Wi-Fi, GSM signals, DECT, mobile telephony and extremely low frequencies: the ISSeP is looking for volunteers to take part in a study aimed at improving knowledge of the possible links between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the symptoms of electrosensitivity. A new laboratory dedicated to this study has just been inaugurated at the Liège site.
In this period of confinement conducive to widespread teleworking, a number of people remain hypersensitive to electromagnetic fields, even if, according to a survey carried out by ISSeP, few of them claim to have experienced a significant increase in the symptoms affecting them.
As part of the implementation of the ENVIeS plan, ISSeP is carrying out a study aimed at improving knowledge of electromagnetic field hypersensitivity (EHF) by investigating possible links between people’s exposure to electromagnetic fields and the onset of various symptoms. The symptoms reported are diverse and non-specific, such as migraines, tinnitus, fatigue, skin rashes, difficulties in concentrating or memorizing, and so on.
The ENVI-EHS project, funded by the SPW ARNE and coordinated by ISSeP, complements and integrates the ExpoComm study funded by the Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (ANSES, France), which is developing and evaluating an innovative protocol incorporating provocation tests (random alternation between exposure and non-exposure sessions, known as “challenge tests”). sham) double-blind (neither the subject nor the observer present knows whether the subject is exposed or not). One of the innovative aspects of this study is the inclusion of people with self-declared hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields in the development of the test protocol. The first challenge tests were carried out on these people on the premises of Sciensano, the ExpoComm project coordinator.
ENVI-EHS aims to reinforce the existing system by duplicating the Tervuren facility in Liège, on the ISSeP site, and to continue recruiting volunteers. The new facilities in Liège should enable us to increase the number of provocation tests, thereby increasing the statistical power of the study.
This alternative location will enable study participants to choose a site closer to their place of residence, which should help reduce the duration of exposure to electromagnetic fields during their travels.
The tests are based on the protocol developed during the ExpoComm project. Subjects’ exposure is generated by sources usually encountered in everyday life:
- 2G, 3G and 4G cell phone relay antennas: the signal from nearby antennas is picked up and retransmitted to the exposure room to approximate actual exposure conditions;
- a Wi-Fi hotspot;
- a DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) base station used for fixed wireless telephony;
- an alternating current source at a frequency of 50 Hz.
Eventually, ISSeP could also offer a regular HSE assessment service for the citizen, possibly adapting the challenge protocol to the needs of the requester.
Call for volunteers:
ISSeP is looking for adults who consider themselves hypersensitive to electromagnetic fields, and who can make themselves available from December this year for 4 to 13 test sessions. A session lasts between 30 and 120 minutes.
The Institute also calls on people who do not define themselves as electro-hypersensitive, either because they do not manifest particular symptoms on a recurring basis, or because these symptoms are not attributed to exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Results are expected by the end of 2021.
Contact to volunteer for the study :
Maryse LEDENT
Tel: (0)2 642 54 36
Mail: maryse.ledent@sciensano.be