Effects of gestational exposure to 1.95‐GHz W‐CDMA signals for IMT‐2000 cellular phones: Lack of embryotoxicity and teratogenicity in rats

Abstract

The present study was designed to evaluate whether gestational exposure to an EMF targeting the head region, similar to that from cellular phones, might affect embryogenesis in rats. A 1.95-GHz wide-band code division multiple access (W-CDMA) signal, which is one applied for the International Mobile Telecommunication 2000 (IMT-2000) system and used for the freedom of mobile multimedia access (FOMA), was employed for exposure to the heads of four groups of pregnant CD(SD) IGS rats (20 per group) for gestational days 7-17. The exposure was performed for 90 min/day in the morning. The spatial average specific absorption rate (SAR) for individual brains was designed to be 0.67 and 2.0 W/kg with peak brain SARs of 3.1 and 7.0 W/kg for low (group 3) and high (group 4) exposures, respectively, and a whole-body average SAR less than 0.4 W/kg so as not to cause thermal effects due to temperature elevation. Control and sham exposure groups were also included. At gestational day 20, all dams were killed and fetuses were taken out by cesarean section. There were no differences in maternal body weight gain. No adverse effects of EMF exposure were observed on any reproductive and embryotoxic parameters such as number of live (243-271 fetuses), dead or resorbed embryos, placental weights, sex ratios, weights or external, visceral or skeletal abnormalities of live fetuses.

Impact of electromagnetic radiation exposure during pregnancy on embryonic skeletal development in rats

“…The study results conflict with [25,26], who discovered that prenatal exposure of rats to 915-MHz microwave radiation did not induce or exhibit teratogenic effects on the foetal skeleton. Nishimura et al [27] found that exposure to intermediate frequency (300 Hz-100 KHz) magnetic fields during embryogenesis showed no teratogenic effect under experimental conditions.…”

Histological and Cytological Examination of Rat Reproductive Tissue After Short-Time Intermittent Radiofrequency Exposure

“…Moreover, the results of yet another study (7) showed that a 2 h per day, 7 day a week, exposure of rats to 900 MHz radiation over ten months did not activate testes caspase-3, a well-known feature of typical apoptosis. Ogawa et al (26) and Sommer et al (27) studied four generations of exposed rats and found no negative effect. Lee et al (28) also did not fi nd any effects on rat spermatogenesis after simultaneously combined Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) exposure.…”

Effects of Early-Onset Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure (GSM 900 MHz) on Behavior and Memory in Rats

“…Lee et al, 2009;Ogawa et al, 2009;Sommer et al, 2009) found no harmful effects of exposure on the fertility and development of the animals. However, a study of the effects of exposure of young animals (Kumlin et al, 2007) found a slight improvement in one of several measures of adult behavioural performance.…”