Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure of Western Honey Bees

2020 · Unclear · Moderate evidence

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UnclearModerate evidencePaper 1616

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020

Study typeexposure_assessment

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingModerate

Abstract

Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure of Western Honey Bees Thielens A, Greco MK, Verloock L, Martens L, Joseph W. Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure of Western Honey Bees. Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 16;10(1):461. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56948-0. Abstract Radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) can be absorbed in all living organisms, including Western Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera). This is an ecologically and economically important global insect species that is continuously exposed to environmental RF-EMFs. This exposure is studied numerically and experimentally in this manuscript. To this aim, numerical simulations using honey bee models, obtained using micro-CT scanning, were implemented to determine RF absorbed power as a function of frequency in the 0.6 to 120 GHz range. Five different models of honey bees were obtained and simulated: two workers, a drone, a larva, and a queen. The simulations were combined with in-situ measurements of environmental RF-EMF exposure near beehives in Belgium in order to estimate realistic exposure and absorbed power values for honey bees. Our analysis shows that a relatively small shift of 10% of environmental incident power density from frequencies below 3 GHz to higher frequencies will lead to a relative increase in absorbed power of a factor higher than 3. Conclusions Exposure of Western Honey Bees (apis mellifera) to radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields was studied using a combination of in-situ exposure measurements near bee hives in Belgium and numerical simulations. The simulations use the finite-difference time-domain technique to determine the electromagnetic fields in and around five honey bee models exposed to plane waves at frequencies from 0.6 GHz up to 120 GHz. These simulations lead to a quantification of the whole-body averaged absorbed radio-frequency power (Pabs) as a function of frequency. The average Pabs increases by factors 16 to 121, depending on the considered phantom, when the frequency is increased from 0.6 GHz to 6 GHz for a fixed incident electric field strength. A relatively small decrease in Pabs is observed for all studied honey bees between 12 and 120 GHz. RF exposure measurements were executed on ten sites near five different locations with bee hives in Belgium. These measurements resulted in an average total incident RF field strength of 0.06 V/m, which was in excellent agreement with literature. This value was used to assess Pabs for those honey bees at those measurement sites. A realistic Pabs is estimated to be between 0.1 and 0.7 nW for the studied honey bee models. Assuming that 10% of the incident power density would shift to frequencies higher than 3 GHz would lead to an increase of this absorption between 390-570%. Such a shift in frequencies is expected in future networks. Open access paper: nature.com

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeexposure_assessment

Effect directionunclear

PopulationWestern honey bees (Apis mellifera): two workers, a drone, a larva, and a queen; environmental measurements near beehives in Belgium

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF

Evidence strengthModerateConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Finite-difference time-domain simulations (0.6–120 GHz) combined with in-situ measurements near beehives in Belgium estimated realistic whole-body averaged absorbed RF power (Pabs) of ~0.1–0.7 nW for the modeled honey bees at measured sites. For a fixed incident electric field strength, average Pabs increased by factors 16–121 when frequency increased from 0.6 to 6 GHz, with a relatively small decrease in Pabs between 12 and 120 GHz. The measured average total incident RF field strength was 0.06 V/m, and modeling suggested that shifting 10% of incident power density from <3 GHz to >3 GHz could increase absorption by ~390–570% (factor >3).

Outcomes measured

Whole-body averaged absorbed RF power (Pabs) as a function of frequency (0.6–120 GHz)
Incident RF field strength near beehives (V/m)
Estimated realistic absorbed power (nW)
Modeled change in absorbed power with a shift of incident power density to >3 GHz

Limitations

Health/biological effects were not reported; study focuses on exposure/absorption quantification
Environmental measurements described as near beehives in Belgium; generalizability to other settings not stated
Only five honey bee models (two workers, drone, larva, queen) were simulated

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "exposure_assessment",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "environmental (near beehives)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Western honey bees (Apis mellifera): two workers, a drone, a larva, and a queen; environmental measurements near beehives in Belgium",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Whole-body averaged absorbed RF power (Pabs) as a function of frequency (0.6–120 GHz)",
    "Incident RF field strength near beehives (V/m)",
    "Estimated realistic absorbed power (nW)",
    "Modeled change in absorbed power with a shift of incident power density to >3 GHz"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Finite-difference time-domain simulations (0.6–120 GHz) combined with in-situ measurements near beehives in Belgium estimated realistic whole-body averaged absorbed RF power (Pabs) of ~0.1–0.7 nW for the modeled honey bees at measured sites. For a fixed incident electric field strength, average Pabs increased by factors 16–121 when frequency increased from 0.6 to 6 GHz, with a relatively small decrease in Pabs between 12 and 120 GHz. The measured average total incident RF field strength was 0.06 V/m, and modeling suggested that shifting 10% of incident power density from <3 GHz to >3 GHz could increase absorption by ~390–570% (factor >3).",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "Health/biological effects were not reported; study focuses on exposure/absorption quantification",
    "Environmental measurements described as near beehives in Belgium; generalizability to other settings not stated",
    "Only five honey bee models (two workers, drone, larva, queen) were simulated"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "moderate",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radio-frequency",
    "RF-EMF",
    "Apis mellifera",
    "honey bee",
    "absorbed power",
    "Pabs",
    "finite-difference time-domain",
    "FDTD",
    "micro-CT",
    "in-situ measurements",
    "Belgium",
    "0.6–120 GHz",
    "mmWave"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.4,
      "reason": "Models absorption changes with a shift of incident power density to frequencies >3 GHz and includes 0.6–120 GHz (including higher-frequency future networks)."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56948-0
PubMed: Not supplied

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