
o "The weight of national and international scientific opinion is that there is no
substantiated evidence that exposure to low level RF EME causes adverse health
effects."

6. French Environmental Health and Safety Agency (AFSSE) (2003)
AFSSE Statement on Mobile Phones and Health
http://afsse.fr/upload/bibliotheque/994597576240248663335826568793/statement_m
obile_phones_2003.pdf
o "With regard to the risk of cancer, we can accept that with the levels of power
used in mobile telephony, radiation does not have an effect on our cells' genes (it
is not `genotoxic'). Work carried out on animals using long-term exposure does
not indicate a risk of cancer; it shows neither an actual `initiator' effect nor a
promoter' effect for cancers caused by carcinogenic agents." (p.4)
o "At present, the scientific data available does not indicate that children are
particularly susceptible to radiation caused by telephones nor do they have a
higher exposure in comparison to adults." (p. 5)

7. U.K. National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), Advisory Group on Non-Ionizing
Radiation (AGNIR) (2004)
"Review of the Scientific Evidence for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields
(0 - 300 GHz)," Documents of the NRPB, Vol. 15, No. 3, NRPB, Chilton, Didcot,
Oxfordshire, U.K.
http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/publications/documents_of_nrpb/abstracts/absd15-
3.htm
o "Overall, AGNIR concluded that, in aggregate, the research published since the
IEGMP1 report does not give cause for concern and that the weight of evidence
now available does not suggest that there are adverse health effects from
exposures to RF fields below guideline levels" (p. 8).



8. World Health Organization (2004)

Electromagnetic Fields (EMF). Summary of health effects
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index1.html

1 IEGMP: U.K. Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (see first item on page 1)


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o "Conclusions from scientific research
In the area of biological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation
approximately 25,000 articles have been published over the past 30 years. Despite
the feeling of some people that more research needs to be done, scientific
knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. Based on a
recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the WHO concluded that current
evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from
exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. However, some gaps in knowledge
about biological effects exist and need further research."


9. Health Council of the Netherlands (2004)

Electromagnetic Fields Committee. Mobile Phones and Children: Is Precaution
Warranted? Bioelectromagnetics 25:142-144.
o "The Health Council therefore sees no reason to recommend limiting the use of
mobile phones by children." (p. 142)

10. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Prevention and
Control (2005)
CDC Fact Sheet: Frequently Asked Questions about Cell Phones and Your Health
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/factsheets/cellphone_facts.pdf
o "In the last 10 years, hundreds of new research studies have been done to more
directly study possible effects of cell phone use. Although some studies have
raised concerns, the scientific research, when taken together, does not indicate a
significant association between cell phone use and health effects." (p. 1)

11. European Cancer Prevention Organization (2005)
During annual symposium on Cell Phones and Cancer in Blankenberge, Belgium on
November 4-5, 2005, a consensus statement was developed about the health effects of
electromagnetic fields from cell phones. http://www.ecpo.org/
o The consensus statement includes the conclusion that "The European Cancer
Prevention Organization states that, in 2005 there is insufficient contemporary
proof with regard to increased cancer risk to change mobile phoning habits."

12. German Research Centre Julich, Programme Group Humans, Environment, Technology
(MUT) (2005)
This program brought together 25 leading experts from Germany and Switzerland in a
risk dialogue to assess the results of recent scientific studies on mobile phones and
base stations http://www.fz-
juelich.de/portal/index.php?index=721&jahr=2005&cmd=show&mid=288
o Dr. Peter Wiedemann, head of the Julich MUT Programme Group, concluded that
"The scientific studies examined in the risk dialogue do not support suspicions
that mobile telephony has harmful effects on health."


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13. Swedish State Radiation Protection Authority (SSI) (2006)
Recent Research on EMF and Health Risk, Fourth annual report from SSI's
Independent Expert Group on Electromagnetic Fields
http://www.ssi.se/ssi_rapporter/pdf/ssi_rapp_2007_4.pdf
o Mobile phone: "Recently published studies on mobile phone use and cancer risk
do not change the earlier overall assessment of the available evidence from
epidemiological studies. In particular an extended follow up of a cohort study
from Denmark does not alter the conclusions. Currently available evidence
suggests that for adult brain tumours there is no association with mobile phone
use for at least up to, say, ten years of use. For longer latency the majority of the
evidence also speaks against an association, but the data are still sparse. The same
conclusion holds for short-term use and acoustic neuroma. However, for long-
term use and acoustic neuroma there is a concern, and more information is
required." (p. 5)
o Base station: "The overall conclusion is that exposure from transmitters is
unlikely to be a health risk." (p. 36)

14. Australian Communications and Media Authority (2006)
Mobile Phones, Your Health and Regulation of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic
Energy http://emr.acma.gov.au/mobile_phone_health.pdf
o Mobile phone: "The weight of national and international scientific opinion is that
there is no substantiated evidence that using a mobile phone causes harmful health
effects. Although there have been studies reporting biological effects at low
levels, there has been no indication that such effects might constitute a human
health hazard, even with long-term exposure...The general consensus of scientific
opinion is that, provided mobile phones do not exceed the limits of recognised
standards, there will be no harmful effects." (p. 8)
o Base station: "The weight of national and international expert opinion is that there
is no substantiated evidence that there are adverse health effects resulting from the
emissions of mobile phone towers or base stations." (p. 9)

15. Health Canada (2006)
It's Your Health, Safety and Safe Use of Mobile Phones
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/prod/cell_e.html
o "There is no firm evidence to date that RF emissions from cell phones cause ill
health."

16. U.S. Federal Communications Commission (2006)
Mobile Phones and Health Concerns
http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/mobilephone.html
o "There is no scientific evidence that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to
cancer or a variety of other problems, including headaches, dizziness or memory
loss."

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17. UK Institution of Engineering and Technology, Biological Effects Policy Advisory
Group on Low-level Electromagnetic Fields (2006)
The Possible Harmful Biological Effects of Low-Level Electromagnetic Fields of
Frequencies up to 300 GHz
http://www.theiet.org/publicaffairs/bepag/postat02final.pdf
o "...the balance of scientific evidence to date does not indicate that harmful effects
occur in humans due to low-level exposure to electromagnetic fields ("EMF")."
(p. 1)

18. New Zealand Ministry of Health, National Radiation Laboratory (2007)
Safety of Cell Phones http://www.nrl.moh.govt.nz/faq/cellphonesandcellsites.asp
o "The balance of current research evidence suggests that exposures to the
radiofrequency energy produced by cellphones do not cause health problems
provided they comply with international guidelines. Reviews of all the research
have not found clear, consistent evidence of any adverse effects."

19. Hong Kong, Office of the Telecommunications Authority (2007)
"Know More about Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation"
http://www.ofta.gov.hk/en/freq-spec/radiation.pdf
o
"Is it safe to use held-held mobile phones?"
"Many studies have concluded that there is no evidence that mobile phones bring
hazards to health when used under normal operating conditions."
o
"Is it safe to live close to radiofrequency transmitters?"
"Operators of radio stations are required to ensure that the levels of
electromagnetic radiation of their radio transmitters including those on rooftops
in residential areas are within the limits stipulated in the Code of Practice.
Despite densely-packed transmitters on some rooftops in residential areas,
therefore, the buildings are absolutely safe to live in."

20. Health Council of the Netherlands (2007)
"UMTS2 and DECT3 are systems for mobile communication. Some people wonder
whether exposure to the radio waves of UMTS antennae or DECT base stations and
handsets used at home may cause health problems. Recent research does not give any
indications for this, however. This is the message of the Health Council of the
Netherlands in its fourth Annual Update on Electromagnetic Fields..."
http://www.healthcouncil.nl/pdf/Press%20release%20200706%20site.pdf


2 UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is one of the third-generation (3G) mobile phone technologies
3 DECT: Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication is a European Telecommunications Standard Institute standard for
digital cordless phones


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21. Ireland Expert Group on Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (2007)
http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/9E29937F-1A27-4A16-A8C3-
F403A623300C/0/ElectromagneticReport.pdf
o "So far no adverse short or long-term health effects have been found from
exposure to the RF signals produced by mobile phones and base station
transmitters." (p. 3)
o "There are no data available to suggest that the use of mobile phones by children
is a health hazard." (p. 3)
o "The ICNIRP guidelines provides adequate protection for the public from any
EMF sources." (p. 4)

22. International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) (2007)
o `It is however the opinion of ICNIRP that present guidelines provide adequate
protection against any adverse effect established so far."
Paolo Vecchia, Chairman, ICNIRP, Scientific Rationale of ICNIRP Guidelines,
Abstract, WHO/ICNIRP/EMF-NET Joint Workshop on Current Trends in Health
and Safety Risk Assessment of Work-Related Exposure to EMFs, Milan, Italy,
February 14-16, 2007 (http://www.icnirp.de/Joint/VecchiaAbstract.pdf)

23. European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health
Risks
Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) on Human Health (2007)
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_007.pdf
o "RF field exposure has not convincingly been shown to have an effect on self-
reported symptoms or well-being." (p.6)
o "In conclusion, no health effect has been consistently demonstrated at exposure
levels below the limits of ICNIRP (International Commission on Non Ionising
Radiation Protection) established in 1998." (p. 6)

24. States of Jersey (2007)
Regarding emissions from mobile masts, "...it is equally clear that there is no
scientific evidence to show that an actual risk exists." States of Jersey, Review into
the perceived health effects of mobile phone masts (s.r.8/2007) - Response of the
Minister for Economic Development, May 30, 2007.
http://www.scrutiny.gov.je/view_doc.asp?panelid=0&reviewid=0&target=Reports&d
oc=documents/reports/S-260-48911-3052007.htm


25. Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2007)
"Consequently, this committee cannot recognize that there is any firm evidence of
effects on health, including nonthermal effects, from radio waves at strengths that do
not exceed the policy for protection from radio waves." Committee to Promote
Research on the Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, Biweekly Newsletter of

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the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Communications News,
Vol. 18(6), July 6, 2007.
http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/Releases/NewsLetter/Vol18/Vol18_06/Vol1
8_06.html

26. Finland (2007)
"No evidence of detrimental health effects were obtained in the studies on cell
cultures, laboratory animals, voluntary persons, or theoretical modelling." HERMO -
Health Risk Assessment of Mobile Communications, A Finnish Research Programme
2004-2007. Final report. November 30, 2007.
http://www.uku.fi/hermo/english/Final_report.shtml

27. United Kingdom (2007)
"The MTHR Programme was set up to resolve uncertainties identified by previous
evaluations of the possible health risks associated with the widespread use of mobile
phone technology. None of the research supported by the Programme and published
so far demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by
radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones...The Committee has recognized that,
while many of the concerns raised by the Stewart Committee have been reduced by
the Programme and work done elsewhere, some still remain. It has therefore
proposed a further programme of work to address these." Mobile
Telecommunications Health Research (MTHR) Programme, Report 2007. See Report
2007 at http://www.mthr.org.uk/

28. European Commission, EMF-NET, Sixth Framework Programme (2007)
"Overall, there is no convincing scientific evidence that acute or long-term exposure
to low level RF fields can affect reproduction and development in mammals: where
consistent effects have been reported they can be attributable to thermal insults
induced by exposure and not to any field-specific effect unrelated to heating." EMF-
NET: Effects of the exposure to electromagnetic fields: From science to public health
and safer workplace. WP2.2 Deliverable report D4bis: Effects on reproduction and
development, November 2007. http://web.jrc.ec.europa.eu/emf%2Dnet/reports.cfm

29. World Health Organization (2007)
"Despite extensive research, to date there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to
low level electromagnetic fields is harmful to human health." (Key Point #6)
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index1.html
"To date, all expert reviews on the health effects of exposure to RF fields have
reached the same conclusion: There have been no adverse health consequences
established from exposure to RF fields at levels below the international guidelines on
exposure limits published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP, 1998)." Children and Mobile Phones: Clarification
statement (second paragraph)
http://www.who.int/peh-
emf/meetings/ottawa_june05/en/index4.html

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o Fact Sheet #304: Electromagnetic fields and public health: Base stations and
wireless technologies
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs304/en/index.html

"Conclusions: Considering the very low exposure levels and research results
collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals
from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects."

30. European Commission (2008)
Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General, Scientific Committee on Emerging
and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) (2008). Possible effects of
electromagnetic fields (EMF) on human health -- opinion of the Scientific Committee on
Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). Toxicology. 2008 (Apr 18)
246:248-250.
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_007.pdf
"Since the adoption of the 2001 opinion extensive research has been conducted
regarding possible health effects of exposure to low intensity RF fields, including
epidemiologic, in vivo, and in vitro research. In conclusion, no health effect has been
consistently demonstrated at exposure levels below the limits of ICNIRP
(International Committee on Non Ionising Radiation Protection) established in 1998."

31. United Kingdom (2008).
Position Statement by The Institution of Engineering and Technology: The Possible
Harmful Biological Effects of Low-level Electromagnetic Fields of Frequencies up to
300 GHz. (May 2008) www.theiet.org/factfiles
"In summary, the absence of robust new evidence of harmful effects of EMFs in the
past two years is reassuring and is consistent with findings over the past decade."

32. United Kingdom (2008).
Sense About Science. Making Sense of Radiation. A Guide to Radiation and Its Health
Effects. www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/256/
"A concern often raised by campaign groups is that mobile phones can have
biological effects (affect our cells) despite being too weak to cause significant
heating. Because non-thermal effects cover everything except heating it is a very
broad term - it can refer both to cancer and insomnia - but there is no evidence that
RF radiation causes harmful non-thermal effects."

33. UK Government (2008)
"The published evidence for health effects of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic
fields in general is reviewed in Health Effects from Radiofrequency
Electromagnetic Fields: Report of an Independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising
Radiation. The report found that, as a whole, the research published since the report
of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones does not give cause for

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concern. The weight of evidence now available does not suggest that there are
adverse health effects from exposures to RF fields below guideline levels."
http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page14249.asp

34. Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, Committee on
Electromagnetic Energy (2008). http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/eme/fact1.pdf
"The weight of national and international scientific opinion is that there is no
substantiated evidence that exposure to low level RF EME causes adverse health
effects."

35. U.S. National Cancer Institute (2008).
Fact Sheet on Cellular Telephone Use and Cancer Risk.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
"Studies have not shown any consistent link between cellular telephone use and
cancer..."
"Incidence data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)
program of the National Cancer Institute have shown no increase between 1987 and
2005 in the age-adjusted incidence of brain or other nervous system cancers despite
the dramatic increase in use of cellular telephones..."

36. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2008). Cell Phones.
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/wireless/health.html
"The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health
problems."
"The scientific evidence does not show a danger to any users of cell phones from RF
exposure, including children and teenagers."

37. WHO/IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) World Cancer Report 2008.
http://www.iarc.fr/en/Publications/PDFs-online/World-Cancer-Report
"Radiofrequency radiation emitted by mobile telephones has been investigated in a
number of studies. There is some evidence that long-term and heavy use of
mobile/cellular phones may be associated with moderate increased risks of gliomas,
parotid gland tumours, and acoustic neuromas; however, evidence is conflicting and a
role of bias in these studies cannot be ruled out." (p. 170)
"With reference to radio frequency, available data do not show any excess risk of
brain cancer and other neoplasms associated with the use of mobile phones." (p. 170)
Concerning brain tumors: "After 1983 and more recently during the period of
increasing prevalence of mobile phone users, the incidence has remained relatively
stable for both men and women." (p. 461)

38. Sweden SSI (2008) Recent Research on EMF and Health Risks- Fifth Annual Report
from SSI: Independent Expert Group on Electromagnetic fields, 2007(Revised edition 15
April, 2008)

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http://www.stralsakerhetsmyndigheten.se/Global/Publikationer/Rapport/Stralskydd/2008/
ssi-rapp-2008-12.pdf
Most of these studies have not demonstrated effects of RF exposure on the studied outcomes,
including also attempts to replicate the genotoxic effects observed in the REFLEX European
programme.
Six recent studies on carcinogenicity, some with higher exposure levels than previously used,
consistently report lack of carcinogenic effects, and two studies on genotoxicity report no
increase in micronuclei or DNA strand breaks after RF exposure.
Most recent volunteer studies have investigated the effects of GSM mobile phone RF
radiation on cognitive function, sleep, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and
hypersensitivity. In general, the recent, methodologically more rigorous studies do not
replicate the positive findings from smaller, less rigorous studies published a few years ago,
but a few positive effects are reported.
Two national Interphone publications are based on very small numbers and do not change the
overall assessment, and two published meta-analyses provide little additional information.

39. European Commission (2009). Health Effects of Exposure to EMF. Opinion of the
Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) (p. 4).
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_opinions_en.htm
"It is concluded from three independent lines of evidence (epidemiological, animal
and in vitro studies) that exposure to RF fields is unlikely to lead to an increase in
cancer in humans"
"...the conclusion that scientific studies have failed to provide support for an effect
of RF fields on self-reported symptoms still holds."
"There is some evidence that RF fields can influence EEG patterns and sleep in
humans. However, the health relevance is uncertain...Other studies on
functions/aspects of the nervous system, such as cognitive functions, sensory
functions, structural stability, and cellular responses show no or no consistent
effects."
"Recent studies have not shown effects from RF fields on human or animal
reproduction and development. No new data have appeared that indicate any other
effects on human health."

40. The Netherlands, Health Council (2009)
http://www.gr.nl/index.php
Annual Update 2008: "The Committee further discusses the relationship between
electromagnetic fields and brain activity and that between electromagnetic fields and
health symptoms. In both cases the Committee concludes that there is no scientific
evidence that exposure to environmental levels of radiofrequency electromagnetic
fields causes health problems."

41. Isle of Man (2009)
http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cso/mobilephonemastscominreport.pdf

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Document Outline

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