Radiation literature survey

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This case-cohort study investigated whether occupational exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MFs) is associated with a motor neuron disease. The study was conducted as a subset of a cohort study that included more than 120,000 subjects that were enrolled in the study in 1986 and followed for 17 years for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mortality. The subset case-cohort study included 136 ALS deaths and 4166 controls drawn randomly from the cohort (called subcohort). The information on a lifetime occupational history was obtained via questionnaires and the occupational exposure to ELF MFs of each subject was assessed via a job-exposure matrix (JEM). Information on other occupational exposure was also obtained including electrical shocks, metals, and several chemical agents. The association between high exposure to ELF MFs and ALS was found to be statistically significant only in men (hazard ratio = 2.19, 95% confidence interval = 1.02 – 4.73). The authors concluded that their study supported an association between occupational ELF-MF exposure and an increased risk of ALS mortality.

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Several studies have investigated whether occupational exposure to ELF MFs is associated with neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. Meta-analyses of previous studies have reported a possible increased risk between occupational ELF fields and ALS but the results are largely inconsistent and many of the studies have methodological weaknesses, mainly in the assessment of exposure and the possibility of confounding from other occupational exposures including electric shocks and other chemical and physical agents. The current study goes a long way into addressing some of the short comings of previous studies; it is a large prospective study of the general population, it has used the best available JEM to assess occupational ELF fields and has looked at other occupational exposures. The study has some limitations which were acknowledged by the authors including that the JEM used may not truly represent the exposure experienced by the subjects. The conclusion by the authors that the study adds support for an association between occupational ELF magnetic fields and ALS mortality is valid however as acknowledged by the authors this is an observational study so no firm conclusions can be drawn on whether occupational ELF fields do cause ALS. Further research in this area is needed particularly in the assessment of exposure.

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This is an animal study which investigated the effects of mobile phone use on testicular function. A total of 20 male rats were divided into five groups consisting of control, sham-exposed, and three groups exposed to RF from a GSM mobile phone for 1 or 2 or 3 hours/day for 28 days (exposure information was not provided in the study). The authors suggested that the RF exposure from mobile phone negatively affected testicular function.

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This is a statement issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection which reviewed the evidence for health effects resulting from the use of non-ionising radiation (NIR) during diagnostic procedures. It also listed the regulations that are legally enforced internationally for the protection of patients as well as workers. The statement noted that the current balance of evidence on the clinical use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (in the absence of contrast agents), and optical radiation does not point to any adverse health effects. The statement also highlighted a knowledge gap in the health risks of foetal exposure to MRI and ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy, long-term exposure in MRI workers, and risks from interactions between ultrasound and contrast agent.

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This statement provides useful reference and advice on the potential health risks from the use of NIR in clinical settings. A statement on MRI has been published separately, which can be found on the ICNIRP website.

In this statement, particularly in Table 4a, some examples of legally-binding regulations associated with NIR diagnostic devices were mentioned. It is important to note that for Australia, all of the three documents mentioned in the table have been withdrawn by ARPANSA. The safety guidelines for magnetic resonance diagnostic facilities (1991) have been withdrawn as the material is covered by the ICNIRP Statement on Medical Magnetic Resonance (MR) Procedures: Protection of Patients (PDF 4.53 mb) (published in 2004).

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This meta-analysis evaluated whether mobile phone use causes glioma. A total of eleven studies which were a combination of case-control and cohort studies, published from 2001 to 2008, were included. For mobile phone use of one year or more, no association with glioma was found (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.91 – 1.25). However the association was found to be statistically significant for mobile phone use of five years or more (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.09 – 1.62). Further analysis by the authors revealed no publication bias on those eleven studies. According to this meta-analysis, long-term mobile phone use may increase the risk of developing glioma.

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This meta-analysis looked into whether mobile phone use is associated with intracranial and salivary gland tumours. A total of 24 case-control studies published between 2009 and 2014 were included in the meta‑analysis which captured over 26,000 cases and 50,000 controls. The authors found a significantly higher risk of an intracranial tumour (including salivary gland tumour) with long-term mobile phone use (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.03-1.7). The authors concluded that long-term mobile phone use (more than 10 years) increases the risk of intracranial tumours.

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This systematic review investigated the association between mobile phone use and brain tumours. The authors investigated whether factors such as source of study funding and quality of studies affected the study results. The review included 22 case-control studies, where 8 studies were part of the INTERPHONE study. The meta‑analysis that was performed on the remaining 14 studies revealed no increased risk of brain tumour (odds ratio, OR = 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI = 0.92 – 1.14). There was an association between long-term mobile phone use (10 years or longer) and brain tumour (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.07 – 1.66). It was found that higher quality studies tended to show a statistically significant association with brain tumours. The authors reported that government-funded studies were generally of higher methodological quality than those partially or fully funded by industry. Somewhat confusingly, the authors also reported that there was no significant association between funding source and study outcomes.

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The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has recently assessed the health effects of EMF emitted by smart meters. The extremely low frequency (ELF) EMF exposure from the smart meters is comparable to other common electrical appliances such as television sets, whereas the RF exposure is well below that of a mobile phone. ANSES concluded that it is unlikely that exposure to EMF emitted by smart meters is associated with any adverse health effects in either the short term or the long term.

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This is an animal study investigating the effect of microwave radiation on brain function. A total of 24 rats were divided into four groups where one group was sham-exposed and three groups were exposed to RF at frequencies of 900, 1800, and 2450 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The exposure was done at specific absorption rates (SAR) ranging from 0.00058 to 0.00067 watts per kilogram (W/kg) which is around 0.8% of the public exposure limit in the Australian RF Standard. There was a decline in the cognitive function and an increase in both the heat shock protein level and DNA damage, when comparing the exposed group to the sham-exposed group. The authors concluded that low level RF exposure may have an adverse effect on the brain.

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This animal study looked into the effect of RF on embryo development. Female mice were stimulated to ovulate and divided into groups of: (i) control; (ii) low RF (no exposure level mentioned); (ii) mid RF (570 microwatts per centimetre-squared, µW/cm²); (iii) high RF (1400 µW/cm²). Exposure to RF was applied at a frequency of 935 megahertz (MHz) and was either at 2 hours per day (h/d) or 4 h/d, for 3 days. After the exposure, the egg cells were harvested for in vitro fertilisation. There were significant differences in the rate of fertilisation and subsequent rate of development, between the control group and mid-RF or high-RF groups. The authors suggested that RF exposure negatively affected fertilisation and embryo development.

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This measurement study assessed the radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields exposure level due to Wi-Fi in Australian schools. A total of 23 schools across two Australian states (NSW and VIC) were measured. Exposure levels from other RF sources such as mobile phone base stations, radio and TV broadcast were also measured, to give a comparison to the Wi-Fi exposure level. Overall, the exposure levels from all RF sources measured were much lower than the public exposure limits in the Australian RF Standard. The typical and peak RF levels from Wi-Fi in the classrooms were of the order of 0.0001% and 0.01% of the Standard, respectively. Both in the classroom and in the school yard, the Wi-Fi exposure level is lower than that from broadcast radio. The authors concluded that the typical RF exposure level due to Wi-Fi in schools is very low and comparable to or lower than other environmental RF sources.

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ARPANSA has recently published this paper which is publicly available from Oxford Academic Journals. See ARPANSA's media release regarding the study and our webpage which contains more detailed information regarding the study.