European Commission: Electromagnetic Fields and Health

The majority of these research projects focus on EMF from mobile telephones and are cancer-related, a smaller number investigate possible effects on hearing, memory and behaviour.

Scope

• Development of advice to the EC on the risk to health of the general public from the use of security and similar devices employing pulsed electromagnetic fields (Advice Pulsed Fields).
• Combined effects of electromagnetic fields with environmental carcinogens (Cemfec).
• Potential adverse effects of GSM cellular phones on hearing (GUARD).
• International case-control studies of cancer risk in relation to mobile telephone use (Interphone).
• In vivo research on possible health effects of mobile telephones and base stations (carcinogenicity studies in rodents) (Perform-A).
• Risk assessment for exposure of nervous system cells to mobile telephone EMF: from in vitro to in vivo studies (Ramp2001).
• Risk evaluation of potential environmental hazards from low energy electromagnetic field exposure using sensitive in vitro methods (Reflex).
• Tera-Hertz radiation in biological research, investigation on diagnostics and study of potential genotoxic effects (THz-Bridge).
• Effects of the exposure to electromagnetic fields: from science to public health and safer workplace (EMF-NET).
• COST281 - Potential Health Implications from Mobile Communication Systems.

Status

Eight major projects were funded under the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) between 1998 and 2002.

Subsequently funding continued in FP6 (2002-2006) for COST281 and EMF-NET.

EMF has been proposed as a topic for FP7 (2007-2013).

COST281 finished at the end of 2006.