Wireless technology is proliferating at an unprecedented pace, despite a lack of studies on the impact of chronic exposures on human health. While some countries have developed regulations to standardize exposures, there is no consistency in their application and most exposure standards are outdated. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission relies on outdated testing methods and limits developed in 1996 from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection which presume health effects are only caused by heat-inducing radiation. Recent studies provide evidence of non-thermal impacts ranging from increases in Reactive Oxygen Species, impacts on stress proteins and membranes, increased risks of rare cancers of the head and reproductive impairment in males. Consequently, the Israel Institute for Advance Study, in collaboration with Environmental Health Trust and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, brought specialists in public health, toxicology, medicine, neurology, epidemiology, educational technology, and public policy from 10 nations to an Expert Forum on Wireless Radiation and Health. The forum was held at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel on January 23-27, 2017, to evaluate human exposures and health benefits and risks from use of wireless devices and to identify priorities for future research. This special issue presents highlights from selected presentations and discussions at that conference as well as other special topics which require further exploration. The forum broke into four workgroups: (1) basic science; (2) epidemiology and case reports; (3) exposure modeling; and (4) policy. The question each workgroup considered was whether scientific evidence amassed since the 2011 International Agency for Research on Cancer classification indicates that wireless radiation constitutes a “probable human carcinogen,” or merits public health attention because of reproductive, developmental or other health risks.

Last update on Environmental Research 11 October 2018