ICNIRP Statement Summary

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has issued a 2-page statement in respect of the validity of the present radiofrequency safety recommendations:

'...At this date the health risk assessment concerning radiofrequency fields by the World Health Organization is still underway. In view of establishing the validity of its current guidance in relation to RF exposure, ICNIRP is issuing this statement, which identifies the main scientific advancements relevant to that field. In conclusion, ICNIRP reconfirms its recommendations on radiofrequency for the moment.'

The ICNIRP guidelines were published in 1998, they form the basis of WHO and ITU recommendations to governments and have been widely adopted around the world.

For adverse health effects - the ICNIRP statement says:

"it is the opinion of ICNIRP that the scientific literature published since the 1998 guidelines has provided no evidence of any adverse effects below the basic restrictions and does not necessitate an immediate revision of its guidance on limiting exposure to high frequency electromagnetic fields."

For Mobile Phones - the ICNIRP statement says:

'...individual national and multinational [INTERPHONE] results published thus far do not indicate an elevation of the risk of cancers in the head with cell phones within 10 years of first use. More data are needed before conclusions can be drawn for longer durations.'

For Base Stations - the ICNIRP statement says:

Epidemiological data on possible health effects of chronic, low-level, whole-body exposure in the far-field of radiofrequency (RF) transmitters are poor, especially because of lack of satisfactory individual exposure assessment. The few studies with adequate exposure assessment did not reveal any health-related effects...'

This statement follows a recent ICNIRP review of mobile phones and brain tumor risk published in Epidemiology and a 358 page RF review prepared as an input to the WHO EMF project.

Click here to download the ICNIRP Statement on EMF Safety Guidelines - 2009