Electromagnetic hypersensitivity : proceedings, International Workshop on Electromagnetic Field Hypersensitivity, Prague, Czech Republic, October 25-27, 2004

Overview

A WHO workshop on Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity was held in Prague on October 25-27, 2004. This meeting was arranged in collaboration with the National Reference Laboratory for Non-Ionizing Radiation, Ministry of Health, Czech Republic and was cosponsored by the European Commission Coordinated Action EMF-NET and the Action COST 281 (Potential Health Implications from Mobile Communication Systems) within the European Framework for Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research.

Sensitivity to EMF has been given the general name “Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity” or EHS. It comprises nervous system symptoms like headache, fatigue, stress, sleep disturbances, skin symptoms like prickling, burning sensations and rashes, pain and ache in muscles and many other health problems. Whatever its cause, EHS is a real and sometimes a disabling problem for the affected persons. Their EMF exposure is generally several orders of magnitude under the limits of internationally accepted standards. The aim of the conference was to review the current state of knowledge and opinions of the conference participants and propose ways forward on this issue.

The meeting was conducted by the WHO International EMF Project as part of the scientific review process to determine biological and health effects from exposure to EMF. The purpose of these workshops is to bring together expert scientists so that established health effects and gaps in knowledge requiring further research can be identified.

EHS has been a particularly contentious issue for a number of years. There have been over 30 studies to determine if EHS symptoms are related to EMF exposure. The workshop and the papers in this proceedings provide up-to-date information on this issue. The editors thank all speakers to the workshop for their contribution to this proceeding