Potential health impacts of residential exposures to extremely low frequency magnetic fields in Europe

Abstract

Over the last two decades residential exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF MF) has been associated with childhood leukaemia relatively consistently in epidemiological studies, though causality is still under investigation. We aimed to estimate the cases of childhood leukaemia that might be attributable to exposure to ELF MF in the European Union (EU27), if the associations seen in epidemiological studies were causal. We estimated distributions of ELF MF exposure using studies identified in the existing literature. Individual distributions of exposure were integrated using a probabilistic mixture distribution approach. Exposure-response functions were estimated from the most recently published pooled analysis of epidemiological data. Probabilistic simulation was used to estimate population attributable fractions (AF P) and attributable cases of childhood leukaemia in the EU27. By assigning the literature review-based exposure distribution to all EU27 countries, we estimated the total annual number of cases of leukaemia attributable to ELF MF at between~50 (95% CIs: −14, 132) and~60 (95% CIs: −9, 610), depending on whether exposure-response was modelled categorically or continuously, respectively, for a non-threshold effect. This corresponds to between~1.5% and~2.0% of all incident cases of childhood leukaemia occurring annually in the EU27. Considerable uncertainties are due to scarce data on exposure and the choice of exposure-response model, demonstrating the importance of further research into better understanding mechanisms of the potential association between ELF MF exposure and childhood leukaemia and the need for improved monitoring of residential exposures to ELF MF in Europe.

Comparing the Effects of Long-term Exposure to Extremely Low-frequency Electromagnetic Fields With Different Values on Learning, Memory, Anxiety, and β-amyloid Deposition in Adult Rats

“…Reports on the biological effects of EMFs on the CNS have become one of the important issues in medical researches (Grellier, Ravazzani et al 2014). The aim of this study was to assay the effect of ELF-EMFs with different intensities on memory, anxiety, antioxidant activity, β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and microglia population in rats.…”

Effect of Exposure to Non-ionizing Radiation (Electromagnetic Fields) on Human System: A Literature Review

“…Electric field increase in strength as voltage is raised, and it can be detected even if the equipment is switched off, but not unplugged from the main power socket. The following sources producing MFs in homes were identified: Electrical appliances; grounding system of the residence; overhead power distribution lines; underground power distribution lines; overhead power transmission lines; ground connections at electrical subpanels; electrical wires used for ceiling or floor cooling and heating systems; electrical wiring associated with some multiple-way switches; and knob and tube wiring (old wiring where the wires are separated by a few inches) [32][33][34][35][36].…”

Relação entre morfologia urbana e radiação não ionizante: Estudo de residências verticais multifamiliares brasileiras / Relation between urban morphology and non ionizing radiation: Study in brazilian’s vertical multifamiliar residences

“…Ao longo das últimas duas décadas, a exposição residencial a campos magnéticos de extrema baixa frequência (CMEBF) tem sido associada a leucemia infantil em consistentes estudos epidemiológicos, embora a causalidade ainda esteja sob investigação (AHLBOM et. al., 2000;CALVENTE et al, 2010;SAGE, 2012;ZARYABOVA, 2013;GRELLIER, 2014) comum várias edificações verticais residenciais apresentarem estações de transformadores de energia elétrica internas aos prédios, o que aumenta potencialmente a exposição dos apartamentos adjacentes a estes transformadores aos CMEBF (KANDEL et al, 2013).…”