SUBJECT:  EMF's - 50 hz. GENOTOXIC.....

WILEY INTERSCIENCE  -

Environmental Toxicology

Volume 20, Issue 6 , Pages 585 - 591

Published Online: 21 Nov 2005

Copyright © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Genotoxic effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MF) evaluated by the Tradescantia-micronucleus assay

Cristina Fatigoni, Luca Dominici, Massimo Moretti ^*, Milena Villarini, Silvano Monarca

Department of Medical-Surgical Specialities and Public Health, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, I-06126 Perugia (Italy)

email: Massimo Moretti (massimo.moretti@unipg.it)

Keywords

extremely low frequency magnetic fields • ELF-MF • Tradescantia-micronucleus assay • Trad-MN test • genotoxicity

Abstract

Extremely low frequency (ELF) electric fields (EF) and magnetic fields (MF) are generated during the production, transmission, and use of electrical energy. Although epidemiology studies suggest that there is a cancer risk associated with exposure to ELF-MF, short-term genotoxicity assays with bacteria and mammalian cells have produced inconsistent results. In the present study, we investigated the possible genotoxicity of ELF-MF by using the Tradescantia-micronucleus (Trad-MN) assay, a sensitive, reproducible, well-standardized assay for genotoxicity testing. A 50 Hz ELF-MF was generated by a laboratory exposure system consisting of a pair of parallel coils in a Helmholtz configuration. Exposure of Tradescantia (clone # 4430) inflorescences to the ELF-MF, at a flux density (B) corresponding to 1 mT, for 1, 6, and 24 h resulted in a time-dependent increase in MN frequency. The results indicate that a 50 Hz MF of 1 mT field strength is genotoxic in the Trad-MN bioassay and suggest that this assay may be suitable as a biomonitor for detecting the genotoxicity of ELF-MF in the field. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 20: 585-591, 2005.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)