There is quite a lot of activity in Europe on EMFs. We gather together here information on what is happening on several different fronts, such as exposure limits for the public and workers and reviews of the science by the Commission and the Parliament. The Commission also provide an overview of European activity.
Exposure limits for the public
The EU issued a Recommendation on exposures for the public in 1999. See more details in the section on exposure lmits.
The EU has compiled a report on the status of the EU Recommendation in the various countries of Europe followed up by a second report in 2008.
Exposure limits for workers
The EU passed a Directive setting exposure limits for workers in 2004. They then delayed the implementation to allow it to be revised, and that revision is now taking place.
Scientific opinion of the Commission
The most recent scientific opinion of the Commission on EMFs was produced as a draft for consultation in September 2006 and then adopted in final form in March 2007 by SCENIHR – the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly identified Health Risks. It was then updated in January 2009.
Their conclusion on power frequencies was:
“The previous conclusion that ELF fields are possibly carcinogenic, chiefly based on childhood leukaemia results, is still valid. There is no known mechanism to explain how electromagnetic field exposure may induce leukaemia. The effects have not been replicated in animal studies.”
and
“For breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, recent research has indicated that an association is unlikely. For neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumours, the link to ELF fields remains uncertain. No consistent relationship between ELF fields and self reported systems (sometimes referred to as electrical hypersensitivity) has been demonstrated.”
See here for full details and the previous opinion in October 2002 by CSTEE – the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment.
Scientific opinion of the European Parliament
The European Parliament passed a resolution on EMFs in 2009. The Commission then published a response.
Previously, STOA – Scientific and Technical Options Assessment – commissioned a report for the European Parliament on EMFs from Essor France in 1999. The Parliament then commissioned a supplementary report from Dr Gerald Hyland. That supplementary report was criticised heavily by various organisations, among them ICNIRP and Cost 244.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (a separate institution from the European Union) passed a resolution in May 2011 concerning EMFs.