The electromagnetic waves are not harmful to health, assures a group of 16 experts from ANSES, the national health security agency, in an opinion released on Tuesday.
The international scientific data collected since 2009 (date of the last opinion of the agency, editor’s note) and which served as a basis for this risk assessment “do not show evidence ofhealth effects proven “for humans, underlines ANSES. The agency considers that it is” unfounded to propose new exposure limit values for the general population “.
The intensive use of the potentially carcinogenic telephone
The health authorities, however, qualify their remarks concerning mobile phones, the health risks of which have been identified by certain studies. “Some publications mention […] a possible increase in the risk of brain tumor, in the long term, for intensive users of cell phones. “The expertise is in tune with the classification of the World Health Organization which considers” possible carcinogenic “intensive use mobile phones.
Another conclusion of the report, exposure to electromagnetic waves can induce biological changes in the body. “The expertise reveals, with limited levels of evidence, different biological effects in humans or animals, some of which had already been reported in 2009”, note the specialists.
But these biological effects are considered of no consequence for health since they do not exceed “the limits of adaptation of the biological system”, as the report explains: “the experts of the Agency could not establish a link of causality between the biological effects described on cellular, animal or human models and any resulting health effects “.
ANSES recommendations
For the sake of prevention, ANSES ends its report by recalling the recommendations for limit exposure to waves electromagnetic. In particular, she recommends the hands-free kit to intensive mobile phone users and advocates moderate use of the telephone among children.
It also asks that the “multiplication of the number of antennas in order to reduce the levels of environmental exposure be the subject of a thorough examination”.
Finally, she wants devices emitting electromagnetic fields “intended to be used close to the body” such as (telephones, touch pads, baby monitors, etc.) to display a maximum level of exposure as is already the case for Cellphones.
