An expert panel reviewing Canadian safety limits for exposure to radio waves has concluded that existing standards appear sufficient and that there is no clear evidence of risks from lower exposure.
The independent panel convened by the Royal Society of Canada issued its report Tuesday on Health Canada’s Safety Code 6, which sets limits on exposure to radio frequency fields with the intent of protecting workers and the general public. The panel was asked to examine whether SC6 limits provide adequate protection from “established adverse health effects,” or “an effect that is observed consistently in several studies with strong methodology”; whether there are other potential health effects that should be considered; and whether additional precautionary measures are needed.
Current limits are aimed at preventing the side effects, such as electrostimulation and the heating of human body tissue, of exposure to high levels of RF energy. Devices such as cell phones, Wi-Fi equipment, cell towers and radio/TV broadcast antennas operate at power levels below SC6 thresholds to prevent such health problems. However, advocates of more stringent restrictions point to studies that suggest there could be other health risks such as cancer and damage to the reproductive system at lower levels of exposure and/or over a long duration.
The panel reviewed such literature as part of its study but ultimately concluded the evidence was not consistent and did not present clear enough implications with respect to human health to warrant new safety standards at this time.
“The conclusion of the panel was that the Safety Code 6 limits are science-based and are designed to avoid all known hazards of radio frequency radiation,” panel chair Paul Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre in Toronto, said.
“We do not believe at this time that additional precautionary measures should be introduced directly into the exposure levels or limits.”
However, the panel advised further research should be completed to try and determine if there is a link between radio frequency field exposure and cancer.
“The whole challenge in this area is trying to find consistent findings that are repeatable an then also trying to think about what the biological significance is of those,” panel chair Paul Demers, a professor of public health at the University of Toronto and director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre, told The Globe and Mail.
The report has garnered a variety of responses from members of academia.
Anthony Miller, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said Monday that the Royal Society panel did not devote enough time or resources for a thorough enough review of the scientific data. Even more concerning, he added, was the panel’s narrow focus on established medical risks from radio frequency fields rather than emerging research.
“I think they tended to downgrade evidence that they should have considered, and they didn’t look into things in sufficient detail,” Miller said of the panel to The Canadian Press, adding that it should have made more forceful recommendations, such as encouraging both individuals and businesses to take precautions against the possibly damaging effects of RF exposure.
Martin Blank, special lecturer in physiology and cellular biophysics at Columbia University, also had a critique for the panel.
“If you’re making a scientific decision, a scientific decision must bring in all relevant data. They did not. They ignored the data. They deliberately put it off the table,” he said.
Health Canada is reportedly in the process of reviewing the report. Both advice from the expert panel and comments from an upcoming public consultation will be considered in the final revision of the safety code.
