A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

WHO Review Finds Cancer Risk in
RF-Exposed Animals

At Odds with ICNIRP, Most Health Agencies

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Last updated April 28, 2025

A major review of animal studies has found reliable evidence that RF radiation increases the risk of cancer.

The new systematic review was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) EMF office in Geneva as part of its ongoing assessment of RF health effects.

It concludes: “[T]here is evidence that RF EMF exposure increases the incidence of cancer in experimental animals with the [certainty of evidence] being strongest for malignant heart schwannomas and gliomas” (brain tumors).

This finding runs counter to the views of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the WHO itself, as well those of most national health agencies.

Continues

ICBE-EMF Sees “Major Flaws” in
WHO RF–Cancer Review

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) has published a scathing assessment of the WHO systematic review on RF radiation and cancer.

Continues

New Clues on Colorectal Cancer Among Young Adults

Higher Risks When Cell Phone Is Carried Below the Waist

Monday, September 30, 2024

It’s a long-running medical mystery: Why have so many people under 50 in affluent countries been developing colorectal cancer in recent decades?

Something new is triggering a jump in what’s known as early-onset colon and rectal cancer (EOCRC). The rates have been going up for the last 20 years and no one knows why it’s happening. The usual risk factors for CRC —obesity, smoking, bad diet and lack of exercise— don’t fully explain the increase.

Five years ago, De-Kun Li, a senior epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA, offered a new possibility: carrying a cell phone below the waist.

Continues

Old Wine in New Bottles

Decoding New WHO–ICNIRP Cancer Review
Game Over? Likely Not

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Last updated January 31, 2025

An international team of researchers, many with close ties to ICNIRP, is trying to put to rest the very possibility that RF radiation can lead to brain cancer —and, by extension, any type of cancer.

On August 30, they published a detailed systematic review of RF and cell phone epidemiological studies, which concludes that there is little evidence to justify continued concern over a possible cancer link.

“We can now be more confident that exposure to radio waves from mobile phones or wireless technologies is not associated with an increased risk of brain cancer,” declares Ken Karipidis in the press release. He is an assistant director of the ARPANSA, Australia’s radiation protection agency, and the vice chair of ICNIRP.

Continues

Cell Tower Radiation Linked to Genetic Changes in Nearby Residents

More Chromosomal Aberrations
A Finding Too Hot To Handle

Monday, July 1, 2024

Senior European scientists are reporting that people living near cell phone towers show significant changes in their genetic makeup. This is the first time that chronic exposure to cell tower radiation has been linked to unrepairable genetic damage.

A team led by Wilhelm Mosgöller of the Medical University of Vienna and Igor Belyaev of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava contend that years of low-dose RF exposure can increase the incidence of chromosomal aberrations. Such changes could lead to serious, though uncertain, health consequences, including cancer.

The new study is small —but provocative. It’s persuaded Mosgöller and Belyaev that they have identified a “biologically plausible mechanism” for how RF can cause cancer.

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Short Takes

ElektrosmogReport Now in English Too

February 9, 2025

Last updated March 28, 2025

One of the longest-running newsletters on the health and environmental impact of electromagnetic fields and radiation —the ElektrosmogReport— is now available in English.

Diagnose:Funk, the publisher, is translating the German-language original and making it available at no charge. Both versions come out quarterly. D:F is a consumer and environmental protection group with offices in Germany and Switzerland.

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NCI ‘Cancer Bioelectricity’ Conference

August 26, 2024

On September 12^th, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) will host a conference on cancer bioelectricity via Zoom. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

Michael Levin, a professor of biology and biomedical engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts, will be the keynote speaker.

Continues

Another WHO RF Review Challenged

August 21, 2024

Last updated January 21, 2025

A third RF systematic review commissioned by the World Health Organization’s EMF Project is under fire. This one is on RF–induced oxidative stress.

Last month, two other WHO reviews —on pregnancy outcomes and on tinnitus— were both called into question as critics called for them to be retracted.

A team of 14 from six countries, led by Felix Meyer of the German Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), identified 11,599 studies on oxidative stress in the frequency range 800-2450 MHz. They then eliminated 11,543 of them as not meeting their criteria for inclusion.

Continues

Italy’s 6 V/m RF Limit at Risk

March 14, 2024

The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields (ICBE-EMF) has written to Italian government officials to support the country’s strict 6 V/m RF exposure limit.

The letter, dated March 13, expresses “great concern” that the standard might be weakened. It is signed by Ronald Melnick, the chair of ICBE-EMF, and by Elizabeth Kelley, its managing director.

Continues

“NTP Lite”: Update from Japan

March 12, 2024

The Japanese group running a partial repeat of the NTP RF cancer study has not observed genotoxic effects among male rats exposed to 900 MHz CDMA radiation at 4 W/Kg, according to a paper to be presented tomorrow at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology in Salt Lake City, UT (SOT2024).

The analysis of the cancer data is ongoing and will not be reported.

Continues

Schwannoma Puzzle

September 14, 2023

Last updated September 16, 2023

Three medical doctors have published a case report of a 40-year-old Italian man who developed a tumor in his thigh, near where he “habitually” kept his smartphone in a trouser pocket.

The case was published at the end of August in Radiology Case Reports, a peer-reviewed, open access journal.

The tumor, a painless mass, gradually expanded in the man’s left thigh over a period of six months, they wrote.

Continues

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Hot new papers & articles

“The Radical Pair Mechanism Cannot Explain Telecommunication Frequency Effects on Reactive Oxygen Species,” Frontiers in Quantum Science and Technology, April 9, 2025. “We conclude that another mechanism must be responsible for the effects of [RF] fields in biological systems.”
“Impact of a Terahertz EMF on the Ion Permeation of Potassium and Sodium Channels,” Communications Chemistry, April 3, 2025. “Demonstrates that ion channel function can be modulated by specific THz fields, opening new avenues for applications in biomedical fields, particularly in treatment of channelopathies.”
“A Novel Method for Achieving Precision and Reproducibility in a 1.8 GHz RF Exposure System That Modulates Intracellular [Reactive Oxygen Species] ROS as a Function of Signal Amplitude in Human Cell Cultures,” Bioengineering, March 4, 2025. Living cells are sensitive to “astonishingly weak“ RF signals —those “far below” current safety limits. Effects occur “well within” levels associated with cellphones & Wi-Fi.
Learned Magnetic Map Cues and Two Mechanisms of Magnetoreception in Turtles,” Nature, February 12, 2025. “Our results demonstrate that an animal can learn the natural magnetic signatures of geographical areas, thus corroborating a foundational premise of goal navigation with magnetic maps.”
“Smartphone Administered Pulsed RF Energy Therapy for Expedited Cutaneous Wound Healing,” Digital Medicine, February 15, 2025. “Its ultra flexible, battery-free design supports personalized wound care at a low-cost (<US$1). Both EMF simulation and measurement demonstrated that the proposed [pulsed RF energy] bandage achieves the field strength of clinical-grade PRFE equipment.”
“A Review of Effects of EMFs on Ageing and Ageing Dependent Bioeffects of EMFs,” Science of the Total Environment, February 2025. “The ageing state of the cell or body plays a role in determining the biological or health effects of EMF exposure, but the exact effect depends on the specific conditions, and further investigation of the underlying mechanism is needed.”
“Terahertz Wave Desensitizes Ferroptosis by Inhibiting the Binding of Ferric Ions to the Transferrin,” ACS Nano, January 3, 2025. Findings could lead to medical applications in the THz band [1 THz = 1,000 GHz]. From China.
“Effects of ELF Magnetic Fields on Animal Cancer and DNA Damage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, December 31, 2024. ELF magnetic fields “could increase the odds of developing leukemia in mice but not in rats,” and “could damage DNA of certain cell types like brain cells in rodents.” From Belgium.
“5G RF EMF Effects on the Human Sleep Electroencephalogram: A Randomized Controlled Study in CACNA1C Genotyped Healthy Volunteers,” medRxiv, December 26, 2024. An important new study from Switzerland which underscores “the need for further research into 5G effects on brain health.” A possible game changer for understanding RF radiation effects on sleep. Not peer reviewed. Open access.
“Gaps in Knowledge Relevant to the ‘ICNIRP Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time-Varying Electric, Magnetic and Electromagnetic Fields (100 kHz to 300 GHz)’,” Health Physics, December 13, 2024. ICNIRP Statement. “For biological outcomes where effects have not been substantiated, we did not find sufficient plausible evidence that RF EMF might cause harm below currently established thresholds.”

A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

At Odds with ICNIRP, Most Health Agencies

Higher Risks When Cell Phone Is Carried Below the Waist

Decoding New WHO–ICNIRP Cancer ReviewGame Over? Likely Not

More Chromosomal Aberrations A Finding Too Hot To Handle

Pages

Short Takes

Hot new papers & articles

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Microwave News Reading

Microwave News is...

Decoding New WHO–ICNIRP Cancer Review
Game Over? Likely Not

More Chromosomal Aberrations
A Finding Too Hot To Handle