Environmental radiofrequency radiation at the Järntorget Square in Stockholm Old Town, Sweden in May, 2018 compared with results on brain and heart tumour risks in rats exposed to 1.8 GHz base station environmental emissions

Hardell,Lennart; Carlberg,Michael; Hedendahl,Lena K.; Koppel,Tarmo; Ahonen,Mikko

doi:10.3892/wasj.2018.5

Environmental radiofrequency radiation at the Järntorget Square in Stockholm Old Town, Sweden in May, 2018 compared with results on brain and heart tumour risks in rats exposed to 1.8 GHz base station environmental emissions

Authors:
- Lennart Hardell
- Michael Carlberg
- Lena K. Hedendahl
- Tarmo Koppel
- Mikko Ahonen
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Affiliations: Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden, The Environment and Cancer Research Foundation, SE-702 17, Örebro, Sweden, Department of Labour Environment and Safety, Tallinn University of Technology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia, Institute of Environmental Health and Safety, 11615 Tallinn, Estonia
Published online on: December 6, 2018 https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2018.5
Pages: 47-54
Copyright: © Hardell et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Radiofrequency (RF) radiation in the frequency range 30 kHz to 300 GHz was evaluated in 2011 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at WHO to be a 'possible human carcinogen' Group 2B. The conclusion was based on human epidemiological studies on an increased risk of glioma and acoustic neuroma. In previous measurement studies, we found high environmental RF radiation levels at certain public places and also in an apartment in Stockholm, Sweden. One such place was the Järntorget square in the Stockholm Old Town. The EME Spy exposimeter was used for these studies. We have now conducted a field spatial distribution measurement with a radiofrequency broadband analyser. The maximum E-field topped at 11.6 V/m at the centre of the square, where the antenna was focused. Järntorget's mean value was 5.2 V/m, median 5.0 V/m, range 1.2-11.6 V/m. Of interest is that this level can be compared to a lifespan carcinogenicity study on rats exposed to 1.8 GHz GSM environmental radiation performed at the Ramazzini Institute (RI) in Italy. A statistically significant increase in the incidence of malignant schwannoma in the heart was found in male rats at the highest dose, 50 V/m. In treated female rats at the highest dose, the incidence of malignant glial tumours was increased, although this was not statistically significant. On the whole, the findings of this study showed that RF radiation levels at one square, Järntorget, in Sweden, were only one order of magnitude lower than those showing an increased incidence of tumours in the RI animal study. An increased cancer risk cannot be excluded for those working in the proximity of Järntorget for longer time periods.

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