EM Health Effect Aprile Cosimo Professor Rachidi-Haeri Farhad 26 th November 2013 Advanced Topics in ElectroMagnetic Compatibility

Outline Introduction Sources of EM fields Pathological Thresholds International limits Conclusion Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 3

Introduction Gravitational field Is the most common example of static field Magnetic field Electrical field Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 4

Introduction Electromagnetic field Just a static field can be purely electrical or magnetic Electric and magnetic fields are mutually linked Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 5

EM Radiation The spectrum of EM radiation: Ionizing Non-ionizing Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 6

EM Radiation Ionizing Radiation: Has enough energy to break the chemical link It ionizes the atom or molecule This occurs for frequencies over 300GHz X-ray Gamma-ray Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 7

EM Radiation Non-Ionizing Radiation: Does not have enough energy to ionize the atom or molecule Electron will move to an higher energy state Range of frequencies (1Hzto 300GHz) The “ionizing threshold” not defined Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 8

Sources of EM fields Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 9 Kinds of field Static field Variable field Pulse field

Sources of EM fields Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 10 Table FieldFrequencyWavelength High Voltage PL50 Hz6000 Km Induction Stove25 KHz12 Km Medium Wave600 KHz500 m Short Wave15 MHz20 m Radio FM100 MHz3 m3 m Mobile phone 1G900 MHz33 cm Mobile phone 2G1,8 GHz17 cm WI-FI, microwave2,45 GHz12,2 cm

Interferences 1G mobile phone wavelength around 30 cm Size comparable to the skull size Good transfer of energy Then: Issues? Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 11

Pathological Threshold Are there any issues? The human body contains charged particles Almost the 40-50% of total body weight Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 12 EM effect on these particles Impact on the Biological functions if the intensity is over a threshold Pathological threshold

Pathological Threshold Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 13 Are EM field dangerous? Sola dosis facit venenum (Paracelso) Resistance of the human body Duration of the event General effects

Field Effects Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 14 General effects of EM fields: We can define the general effects of Electromagnetic fields on the human body since it is composed of conductive elements (by Maxwell’s equations)

Field Effects Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 15 General effect of EM fields Static fieldEffect ElectricElectric polarization of cellular membrane MagneticFluidic perturbation on liquids Low Frequency 1Hz-1KHz Effect ElectromagneticCurrent inside the tissue

Field Effects Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 16 General effect of EM fields High Frequency 100KHz – 2GHz Effect ElectromagneticHeating up the tissue (microwave effect) Very High Frequency 2GHz – 300GHz Effect ElectromagneticHeating up the surface

Field Effects Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 17 In the sense of prevention: Are there fixed limits for the induced current (low frequencies) ? for the induced heating (high frequencies) ? What is the value of the magnetic/electric/electromagnetic field that leads to pathology? The application of electromagnetic equation to a living body is very complex

Limits and Rates Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 18 Limits are defined: Induced current inside a tissue: 0,002 A/m 2 Heating threshold: 1 o C Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) E int : electric field σ: conductivity of the f 0 ρ: density of the exposed material [W/Kg]

Reference Rates Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 19 Very difficult to get the Specific Absorption Rate and the induced current inside the body Reference rates defined E.g. Electric Power distribution at 50Hz Magnetic field reference rate: 80 A/m Guarantee induced current inside the human body less than 0,002 A/m 2

EM field production Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 20 Mobile Phone *DECT: Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone Distance from DECT* station Electric field intensity 0,5 m0,7-4,9 V/m 1,5 m0,2-1,6 V/m 3 m0,1-0,8 V/m 7 m0,05-0,4 V/m

EM field production Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 21 INTERNET *ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line **PLC: Power Line Communication Type of networkMeasured 20cm Optic fibers0 A/m Coaxial Cable~0 A/m ADSL* (around 15MHz)0,2 mA/m (limit 73mV) PLC** (around 10 MHz)0,16 mV/m (limit 28V/m)

EM field production Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 22 INTERNET WI-FI: 2,4-5,4 GHz Emitted power around 0,1 W Constructive and destructive interferences…

Research Biological studies: interaction of EM with very simple vegetal or animal biologically well known Toxicological studies: high intensity EM for short time: pathological response critical effects Epidemiological studies: statistical correlation between people living close to EM sources and pathologies chronic effects Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 23

Bradford Hill criteria Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 24 The Bradford Hill criteria, otherwise known as Hill's criteria for causation, are a group of minimal conditions necessary to provide adequate evidence of a causal relationship between an incidence and a consequence, established by the It is composed of 9: 1) Strength: A small association does not mean that there is not a causal effect, though the larger the association, the more likely that it is causal. 2) Consistency: Consistent findings observed by different persons in different places with different samples strengthens the likelihood of an effect.

Bradford Hill criteria Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 25 3) Specificity: Causation is likely if a very specific population at a specific site and disease with no other likely explanation. The more specific an association between a factor and an effect is, the bigger the probability of a causal relationship. 4) Temporality: The effect has to occur after the cause (and if there is an expected delay between the cause and expected effect, then the effect must occur after that delay). 5) Biological gradient: Greater exposure should generally lead to greater incidence of the effect. However, in some cases, the mere presence of the factor can trigger the effect. In other cases, an inverse proportion is observed: greater exposure leads to lower incidence.

Bradford Hill criteria Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 26 6) Plausibility: A plausible mechanism between cause and effect is helpful (but Hill noted that knowledge of the mechanism is limited by current knowledge). 7) Coherence: Coherence between epidemiological and laboratory findings increases the likelihood of an effect. However, Hill noted that "... lack of such [laboratory] evidence cannot nullify the epidemiological effect on associations”. 8) Experiment: "Occasionally it is possible to appeal to experimental evidence”. 9) Analogy: The effect of similar factors may be considered.

Some Studies Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 27 Leukemia and Cancer of the brain for electrical company workers The risk rate between exposed and non- exposed is around 1. Smoker rate: 30

Some Studies Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 28 Relative Risk of brain cancer for mobile phone users

Some Studies Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 29 Relative Risk of Leukemia of children living close to HV PL

International Limits Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 30 ICNIRP: International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection

International Limits Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 31 SAR Limits (100Hz – 10 GHz) SAR - body average value (W/Kg) SAR head Workers0,410 General people0,082

Thank you References ‘Une Introduction aux Effets Biologiques des Champs EM’, Professor Rachidi ‘Vivre dans les champs électromagnétiques’, Professor Pierre Zweiacker Wikipedia Aprile Cosimo, EPFL 32