Radiation literature survey

Authored By:

This paper reviewed some hypothesised mechanisms of how skin cancers may develop. There was a landmark paper published in 1977 that first hypothesised that melanoma was caused by intermittent solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure (brief episodes of exposure to high-intensity UV) and that non-melanoma skin cancers were caused by progressive accumulation of sun exposure. Taking into account the knowledge since 1977, the authors suggested that while the intermittent sun exposure is still relevant, they elaborated on a new hypothesis called the dual pathway hypothesis (i.e. sun exposure early in life combined with intermittent sun exposure) for melanoma skin cancers.

Link to article

Published In:

In 1992 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluated all the available evidence in relation to solar UV radiation and cancer. Based on “sufficient” evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and animals, IARC classified solar radiation as “carcinogenic to humans” (Class 1).

In 1994, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted an in-depth review of the scientific literature concerning the effects of UV radiation exposure on human health and the environment.

Authored By:

This human provocation study investigated whether exposure to negative media reports surrounding RF devices induce electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). A total of 65 participants were randomly shown a video which contained either a negative report (promoted adverse health effects of RF) or a neutral report. They were subsequently given stimulus to their hands and were asked to rate the pain level, in both conditions: no exposure and sham-exposed. It was found that participants who were shown the negative report tended to perceive themselves as being more sensitive to EMF. The authors suggested that negative media reports on RF devices (such as those broadcasted on TV) can cause one to perceive normal somatosensory sensation as being more intense, which leads to the development of nocebo effects.

PubMed Link

Published In:

Authored By:

This meta-analysis investigated the association between mobile phone use during pregnancy and behavioural problems in the offspring. Five cohorts from five different countries were included in the study, resulting in a total of 83,884 mother-child pairs. The information on mobile phone use was obtained via questionnaires – asked during pregnancy in three cohorts and asked when the children were seven years old in two cohorts. The children’s behaviour was analysed when their age was between four and seven years. For overall behavioural and emotional problems, no statistically significant association was found. There was an increased risk of hyperactivity/inattention problems with increased use of mobile phone during pregnancy (medium mobile phone users: odds ratio, OR = 1.11, 95% confidence intervals, 95% CI = 1.01 – 1.22; high users: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.12, 1.48). The authors concluded that maternal mobile phone use during pregnancy may increase the risk of behavioural problems in the offspring.

PubMed Link

Published In:

The 2015 review by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) on “Potential Health Effects of Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields” discussed epidemiological and animal studies on adverse developmental effects of radiofrequency (RF) fields. The SCENIHR review mentions that numerous animal studies have clearly shown that RF fields cause developmental effects at exposure levels that are sufficiently high to cause significant increase in core maternal temperature (greater than 1 degree Celsius). However the SCENIHR review mentions that there were no adverse effects on development from RF fields at non-thermal exposure levels, even with the inclusion of more recent human and animal data. The SCENIHR review concluded that the weight of the evidence is strong against an effect on development at low level RF, such as when using a mobile phone. The results reported by Birks et al need further investigation.

Authored By:

This cohort study looked into whether exposure to ELF MF at the workplace causes central nervous system (CNS) disease. There were a total of 32,006 men eligible for the investigation that were followed during 1982-2010. The exposure to ELF MF was assessed via a job-exposure matrix. The CNS diseases investigated included dementia, motor neuron disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. The study found a statistically significant association between dementia and high exposure to ELF MF of 1 microtesla and above (incidence rate ratio = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.20-1.73).

PubMed Link

Published In:

Authored By:

This is a systematic review that aimed to investigate the association between Parkinson’s disease and some common exposures in the workplace. The investigation was mainly on exposure from pesticides but electromagnetic fields (EMF) were also included. The meta-analysis of a total of 10 studies relevant to occupational EMF exposure did not find any increased risk of the disease.

PubMed Link

Authored By:

This case-control study investigated the risk of preterm birth associated with living close to high voltage powerlines. A total of 285 women were included in the study, consisting of 135 cases (women with spontaneous preterm birth) and 150 controls (women with term birth). The exposure was assessed via the distance of the maternal home to the high voltage powerlines (exposed ≥ 600 meters, not exposed < 600 m). Spontaneous preterm birth and birth defect were associated with the mother living less than 600 meters from high voltage powerlines. The authors concluded that living close to high voltage powerlines may increase the risk of preterm birth.

PubMed Link

Published In:

Authored By:

This paper reported the results of further analysis of the INTERPHONE study, which is an international collaborative case-control study investigating mobile phone use and tumours of the head and neck. The analysis was done on a subset of five countries out of the thirteen countries involved in the original study. The analysis found that the elimination of a possible bias may result in a stronger positive association between long-term mobile phone use (more than 10 years) and glioma, although it is not statistically significant (odds ratio, OR = 1.26; 95% confidence intervals, 95% CI = 0.90-1.78). The authors concluded that the bias due to differences in the interview dates between cases and controls have resulted in the underestimation of the risk originally reported in the INTERPHONE study.

Pubmed link

Published In:

The biggest criticism of the INTERPHONE study was its methodology, which led to many biases. The impact of selection and recall biases in a case-control study of mobile phone use has previously been investigated in separate studies by Vrijheid et al. (2009a and 2009b). This study by Turner et al. provided evidence on another possible bias.

Glioma is a highly fatal and fast-progressing disease and a rapid case ascertainment (identifying the number of cases in the period and region that is studied) was an important issue in the INTERPHONE study. This will often mean that cases are interviewed much earlier in the study comparing to controls, which results in a time lag. In the INTERPHONE Study, this resulted in an apparent increase of duration of mobile phone use as well as over-estimation of mobile phone use in controls.

Authored By:

This is a cross-sectional study investigating the prevalence of mobile phone ownership among children with brain tumours. A total of 82 children were included in the study. Information on mobile phone ownership and use was obtained via questionnaire. The study revealed that the prevalence of mobile phone ownership among those who had been diagnosed with childhood brain tumours between 2006 and 2010 in Japan was not higher than that of the country’s wider population of corresponding age.

Link to PubMed abstract

Published In:

Authored By:

This animal study investigated whether RF radiation affects memory. A total of 22 mice were divided into two groups: sham-exposed and exposed to RF at a frequency of 1.8 gigahertz (GHz), for 30 minutes/day, for 3 days. The exposure was conducted at a specific absorption rate (SAR) ranging from 2.2 to 3.3 watts per kilogram (W/kg), which is 10% - 65% above the public exposure limit in the Australian RF Standard. The study found that the exposed group had a significant increase in recognition memory compared to the sham-exposed group.

Link to PubMed abstract

Published In:

Authored By:

This simulation study investigated the thermal effects of radiofrequency (RF) exposure on workers’ bodies while wearing RF protective clothing. The body’s thermal response at various scenarios of environmental conditions (including high ambient temperature of up to 42.5°C and humidity of up to 80%) were investigated via a computer model. The study did not find any scenario that greatly influenced the localised temperatures in the skin, eyes, testes, marrow, brain, and core body. The study also confirmed that the worker exposure limits in the international RF Guidelines provide adequate protection even for the most adverse environmental conditions.

Link to PubMed abstract

Published In: