Abstract
Living beings permanently receive electromagnetic radiation, particularly from extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs), which may cause adverse health effects. In this work, we studied the in vivo cytotoxic effects of exposing BALB/c mice to 60 Hz and 8.8 µT EMFs during 72 h and 240 h in a switchyard area, using animals exposed to 60 Hz and 2.0 mT EMFs or treated with 5 mg/kg mitomycin C (MMC) as positive controls. Micronucleus (MN) frequency and male germ cell analyses were used as cytological endpoints. ELF-EMF exposure was observed to significantly (p < 0.05) increase MN frequency at all conditions tested, with the 2 mT/72 h treatment causing the highest response, as compared with untreated control. In addition, increased sperm counts were observed after switchyard area ELF-EMF exposure, as compared with untreated control. In contrast, low sperm counts were obtained for 72 h/2.0 mT-exposed animals and for MMC-treated mice (p < 0.05), without altering male germ cell morphological characteristics.
Highlights
Electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields derive from nature
Modern electrical devices and power lines have increased the levels of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, including extremely-low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs)
The following treatment regimens were considered: (1) 72 h continuous 8.8 μT ELF-EMF exposure in the switchyard area, (2) 240 h continuous 8.8 μT ELF-EMF exposure in the switchyard area, (3) animals treated with 2.0 mT for 72 h continuous exposure in a standardized solenoid, (4) animals injected i.p. with 5 mg/kg mitomycin C (MMC), and (5) untreated animals
Summary
Magnetic, and electromagnetic fields derive from nature. Modern electrical devices and power lines have increased the levels of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, including extremely-low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs). It has been demonstrated that living in a major metropolitan region increases three times exposure to environmental EMFs at least three-fold compared with the exposure of organisms living in suburban or rural areas [1], the degree depends on the proximity and time of exposure to a radiation source. Knowledge of ELF-EMFs’ interaction with life is progressing in many areas [2]. The increasing amount of research related to the evaluation of magnetic fields’ cytotoxic and genotoxic effects led researchers to consider the potential risk associated with this exposure. ELF-EMFs are designated as “likely carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [3] and some have reported relationships between ELF-EMFs and DNA damage [4,5,6,7], but others have conflicting results [8,9,10,11]
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