awareness Hub
Standards and Policy Contributions
Quality Criteria and Standardization
With the rapid growth of wireless technologies (mobile phones, Wi-Fi, 5G networks, and smart devices), human exposure to RF-EMF has increased significantly. These fields are non-ionising radiation used for communication, and while they do not directly damage DNA like ionising radiation, concerns persist about potential biological and health effects, especially with long-term exposure.
To address these concerns, technical standards and guidelines have been developed by international organizations and standardization bodies. To ensure that the use of wireless technologies remains safe and supported by science-based knowledge across the globe, these associations provide limits for exposure of the population and workers to RF-EMF. These limits guarantee protection against tissue heating, which is the only effect of RF fields currently recognized, occurring only above certain threshold levels. Moreover, national and international organizations are in charge for reviewing and analyzing scientific literature regarding the risk of effects due to long-term exposure to RF-EMF at levels below the exposure limits.
International Organisations and Standardisation Bodies providing Guidelines and Technical Standards
National and Internation Organisation assessing EMF Health Risks
Through continuous updates and released documents, these organizations ensure:
Public Health Protection at the individual and collective level, in living and occupational environment, through the current and upcoming generations of wireless technologies
Consistency Across Borders through harmonization of regulatory frameworks, allowing countries to adopt uniform safety levels, which is critical for global industries and public trust.
Technological Development by helping bridge the gap between innovation and safety, for having technological progress aligned with international health and safety standards for RF-EMF exposure.
Risk Communication by providing adequate information to the public, reducing misinformation and fear.
Informed decision-making by supporting policy compliance on the base of high-quality scientific knowledge.
With NextGEM, we provide an overview of the most relevant international organisations and standardisation bodies developing guidelines and technical standards on RF-EMF exposure, and organisations assessing EMF and health risk to support public authorities and regulators for informed decision-making and policy development.
Methodologies
The NextGEM consortium has developed and applied high-quality methodologies for:
• Computation and measurement of human exposure to RF-EMF from environmental sources, with particular focus on 5G technology and how to effectively measure or simulate real-life exposures.
• Set-up of high-quality in vitro, in vivo and human studies on RF-EMF, ensuring reliability and relevance of experimental procedures (e.g., appropriate controls, dosimetry accuracy, environmental stability), and strict control of environmental and electromagnetic conditions.
• Accurate characterization of dielectric properties of biological materials, which is crucial towards precise electromagnetic dosimetry and exposure assessment.
standard Operating Procedures (sOPs)
- SOP 1:Â SH-SY5Y cell culture conditions and handling (CNR)
- SOP 2: Cell cultures exposure to 4G LTE signal at 1950 MHz (CNR)
- SOP 3: Intracellular ROS measurement by flow cytometer in SH-SY5Y cells (CNR)
- SOP 4: Apoptosis detection by flow cytometer in SH-SY5Y cells (CNR)
- SOP 5: Cell cycle progression by flow cytometer in SH-SY5Y cells (CNR)
- SOP 6: Cell cultures simultaneous exposure to 4G LTE signal at 1950 MHz and WiFi signal at 2450 MHz (CNR)
- SOP 7: HaCaT cell culture conditions and handling (CNR)
- SOP 8: Cell cultures exposure to 5G signal at 26.5 GHz (CNR)
- SOP 9: Cell cultures exposure to UVB radiation (CNR)
- SOP 10: Intracellular ROS measurement by flow cytometer in HaCaT cells (CNR)
- SOP 11: Apoptosis detection by flow cytometer in HaCaT cells (CNR)
- SOP 12: HaCaT cell culture conditions, and handling (Sciensano)
- SOP 13: In vitro micronucleus test in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells and 5G RF-EMF exposure (Sciensano)
- SOP 14: In vitro comet assay in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells and 5G RF-EMF exposure (Sciensano)
- SOP 15: DNA-methylation measurement in HaCaT cells and 5G RF-EMF exposure (Sciensano)
- SOP 16: Oxidative stress in HaCaT cells (Sciensano)
- SOP 17: TempO-Seq sample preparation (CNR)
- SOP 18: C. elegans maintenance and handling (CSIC)
- SOP 19: C. elegans exposure to 5G signal at 26.5 GHz (CNR-CSIC)
- SOP 20: Health assessment in Caenorhabditis elegans after 5G exposure (CNR-CSIC)
- SOP 21: Reproductive toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans after 5G exposure (CNR)
- SOP 22: RNA extraction from C. elegans (CSIC)
Gaps in Knowledge
Within NextGEM, we also identified the main scientific, methodological, and technical gaps-in-knowledge in EMF exposure research.
• Additional hypothesis-driven experiments on the interaction mechanisms of RF-EMF are necessary but under strict methodological quality criteria..
• Standardized protocols for measuring dielectric properties of biological samples should be developed to ensure consistency and reliability across studies, and for designing and optimizing exposure systems to carry out high-quality biological experiments.
• Human studies should include aspects such as long-term vs. acute exposure effects, cumulative effects over time, potential interactions with other environmental stressors, for a deeper understanding of the interaction in the frame of real-exposure scenarios.
