Content uploaded by Malka N. Halgamuge
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Malka N. Halgamuge on Feb 23, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Review: Weak radiofrequency radiation exposure from mobile phone radiation on plants
Abstract and Figures
Aim:
The aim of this article was to explore the hypothesis that non-thermal, weak, radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) have an effect on living plants.
Subject and methods:
In this study, we performed an analysis of the data extracted from the 45 peer-reviewed scientific publications (1996-2016) describing 169 experimental observations to detect the physiological and morphological changes in plants due to the non-thermal RF-EMF effects from mobile phone radiation. Twenty-nine different species of plants were considered in this work.
Results:
Our analysis demonstrates that the data from a substantial amount of the studies on RF-EMFs from mobile phones show physiological and/or morphological effects (89.9%, p < 0.001). Additionally, our analysis of the results from these reported studies demonstrates that the maize, roselle, pea, fenugreek, duckweeds, tomato, onions and mungbean plants seem to be very sensitive to RF-EMFs. Our findings also suggest that plants seem to be more responsive to certain frequencies, especially the frequencies between (i) 800 and 1500 MHz (p < 0.0001), (ii) 1500 and 2400 MHz (p < 0.0001) and (iii) 3500 and 8000 MHz (p = 0.0161).
Conclusion:
The available literature on the effect of RF-EMFs on plants to date observed the significant trend of radiofrequency radiation influence on plants. Hence, this study provides new evidence supporting our hypothesis. Nonetheless, this endorses the need for more experiments to observe the effects of RF-EMFs, especially for the longer exposure durations, using the whole organisms. The above observation agrees with our earlier study, in that it supported that it is not a well-grounded method to characterize biological effects without considering the exposure duration. Nevertheless, none of these findings can be directly associated with human; however, on the other hand, this cannot be excluded, as it can impact the human welfare and health, either directly or indirectly, due to their complexity and varied effects (calcium metabolism, stress proteins, etc.). This study should be useful as a reference for researchers conducting epidemiological studies and the long-term experiments, using whole organisms, to observe the effects of RF-EMFs.
Figures - uploaded by Malka N. Halgamuge
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Malka N. Halgamuge
Content may be subject to copyright.
... They filter toxic chemicals from the air, reduce ground-level ozone and absorb carbon dioxide emissions that are driving climate change (Terzaghi et al., 2020, Bastin et al., 2019. There are studies finding that cell antenna RF-EMF can injure trees (Waldmann-Selsam, C., et al., 2016, Breunig, 2017, Haggerty, 2010 and impact plant growth (Halgamuge, 2017, Pall, 2016. ...
This chapter introduces what EMFs are, how people are exposed, science documenting health effects of exposure, U.S. and international policy on protection from EMFs and nursing implications for clinical practice and
advocacy in concert with Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments' principles.
... Documented effects include damage to the reproductive system, infertility, cell death, neurological disorders and learning disabilities, sleep disorders and reduction in sleep quality, mental confusion, effects on the blood-brain barrier, changes in the function of brain waves, hypersensitivity, and increased production of free radicals in the body [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. In addition, RF-EMF is listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group B2) [12,15,16]. ...
Objectives: In recent years, investigating the possibility of health risks due to exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) values has become an important research priorities. The main study goal was to evaluate the temporal and spatial exposure levels of power density (S) from BTS antennas in Sabzevar city. In addition, this study investigated the difference in power density between the suburbs and downtown, as well as between different microenvironments. Methods: The power density values were measured at three distances from the BTS antennas and at three different time intervals. S values were measured using a TES 593 electrosmog meter. The General linear model repeated measurement tests and Mann-Whitney U test were used to measure the objectives. The Inverse Distance Weighted method was used to draw the spatial distribution map. Results: Significant differences between the values of S Avg and S max Avg were detected based on distance from the BTS antennas, time measured, and type of location. For hospital, residential, residential-educational, residential-park, and residential-shopping, the average values of S Avg were 0.37, 1.15, 1.80, 1.89, and 1.94 W/m2 , respectively, and the average values of S max Avg were 0.43, 2.64, 2.54, 2.59, and 2.64 W/ m2 , respectively. There was a significant difference between S Avg and S max Avg values by microenvironment. Conclusions: Comparison of the all of the measured values of S in this study with the limits set by multiple organizations indicated that the residents of Sabzevar city are not exposed to levels considered to pose a risk.
... A summary and chronicle of individual studies in insects is available in the supplemental materials, and in other reviews [86,105,121]. EMF bioeffects have also been shown in plants and all studied animals, as well as in humans [86,122,123,124]. Insects are expected to be affected the most however, since they are already under pressure of multiple threats, less resilient to stressors and pollutants than larger animals, and due to their small size, more vulnerable to increasingly high frequencies used by the mobile phone infrastructure (5G and 6G in the future) [12,100,125]. ...
Worldwide, insects are declining at an alarming rate. Among other causes, the use of pesticides and modern agricultural practices play a major role in this. Cumulative effects of multiple low-dose toxins and the distribution of toxicants in nature have only started to be investigated in a methodical way. Existing research indicates another factor of anthropogenic origin that could have subtle harmful effects: the increasingly frequent use of electromagnetic fields (EMF) from man-made technologies. This systematic review summarizes the results of studies investigating the toxicity of electromagnetic fields in insects. The main objective of this review is to weigh the evidence regarding detrimental effects on insects from the increasing technological infrastructure, with a particular focus on power lines and the cellular network. The next generation of mobile communication technologies, 5G, is being deployed – without having been tested in respect of potential toxic effects. With humanity’s quest for pervasiveness of technology, even modest effects of electromagnetic fields on organisms could eventually reach a saturation level that can no longer be ignored. An overview of reported effects and biological mechanisms of exposure to electromagnetic fields, which addresses new findings in cell biology, is included. Biological effects of non-thermal EMF on insects are clearly proven in the laboratory, but only partly in the field, thus the wider ecological implications are still unknown. There is a need for more field studies, but extrapolating from the laboratory, as is common practice in ecotoxicology, already warrants increasing the threat level of environmental EMF impact on insects.
The rapid increase in cell phone usage due to changing lifestyles has significantly increased environmental radiofrequency radiation (0–300 GHz). This radiation has notable effects on various biological processes in plants, impacting their growth and productivity. The radiofrequency radiation emitted by cell phones causes stress and impaired development, disrupting plants’ morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular functions. Despite the growing prevalence of cell phones, the specific responses of plant species to this radiation remain inadequately understood. This chapter delves into the effects of cell phone radiofrequency radiation on plants, with a detailed examination of its impact on morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes. Enhancing the scientific understanding of these effects, particularly on plant bioactive constituents, may provide valuable insights and address existing uncertainties regarding the influence of cell phone radiation on plant growth and productivity.
The frequent use of electronic devices in daily lives, predominantly reliant on non-ionizing radiation, has increased the prevalence of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) in natural environment. In light of this, effects of EMR at frequencies of 1800 MHz and 2400 MHz characterized by a power of 10.0 dBm (0.01 W), across varying exposure durations of 1 h/day, 2 h/day, 4 h/day, 6 h/day, and 8 h/day for 7 days, in Allium cepa L. were studied. The effects of the treatment on the morphological features (root length, fresh weight, and dry weight of roots) and biochemical characteristics (protein content and antioxidative enzymes, namely, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and dehydroascorbate (DHAR)) were studied in roots and bulbs of Allium cepa L. Further genotoxicity for different exposure periods at both frequencies was also conducted. Prolonged exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) at both frequencies was found to reduce root length, fresh weight, and dry weight of plant. Furthermore, significant effects were observed on protein content, indicating a reduction with prolonged exposure duration. Investigation into the activities of antioxidative enzymes such as APX, GR, GST, DHAR, CAT, SOD, and POD at a frequency of 1800 MHz and 2400 MHz in roots and bulbs demonstrated a significant enhancement in enzyme activity during 6 h/day and 8 h/day exposure periods. Additional investigation during genotoxicity studies demonstrated the induction of chromosomal aberrations in the root tip cells of the Allium cepa L. plant test system. The current study revealed the initiation of oxidative stress and genotoxicity resulting from long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation in the studied plant test systems.
Mobile devices and base transceiver station (BTS) are the main sources of human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of exposure to RF-EMF in three different time intervals and three different distances from BTS antennas in Sabzevar. Additional goals were to investigate the electric field (E) difference between different microenvironments, between the suburbs and downtown, and evaluating the sleep quality of residents around BTS antennas at different distances. The results showed significant differences between the values of E Avg and E max Avg at different times (T1, T2, and T3), different distances (50, 100, and 300 m) from BTS antennas, and between BTS antennas located in the suburbs and downtown. No significant differences were observed between the values of E Avg and E max Avg in terms of microenvironments. Poor sleep quality (>5) was recorded in the residents around the BTS antennas at different distances, and a significant difference was observed between the sleep quality of the residents at a distance of ˂100 m compared to the residents at a distance of ˃300 m. The recorded levels of E in all places and times were below the human safety limits set by the Iranian National Standardization Organization, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, indicating the absence of potential risk due to exposure to E in the study area.
The paper published by Nath et al. (Urban Ecosystems 25:1279–1295, 2022) analyzes the influence of different ecological factors and covariates on House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) abundance but criticizes previous research without explaining in depth the scientific reasons for it and reaches conclusions not supported by the authors’ own data nor by existing knowledge and scientific evidence. They state that studies on the impacts of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) on birds outside laboratory conditions carried out in the past did not consider other ecological factors that could also influence the life history needs of the species. However, precisely the opposite is true; the studies carried out so far, taking into account most of the possible factors to consider, including urbanization, have not been able to solve the enigma of the House Sparrow decline in many of the world's cities. Thus, it is necessary to propose new possible causes not considered so far. Among the few that remain to be tested is the electromagnetic radiation hypothesis, which was proposed by two independent research teams in two different countries. This paper is a reply of the work developed by Nath et al. (Urban Ecosystems 25:1279–1295, 2022) that highlight their inconclusive results and methodological flaws due to the correlation observed between radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) and urbanization, complement their results showing negative correlations when testing House Sparrow abundance with electromagnetic radiation levels correcting for the percentage of builtup, and clarify some statements and misconceptions (importance of non-thermal effects).
The proliferation of wireless and other telecommunications equipment brought about by technological advances in the communication industry has substantially increased the radiofrequency radiation levels in the environment. The emphasis is, therefore, placed on investigating the potential impacts of radiofrequency radiation on biota. In this work, the impact of 2850 MHz electromagnetic field radiation (EMF-r) on early development, photosynthetic pigments, and the metabolic profile of two Brassica oleracea L. cultivars (red and green cabbage) was studied. On a daily basis for seven days, seedlings were exposed to homogeneous EMF-r for one, two, and four hours, and observations were carried out at 0-h, 1-h, and 24-h following the final dose. Irrespective of the duration of harvest, exposure to EMF-r resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in both root (from 6.3 cm to 4.0 cm in red; 6.1 cm to 3.8 cm in green) and shoot lengths (from 5.3 cm to ⁓3.1 cm in red; 5.1 cm to 3.1 cm in green), as well as a decrease in biomass (from 2.9 mg to ⁓1.1 mg in red; 2.5 to 0.9 mg in green) of the seedlings when compared to control samples. Likewise, the chlorophyll (from 6.09 to ⁓4.94 mg g−1 d.wt in red; 7.37 to 6.05 mg g−1 d.wt. in green) and carotenoid (from 1.49 to 1.19 mg g−1 d.wt. in red; 1.14 to 0.51 mg g−1 d.wt. in green) contents of both cultivars decreased significantly when compared to the control. Additionally, the contents of phenolic (28.99‒45.52 mg GAE g−1 in red; 25.49‒33.76 mg GAE g−1 in green), flavonoid (21.7‒31.8 mg QE g−1 in red; 12.1‒19.0 mg QE g−1 in green), and anthocyanin (28.8‒43.6 mg per 100 g d.wt. in red; 1.1‒2.6 mg per 100 g d.wt. in green) in both red and green cabbage increased with exposure duration. EMF-r produced oxidative stress in the exposed samples of both cabbage cultivars, as demonstrated by dose-dependent increases in the total antioxidant activity (1.33‒2.58 mM AAE in red; 1.29‒2.22 mM AAE in green), DPPH activity (12.96‒78.33% in red; 9.62‒67.73% in green), H2O2 content (20.0‒77.15 nM g−1 f.wt. in red; 14.28‒64.29 nM g−1 f.wt. in green), and MDA content (0.20‒0.61 nM g−1 f.wt. in red; 0.18‒0.51 nM g−1 f.wt. in green) compared to their control counterparts. The activity of antioxidant enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutases (3.83‒8.10 EU mg−1 protein in red; 4.19‒7.35 EU mg−1 protein in green), catalases (1.81‒7.44 EU mg−1 protein in red; 1.04‒6.24 EU mg−1 protein in green), and guaiacol peroxidases (14.37‒47.85 EU mg−1 protein in red; 12.30‒42.79 EU mg−1 protein in green), increased significantly compared to their control counterparts. The number of polyphenols in unexposed and EMF-r exposed samples of red cabbage was significantly different. The study concludes that exposure to 2850 MHz EMF-r affects the early development of cabbage seedlings, modifies their photosynthetic pigments, alters polyphenol content, and impairs their oxidative metabolism.
Electromagnetic radiations form the unforeseen and often overlooked form of environmental pollution. These fields can be broadly categorized into ionizing and non-ionizing radiations on the basis of frequency range in the electromagnetic spectrum. Ionizing radiations have higher frequency and stronger penetration power that can pose health risks such as genetic and neuro disorders. On the contrary, non-ionizing radiations have shorter frequency range but long-term exposure to these radiations is known to have severe repercussions on human health from damaging skin tissues, changing sleep cycle, behavioral changes to having carcinogenic effects. The objective of this study is to yield a comprehensive insight into electromagnetic radiations sources and their possible effects on humans and environment. Radio-frequency and extremely low-frequency radiations of the electromagnetic spectrum are the prime focus. This study also throws light on the health and telecommunication organizations actively engaged in the field of electromagnetic radiations at the national and international levels. The paper concludes with the finding that electromagnetic radiations are the swiftly increasing form of pollution impacting genes and causing health hazards. The major driving source of the emissions are radio-frequency radiations emitted primarily from cell phones and base stations. The radiations cause deterministic effects viz. heating of skin tissue, behavioral changes, and sophisticated changes with prolonged effects such as DNA mutation, leukemia. They must be perceived injurious for the environment and living species. Health agencies worldwide on frequent basis are formulating stricter legislation and mandate on exceeding radiation limits.
To function, mobile phone systems require transmitters that emit and receive radiofrequency signals over an extended geographical area exposing humans in all stages of development ranging from in-utero, early childhood, adolescents and adults. This study evaluates the question of the impact of radiofrequency radiation on living organisms in vitro studies. In this study, we abstract data from 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications (1990–2015) describing 1127 experimental observations in cell-based in vitro models. Our first analysis of these data found that out of 746 human cell experiments, 45.3% indicated cell changes, whereas 54.7% indicated no changes (p = 0.001). Realizing that there are profound distinctions between cell types in terms of age, rate of proliferation and apoptosis, and other characteristics and that RF signals can be characterized in terms of polarity, information content, frequency, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and power, we further refined our analysis to determine if there were some distinct properties of negative and positive findings associated with these specific characteristics. We further analyzed the data taking into account the cumulative effect (SAR × exposure time) to acquire the cumulative energy absorption of experiments due to radiofrequency exposure, which we believe, has not been fully considered previously. When the frequency of signals, length and type of exposure, and maturity, rate of growth (doubling time), apoptosis and other properties of individual cell types are considered, our results identify a number of potential non-thermal effects of radiofrequency fields that are restricted to a subset of specific faster-growing less differentiated cell types such as human spermatozoa (based on 19 reported experiments, p-value = 0.002) and human epithelial cells (based on 89 reported experiments, p-value < 0.0001). In contrast, for mature, differentiated adult cells of Glia (p = 0.001) and Glioblastoma (p < 0.0001) and adult human blood lymphocytes (p < 0.0001) there are no statistically significant differences for these more slowly reproducing cell lines. Thus, we show that RF induces significant changes in human cells (45.3%), and in faster-growing rat/mouse cell dataset (47.3%). In parallel with this finding, further analysis of faster-growing cells from other species (chicken, rabbit, pig, frog, snail) indicates that most undergo significant changes (74.4%) when exposed to RF. This study confirms observations from the REFLEX project, Belyaev and others that cellular response varies with signal properties. We concur that differentiation of cell type thus constitutes a critical piece of information and should be useful as a reference for many researchers planning additional studies. Sponsorship bias is also a factor that we did not take into account in this analysis.
Abstract
This article tries to answer the review paper from Verschaeve (2014
). This review paper attempted to dismiss every study that shows negative effects of microwave radiation on living organisms. His conclusions are not supported by scientific data and are mostly based on his claims for “inaccurate” dosimetry. This issue is not the case, especially in studies employing real and not simulated exposures by mobile telephony (and related technologies) antennas, since this type of radiation is of highly varying nature, and its levels - regardless of any dosimetry - are simply the same with those exposing daily billions of users.
High frequency nonionizing electromagnetic fields (HF-EMF) that are increasingly present in the environment constitute a genuine environmental stimulus able to evoke specific responses in plants that share many similarities with those observed after a stressful treatment. Plants constitute an outstanding model to study such interactions since their architecture (high surface area to volume ratio) optimizes their interaction with the environment. In the present review, after identifying the main exposure devices (transverse and gigahertz electromagnetic cells, wave guide, and mode stirred reverberating chamber) and general physics laws that govern EMF interactions with plants, we illustrate some of the observed responses after exposure to HF-EMF at the cellular, molecular, and whole plant scale. Indeed, numerous metabolic activities (reactive oxygen species metabolism,
α
- and
β
-amylase, Krebs cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, chlorophyll content, terpene emission, etc.) are modified, gene expression altered (calmodulin, calcium-dependent protein kinase, and proteinase inhibitor), and growth reduced (stem elongation and dry weight) after low power (i.e., nonthermal) HF-EMF exposure. These changes occur not only in the tissues directly exposed but also systemically in distant tissues. While the long-term impact of these metabolic changes remains largely unknown, we propose to consider nonionizing HF-EMF radiation as a noninjurious, genuine environmental factor that readily evokes changes in plant metabolism.
In this study, the effects of electromagnetic waves emitted from mobile phones operating at 1800 MHz were investigated on germination, root growth and mitotic division of root tips of Lens culinaris Medik. Seeds were split into three groups. The first group was exposed to a mobile phone electromagnetic field for 48 hours at the state of dormancy, and the second group was exposed to the same electromagnetic field at the state of division. The third group, the control group, was not exposed to an electromagnetic field beyond the natural background. The results obtained in the study indicate that electromagnetic waves emitted from mobile phones affect seeds in the state of dormancy more than the state of germination. Germination rate was not affected under the specified exposure conditions, but root growth decreased due to a possible effect of oxidative stress in the state of dormant seeds. There was also a noticeable increment in the c-mitosis rates, especially in the state of dormant seeds. The reason for this increment could be problems in spindle function.
Low levels of RF radiation exposure can modify the protein's activity by stimulating or inhibiting their expression in cells. The proteinase inhibitor (Pin II) and Lycospersicon esculentum basic leucine Zipper1 (lebZIP1) are two wound-plants genes. The aim of this work is to study the rate of accumulation of pin II and lebZIP1 at the level of messenger RNA after 10 days of electromagnetic waves exposure. Using RT-PCR and RT-qPCR, the results show that Pin II and lebZIP1synthesis change at the level of cDNA. PinII and lebZIP1 surexpression influence the growth and the differentiation and evoke an increase of protein accumulation in the cell.
Five species of beans were chosen to observe the effects of intermittent periods and doses of cell phone electromagnetic field radiation (EMR) on germination seeds. Beans were grown under the same environment and the EMR was different. The treatment included two intermittent periods (4 and 24 h) and three radiation intensities (high, low, and check). The frequency of EMR was 1805-1850 MHz. The mean power density was 0.4809 mW/cm(2) for high treatment and 1.455 mW/cm(2) for low treatment The specific absorption rating (SAR) values were measured and expressed as units of W/kg for the five beans. The effects of EMR on the germination rates of seeds were inconsistent. Germination differed under EMIR treatment for red bean, soybean, and Mologa bean but not mung and Hyacinth bean. The 24 h intermittent exposure had a significant effect on the height and fresh weight of mung beans. Results differed under high, low, and with check. The 4 h intermittent exposure did not significantly affect the height or fresh weight. Hyacinth and mologa beans showed similar results. Only 24 h intermittent exposure with high treatment had a significant effect on height and fresh weight. Under the same EMR and exposure times the received dose was the same. However, bean species had different germination.
Under high levels of radiation (70-100 µW/m2 =175 mV/m), seeds of Brassicaceae Lepidium sativum (cress d’Alinois) never germinated. In fact, the first step of seeds’ germination - e.g. imbibitions of germinal cells - could not occur under radiation, while inside the humid compost such imbibitions occurred and roots slightly developed. When removed from the electromagnetic field, seeds germinated normally. The radiation was, thus, most likely the cause of the non-occurrence of the seeds’ imbibitions and germination.