BIOLOGICAL IMPACTS, ACTION MECHANISMS, DOSIMETRY AND PROTECTION ISSUES OF MOBILE TELEPHONY RADIATION

Dimitris J. Panagopoulos*

University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Athens, Greece1 Radiation and Environmental Biophysics Research Centre, Athens, Greece2

ABSTRACT

Different kinds of biological effects of mobile telephony radiation have been already confirmed by different experimenters, while a lot of contradictory results are also reported. In spite of any uncertainty, some of the recent results reporting effects show a distinct agreement between them, although with different biological models and under different laboratory conditions. Such results of exceptional importance and mutual similarity are those reporting DNA damage or oxidative stress induction on reproductive cells of different organisms, resulting in decreased fertility and reproduction. This distinct similarity among results of different experimental studies makes unlikely the possibility that these results could be wrong. This chapter analyzes and resumes our experimental findings of DNA damage on insect reproductive cells by Global System for Mobile telecommunications (GSM) radiations, compares them with similar recent results on mammalian - human infertility and discusses the possible connection between these findings and other reports regarding tumour induction, symptoms of unwellness, or declinations of bird and insect populations. A possible biochemical explanation of the reported effects at the cellular level is attempted. Since microwave radiations are non- ionizing and therefore unable to break chemical bonds, indirect ways of DNA damage are discussed, through enhancement of free radical and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, or irregular release of hydrolytic enzymes. Such events can be initiated by

alterations of intracellular ionic concentrations after irregular gating of electrosensitive channels on the cell membranes according to the Ion Forced-Vibration mechanism that we have previously proposed. This biophysical mechanism seems to be realistic, since it is able to explain all of the reported biological effects associated with electromagnetic fields (EMFs) exposure, including the so-called “windows” of increased bioactivity reported since many years but remained unexplained so far, and recorded also in our recent experiments in regards to GSM radiation exposure. The chapter discusses also, an important dosimetry issue, regarding the use of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), a quantity introduced to describe temperature increases within biological tissue (thermal effects), while the vast majority of the recorded biological effects are non-thermal. Finally the chapter attempts to propose some basic precautions and a different way of mobile telephony base station antennas network design, in order to minimize the exposure of human population and reduce significantly the current exposure limits in order to account for the reported non thermal biological effects.

Keywords: mobile telephony radiation, GSM, RF, ELF, electromagnetic fields, non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, biological effects, health effects, Drosophila, reproductive capacity, DNA damage, cell death, intensity windows, SAR.

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