Do TETRA (Airwave) Base Station Signals Have a Short-Term Impact on Health and Well-Being? A Randomized Double-Blind Provocation Study

Abstract

Background“Airwave” is the new communication system currently being rolled out across the United Kingdom for the police and emergency services, based on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio Telecommunications System (TETRA). Some police officers have complained about skin rashes, nausea, headaches, and depression as a consequence of using their Airwave handsets. In addition, a small subgroup in the population self-report being sensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in general.ObjectivesWe conducted a randomized double-blind provocation study to establish whether short-term exposure to a TETRA base station signal has an impact on the health and well-being of individuals with self-reported “electrosensitivity” and of participants who served as controls.MethodsFifty-one individuals with self-reported electrosensitivity and 132 age- and sex-matched controls participated in an open provocation test; 48 sensitive and 132 control participants went on to complete double-blind tests in a fully screened semianechoic chamber. Heart rate, skin conductance, and blood pressure readings provided objective indices of short-term physiological response. Visual analog scales and symptom scales provided subjective indices of well-being.ResultsWe found no differences on any measure between TETRA and sham (no signal) under double-blind conditions for either controls or electrosensitive participants, and neither group could detect the presence of a TETRA signal at rates greater than chance (50%). When conditions were not double blind, however, the self-reported electrosensitive individuals did report feeling worse and experienced more severe symptoms during TETRA compared with sham.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the adverse symptoms experienced by electrosensitive individuals are due to the belief of harm from TETRA base stations rather than to the low-level EMF exposure itself.

Cognitive and physiological responses in humans exposed to a TETRA base station signal in relation to perceived electromagnetic hypersensitivity

“…All signals were re-sampled at 8 samples/s in order to have a uniform rate. BVP signals were detrended as the important information in this signal was the peak-topeak values [Wallace et al, 2010].…”

“…Other indices measured during the open provocation and double-blind tests were VAS, symptom scales and ability to detect the presence/absence of a signal. The outcomes and procedure details of these measures have been reported in Wallace et al [2010].…”

“…All volunteers had to be between 18 and 80 years of age. Individuals were excluded from participation if they had been diagnosed with epilepsy or claustrophobia; had received a diagnosis or any treatment for a mental disorder 4 months prior to the study; had a history of brain injury; had been fitted with a pace maker; had any physical impairment or illness or were taking medication that could have, in some way, affected the results of the study [Wallace et al, 2010]. All testing was conducted at the Electromagnetics and Health Research Laboratory at the University of Essex, UK.…”

“…The physiological equipment was connected with a fiber optic cable. No other DC-or any AC-powered equipment was present in the testing chamber (see Wallace et al [2010] for a diagram of the testing chamber).Exposure system. The active exposure condition was the TETRA signal Release 1 (European Telecommunications Standards Institute, specification 390 392-2).…”

Effects of radio- and microwaves emitted by wireless communication devices on the functions of the nervous system selected elements

“…objawy -będą-ce podstawą do uznania "nadwrażliwości elektromagnetycznej" jako rodzaju niepełnosprawności -są coraz częściej traktowane jako niezwiązane z rzeczywistą ekspozycją na PEM, a związane bardziej z efektem nocebo [61,62]. Potwierdza to wiele badań z podwójnie ślepą próbą prowokowaną u osób uważających się za "nadwrażliwe" [24, [26][27][28]33,55,[63][64][65][66][67][68][69], podczas których badani nie zgłaszali żadnych subiektywnych symptomów poza zwiększeniem częstości bólów głowy w grupie nieeksponowanej na PEM [63] i zmniejszeniem częstości występowania uczucia swędzenia skóry u osób eksponowanych na PEM [64].…”