This article consists of a review of biological, clinical and epidemiological data and an experimental study. In the following only the experimental study is presented.
To study the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic irradiation at 900 MHz (emitted by GSM mobile phones) and at 1800 MHz (emitted by DCS mobile phones) on reproductive capacity of the insect Drosophila melanogaster and the dependency of the effect of different electromagnetic field parameters (e.g. intensity, carrier frequency, distance from antenna).
There were six sets of experiments: 1) GSM 900 MHz exposure in non-speaking mode (non-modulated), 2) mobile phone exposure in speaking mode (modulated emission, GSM), 3) investigation of effects of the mobile phone GSM signal on the reproductive capacity of each sex separately, 4) comparison of bioactivity between GSM 900 MHz and DCS 1800 MHz, 5) exposure of insects at different distances (0-100 cm), both types of exposure, 6) effects on DNA fragmentation (cell death) in the ovarian cells. In each experiment different exposed and sham exposed groups were used.
Each group consisted of ten female and ten male newly emerged flies kept in separate vials for the first 48 h. After the 48 h, when both males and females of each group were sexually mature, they were put together (10 pairs) in another glass vial and they were allowed to mate and lay eggs for the next 72 h.
For cell death investigation ovarioles were investigated (background information about ovarioles, see Panagopoulos 2007b).
| Exposure | Parameters |
|---|---|
|
Exposure 1:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days
|
|
|
Exposure 2:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days
|
|
|
Exposure 3:
900 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
continuous for 6 min/day on 2 days
investigation of each sex separately
|
|
|
Exposure 4:
900–1,800 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days
|
|
|
Exposure 5:
900–1,800 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days
experiment with different distances (i.e. intensities)
|
|
|
Exposure 6:
900–1,800 MHz
Modulation type:
pulsed
Exposure duration:
continuous for 6 min/day on 6 days
cell death experiment
|
| Modulation type | pulsed |
|---|---|
| Pulse width | 4.6315 ms |
| Repetition frequency | 217 Hz |
| Additional info |
additional frequencies: 8.34 Hz, 2 Hz |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Setup | flies kept in 10 cm high glass vials with a diameter of 2.5 cm, closed with a cotton plug; during exposure plug pushed down in the vial to about 1 cm from the ground; mobile phone placed outside the vial in contact to it |
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| power | 2 W | - | - | - | - |
| Frequency | 900 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days |
| Additional info | investigation of GSM exposure on the reproductive capacity |
| Additional info | GSM phone in speaking mode |
| Modulation type | pulsed |
|---|---|
| Pulse width | 4.6315 ms |
| Repetition frequency | 217 Hz |
| Additional info |
additional frequencies: 8.34 Hz, 2 Hz |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| power | 2 W | - | - | - | - |
| Frequency | 900 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 6 min/day on 2 days |
| Additional info | investigation of each sex separately |
| Additional info | GSM phone in speaking mode flies were treated in four groups: i) male and female flies exposed ii) only female flies exposed iii) only male flies exposed iv) male and female flies sham exposed |
| Modulation type | pulsed |
|---|---|
| Pulse width | 4.6315 ms |
| Repetition frequency | 217 Hz |
| Additional info |
additional frequencies: 8.34 Hz, 2 Hz |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| power | 2 W | - | - | - | - |
| Frequency | 900–1,800 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days |
| Additional info | comparison of GSM 900 and DCS 1800 exposure |
| Additional info | flies were treated in four groups: i) GSM 900 exposure with the phone's antenna in contact to the vial ii) GSM 900 exposure with the phone's antenna at 1 cm distance to the vial iii) DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna in contact to the vial iv) sham exposure |
| Modulation type | pulsed |
|---|---|
| Pulse width | 4.631 ms |
| Repetition frequency | 217 Hz |
| Additional info |
additional frequencies: 8.34 Hz, 2 Hz |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| electric field strength | 22.3 V/m | average over time | measured | - | +/- 2.2 V/m ELF component for group i) |
| magnetic flux density | 0.05 µT | average over time | measured | - | +/- 0.008 µT ELF component for group i) |
| power density | 0.407 mW/cm² | - | measured | - | +/- 0.061 mW/cm² for group i) |
| electric field strength | 13.9 V/m | average over time | measured | - | +/- 1.6 V/m for group ii) |
| magnetic flux density | 0.04 µT | average over time | measured | - | +/- 0.007 µT for group ii) |
| power density | 0.286 mW/cm² | - | measured | - | +/- 0.05 mW/cm² for group ii) |
| electric field strength | 14.2 V/m | average over time | measured | - | +/- 1.7 V/m for group iii) |
| magnetic flux density | 0.038 µT | average over time | measured | - | +/- 0.007 µT for group iii) |
| power density | 0.283 mW/cm² | - | measured | - | +/- 0.043 mW/cm² for group iii) |
| SAR | 0.89 W/kg | maximum | - | - | manufacturer's data for the head |
| power | 2 W | - | - | - | for GSM |
| power | 1 W | - | - | - | for DCS |
| Frequency | 900–1,800 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 6 min/day on 5 days |
| Additional info | experiment with different distances (i.e. intensities) |
| Additional info | flies were treated in 13 groups: i) GSM 900 or DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna in contact to the vial ii) GSM 900 or DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna at 1 cm distance to the vial iii) GSM 900 or DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna at 10 cm distance to the vial iv)GSM 900 or DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna at 20 cm distance to the vial . . . xii) GSM 900 or DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna at 100 cm distance to the vial xiii) sham exposure |
| Modulation type | pulsed |
|---|---|
| Pulse width | 4.631 ms |
| Repetition frequency | 217 Hz |
| Additional info |
additional frequencies: 8.34 Hz, 2 Hz |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
| Measurand | Value | Type | Method | Mass | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAR | 0.89 W/kg | maximum | - | - | manufacturer's data for the head |
| power | 2 W | - | - | - | for GSM |
| power | 1 W | - | - | - | for DCS |
| power density | 0.38 mW/cm² | maximum | measured | - | +/- 0.058 mW/cm² for GSM at 0 cm distance |
| power density | 0.0004 mW/cm² | minimum | measured | - | +/- 0.0001 mW/cm² for GSM at 100 cm distance |
| electric field strength | 19 V/m | maximum | measured | - | +/- 2.5 V/m for GSM at 0 cm distance |
| electric field strength | 0.1 V/m | minimum | measured | - | +/- 0.02 V/m for GSM at 50 cm distance |
| magnetic flux density | 0.09 µT | maximum | measured | - | +/- 0.015 µT for GSM at 0 cm distance |
| magnetic flux density | 0.005 µT | minimum | measured | - | +/- 0.001 µT for GSM at 40 cm distance |
| power density | 0.25 mW/cm² | maximum | measured | - | +/- 0.048 mW/cm² for DCS at 0 cm distance |
| power density | 0.0002 mW/cm² | minimum | measured | - | +/- 0.0001 mW/cm² for DCS at 100 cm distance |
| electric field strength | 13 V/m | maximum | measured | - | +/- 2.1 V/m for DCS at 0 cm distance |
| electric field strength | 0.1 V/m | minimum | measured | - | +/- 0.04 V/m for DCS at 40 cm distance |
| magnetic flux density | 0.06 µT | maximum | measured | - | +/- 0.008 µT for DCS at 0 cm distance |
| magnetic flux density | 0.006 µT | minimum | measured | - | +/- 0.001 µT for DCS at 30 cm distance |
| Frequency | 900–1,800 MHz |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Exposure duration | continuous for 6 min/day on 6 days |
| Additional info | cell death experiment |
| Additional info | flies were treated in five groups: i) GSM 900 exposure with the phone's antenna in contact to the vial ii) GSM 900 exposure with the phone's antenna at 1 cm distance to the vial iii) DCS 1800 exposure with the phone's antenna in contact to the vial iv) sham exposure v) control |
| Modulation type | pulsed |
|---|---|
| Pulse width | 4.631 ms |
| Repetition frequency | 217 Hz |
| Additional info |
additional frequencies: 8.34 Hz, 2 Hz |
| Exposure source |
|
|---|---|
| Sham exposure | A sham exposure was conducted. |
A few minutes of daily mobile phone exposure for only a few days significantly decreased the insect reproduction by up to 60% (experiment 2 with the modulated field). Both sexes were found to be affected, but females were more affected than the males. The effect was due to DNA fragmentation in the gonads caused by both types of digital mobile phone radiation (GSM 900 MHz and DCS 1800 MHz).
GSM exposure was more bioactive than DCS exposure, due to its higher intensity under equal conditions. The decrease in reproductive capacity seemed to be non-linearly depended on irradiation intensity, exhibiting a peak for intensities higher than 200 µW/cm² and a window effect around µ10W/cm². This intensity "window" appeared at a distance of 20-30 cm from the mobile phone antenna.
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