Energy and Climate Change CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by The Heath Protection Agency
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is responsible for advising on the public health aspects of exposure to electromagnetic fields, including the radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (or radio waves) that are used for smart meter communications. HPA is aware of concerns about exposures to the radio waves from smart meters and has published an information sheet that can be found here:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/Radiation/UnderstandingRadiation/UnderstandingRadiationTopics/ElectromagneticFields/SmartMeters/
In considering HPA advice on this topic, it is important to understand that the health effects of exposures to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields have been researched and reviewed over several decades. There are very many original studies published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and also many review papers and reports that seek to draw-out consensus conclusions based on this whole body of evidence. The correct scientific approach to review such a large body of evidence impartially is to identify the weight of evidence towards or against adverse health effects occurring in a given exposure situation. This is the role of expert groups such as the HPA’s Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR), whose report you mention. A more selective review can pick out studies and reviews that support a particular perspective or interest but are not representative of the weight of evidence as a whole.
Radio communications technologies have developed apace in the past 20 years, although we have all been exposed to radio and TV signals for much longer. Newer sources such as microwave ovens, VDU workstations, mobile phones and their transmitter masts, cordless phones, Wi-Fi equipment, and now smart meters, have all attracted public concern and enquiries about health effects over the years. Research has been undertaken to address these concerns and this is most evident in the case of mobile phones. It is established that exposures when making calls with mobile phones held to the head are much higher than exposures from other sources, and coordinated international research has been undertaken in recent years to investigate whether health effects can occur. AGNIR reviewed the results of this research, which included studies from the UK undertaken under the auspices of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme, in its 2012 report.
It is well-known that health effects (due to heating) can occur at levels of exposure substantially above those to which the public is exposed during their everyday lives, and there are internationally agreed guidelines on limiting exposure that have been developed to prevent these effects. These guidelines are published by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), an independent scientific organisation formally recognised by the World Health Organization. The guidelines are used in the UK and many other countries, and they have been incorporated into a European Council Recommendation on limiting public exposures to electromagnetic fields.
The 2012 AGNIR review which you mentioned aimed to answer the question of whether the latest research had found health effects occurring below the ICNIRP guideline exposure levels. AGNIR’s main conclusion was that, although a substantial amount of research has been conducted in this area, there is no convincing evidence that radio wave exposures below the ICNIRP guideline levels cause health effects in adults or children.
The 2012 review from AGNIR follows an earlier 2003 review from AGNIR and a 2000 review from the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones. Prior to these reports and up to 2005, the former National Radiological Protection Board (now merged into HPA as CRCE) produced several review reports going back at least as far as the early 1990s. References can be supplied to these earlier publications. However, the most important reference for the Inquiry to consider is indeed the 2012 AGNIR review, as here.
http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1317133826368
In addition, the Inquiry should consider the HPA response to the AGNIR review, as here.
http://www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/Radiation/HPAResponseStatementsOnRadiationTopics/radresp_AGNIR2012/
The HPA is committed to continuing to monitor the scientific evidence on this subject and will ensure another formal review is undertaken once sufficient new evidence has accumulated. HPA will be conducting independent assessments of exposures from smart meters in the UK as the technology is rolled out, working closely with DECC to identify the relevant technologies. The results will be published.
The HPA is aware of and cognisant of the contents of both the Bioinitiative Reports and of many other reports. The HPA recognises the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as international expert bodies that, together with the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR), carry out and publish multidisciplinary scientific reviews. These reviews, together with information from other reports and more generally from the scientific literature, inform HPA’s judgement on exposure restrictions and, where appropriate, the possible need for further precaution.
February 2013