Summary of the situation report bulletin (1/2023) published online

I attended the BioEM2023 conference organized for June 18–23, 2023, in Oxford, UK. The event discussed the effects of electromagnetic fields from a variety of perspectives. A bit of a surprise to me was to hear how common it is in the beauty industry to use devices with functions related to electromagnetic fields. It was also interesting to learn about the studies related to pacemakers.

As mentioned in my previous bulletins, the European Commission has asked the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) to produce two scientific opinions on the safety of electromagnetic fields (Opinion I and II). I have now discovered on SCHEER’s website that the WG on Electromagnetic fields (EMF) II did work on the draft text in their meeting on May 26, 2023.

Once again, I have found some fascinating scientific articles for this new bulletin. The bulletin now also includes articles on topics other than low frequency electric and magnetic fields. For example, researchers have looked into the effects of electromagnetic fields generated by electric cars, smartphones and smartwatches on cardiovascular implantable electronic devices. I think this is a topic of general interest as these devices are so common nowadays.

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Summary of the situation report bulletin (2/2022) published online

In November, I remotely attended the seventh International Workshop on the Causes of Childhood Leukemia organized by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The event explored leukemia from a number of perspectives, and also discussed studies related to magnetic field exposure.

As mentioned in my previous bulletins, the European Commission has requested the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) to produce two scientific opinions on the safety of electromagnetic fields (Opinion I and II). I have now discovered on SCHEER’s website that SCHEER has conducted a public consultation on their preliminary statement on the scientific evidence on radio frequency. Comments were being accepted until September 25, 2022.

Once again, I have found some fascinating scientific articles for this new bulletin. The bulletin starts with three articles that include the results of experimental research on exposure to rather high levels of electromagnetic fields. Occupational issues are again discussed towards the end of the bulletin. A cohort of four Nordic countries has been used to study the association between malignant lymphoma and occupational exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields.

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Summary of the situation report bulletin (1/2022) published online

I remotely attended the BioEM2022 conference organized for June 19–24, 2022, in Nagoya, Japan, by the BioEM Society. In addition to the scientific program, the conference discussed the activities of the new BioEM Society that was created by merging the EBEA and BEMS into one society. I attended the BioEM Society’s General Assembly. A number of projects are already up and running, including the launch of the BioEM website; the plan is to continue developing the website.

The ICNIRP Mini-Symposium was also held in Japan on June 19, 2022, which I also attended remotely. The event mainly focused on frequency ranges other than those in the electric power system. The slides presented at the event are available for download on the ICNIRP website.

Once again, I have found some fascinating scientific articles for this new bulletin. The bulletin starts with two articles that discuss magnetic fields and childhood leukemia. The first article explores whether the pesticides used in plant nurseries could affect research results. I don’t think I have seen an approach like this before. Occupational issues are again discussed towards the end of the bulletin.

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Summary of the situation report bulletin (2/2021) published online

At the end of September, I attended the annual BioEM2021 conference organized by the Bioelectromagnetics Society (BEMS) and the European BioElectromagnetics Association (EBEA). This year’s hybrid event was held in Ghent, Belgium. In addition to the scientific program, the conference addressed the merging of EBEA and BEMS into one society. Information about the preparations for the new society is available on the BEMS and EBEA websites.

The European Commission has requested the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) to produce two scientific opinions on the safety of electromagnetic fields (Opinion I and II). Opinion I: To advise on the need for a (technical) revision of the Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC annexes and of the annexes of Directive 2013/35/EU in view of the latest scientific evidence available, in particular that of the ICNIRP guidelines updated in 2020, with regard to radio frequency 100 kHz to 300 GHz. Opinion II: To update the SCENIHR (Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks) Opinion of 2015 in the light of the latest scientific evidence with regard to frequencies between 1Hz and 100 kHz.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, quite a few studies related to electric and magnetic fields continued to be published. Once again, I have found some fascinating scientific articles for this new bulletin. The bulletin starts with an article that discusses magnetic fields and childhood leukemia. The bulletin concludes with two articles related to EU Directive 2013/35/EU.

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Summary of the situation report bulletin (1/2021) published online

In the previous bulletin, I mentioned that the BioEM2021 conference would be held online, and possibly also in a new location in Europe in June 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation has changed once again. According to the organizers the BioEM2021 conference will be held September 26 – October 1, 2021, in Ghent, Belgium. The conference will be organized using a hybrid model.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, quite a few studies related to electric and magnetic fields have still been published. Once again, I have found new scientific articles of interest for this bulletin. It seems that exposure to electric fields has attracted more attention than before. For example, a study has been conducted on how you can reduce exposure to electric fields near power lines. Another study looked into human perception of electric fields, conducting the tests in laboratory conditions.

This time, the bulletin includes three articles that discuss occupational health issues. For example, in France, a cohort study is being conducted on retirees from the French Electricity Transmission Network (RTE, Réseau de Transport d’Electricité) who were occupationally exposed to 50 Hz magnetic fields. The article presents the protocol and the results of the first wave of inclusion. I’m really looking forward to hearing more results from this study.

Hope you enjoy reading this summary in English!