Wallace, Denise and Eltiti, Stacy and Ridgewell, Anna and Garner, Kelly and Russo, Riccardo and Sepulveda, Francisco and Walker, Stuart and Quinlan, Terence and Dudley, Sandra EM and Maung, Sithu and others (2010) Do TETRA (Airwave) base station signals have a short-term impact on health and well-being? A randomized double-blind provocation study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118 (6). p. 735. DOI https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0901416
Wallace, Denise and Eltiti, Stacy and Ridgewell, Anna and Garner, Kelly and Russo, Riccardo and Sepulveda, Francisco and Walker, Stuart and Quinlan, Terence and Dudley, Sandra EM and Maung, Sithu and others (2010) Do TETRA (Airwave) base station signals have a short-term impact on health and well-being? A randomized double-blind provocation study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118 (6). p. 735. DOI https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0901416
Wallace, Denise and Eltiti, Stacy and Ridgewell, Anna and Garner, Kelly and Russo, Riccardo and Sepulveda, Francisco and Walker, Stuart and Quinlan, Terence and Dudley, Sandra EM and Maung, Sithu and others (2010) Do TETRA (Airwave) base station signals have a short-term impact on health and well-being? A randomized double-blind provocation study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118 (6). p. 735. DOI https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0901416
Abstract
Background: "Airwave" is the new communication system currently being rolled out across the United Kingdom for the police and emergency services, based on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio Telecommunications System (TETRA). Some police officers have complained about skin rashes, nausea, headaches, and depression as a consequence of using their Airwave handsets. In addition, a small subgroup in the population self-report being sensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in general. Objectives: We conducted a randomized double-blind provocation study to establish whether short-term exposure to a TETRA base station signal has an impact on the health and well-being of individuals with self-reported "electrosensitivity" and of participants who served as controls.Methods: Fifty-one individuals with self-reported electrosensitivity and 132 age and sex-matched controls participated in an open provocation test; 48 sensitive and 132 control participants went on to complete double-blind tests in a fully screened semianechoic chamber. Heart rate, skin conductance, and blood pressure readings provided objective indices of short-term physiological response. Visual analog scales and symptom scales provided subjective indices of well-being.Results: We found no differences on any measure between TETRA and sham (no signal) under double-blind conditions for either controls or electrosensitive participants, and neither group could detect the presence of a TETRA signal at rates greater than chance (50%). When conditions were not double blind, however, the self-reported electrosensitive individuals did report feeling worse and experienced more severe symptoms during TETRA compared with sham.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the adverse symptoms experienced by electrosensitive individuals are due to the belief of harm from TETRA base stations rather than to the low-level EMF exposure itself.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | electromagnetic fields; electromagnetic hypersensitivity; electrosensitivity; idiopathic environmental intolerance; mobile phone |
Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering |
Divisions: | Faculty of Science and Health Faculty of Science and Health > Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, School of Faculty of Science and Health > Psychology, Department of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 07 Sep 2011 13:19 |
Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 19:45 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/77 |
Available files
Filename: ehp.0901416.pdf
Description: Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives