Shielding methods and products against man-made Electromagnetic Fields: Protection versus risk

Sci Total Environ · 2019 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1882

Study snapshot

PublicationSci Total Environ · 2019

Study typereview

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Shielding methods and products against man-made Electromagnetic Fields: Protection versus risk Panagopoulos DJ, Chrousos GP. Shielding methods and products against man-made Electromagnetic Fields: Protection versus risk. Sci Total Environ. 2019 Feb 23;667:255-262. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.344. Highlights • Human exposure to man-made EMFs has increased with increasing health problems. • Metal shielding is lately suggested by private companies/individuals as a way to reduce exposure. • Metal shielding reduces both man-made and natural atmospheric EMFs. • EHS symptom relapses and internal desynchronization are reported after shielding. • An avoidance strategy of man-made EMFs should be preferable than metal shielding. Abstract Human exposure to man-made Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) has increased to unprecedented levels, accompanied by increase in various health problems. A connection has been indicated by an increasing number of studies. Symptoms characterized as Electro-hyper-sensitivity (EHS) are frequently reported especially in urban environments. Lately, people are advised by private companies and individuals to protect themselves from man- made EMFs by metal shielding through various products, for which there are reasonable concerns about their protective efficacy and safety. Indeed, any metal shielding practice, even when correctly applied, attenuates not only man-made totally polarized EMFs accused for the health problems, but also the natural non-polarized EMFs responsible for the biological rhythmicity and well-being of all animals. Strong evidence on this was provided by pioneering experiments in the 1960's and 1970's, with volunteers staying in a shielded underground apartment. We analyze the physical principles of EMF-shielding, the importance of natural atmospheric EMFs, and examine available shielding methods and suggested products, relying on science-based evidence. We suggest that an avoidance strategy is safer than shielding, and provide specific protection tips. We do not reject shielding in general, but describe ways to keep it at a minimum by intermittent use, as this is theoretically safer than extensive permanent shielding. We explain why metallic patches or "chips" or minerals claimed by sellers to be protective, do not seem to make sense and might even be risky. We finally suggest urgent research on the safety and efficacy of shielding methods combined with use of generators emitting weak pulses of similar frequency, intensity, and waveform with the natural atmospheric resonances. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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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 typereview

Effect directionmixed

PopulationHumans; discussion includes volunteers in prior shielded underground apartment experiments

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 88% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

This review analyzes physical principles of EMF shielding, the role of natural atmospheric EMFs, and available shielding methods/products. The authors argue that shielding may reduce both man-made and natural EMFs, suggest avoidance is safer than extensive permanent shielding, and state that metallic patches, chips, or minerals marketed as protective do not appear scientifically justified and may pose risk.

Outcomes measured

Protective efficacy and safety of metal EMF shielding methods/products
Electro-hyper-sensitivity (EHS) symptoms
Potential effects of reducing exposure to natural atmospheric EMFs relevant to biological rhythmicity and well-being

Limitations

Review/opinion-style article rather than a primary human trial
Does not provide new sample-based effect estimates in the abstract
Claims rely on prior studies and theoretical/physical arguments summarized in the review

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "review",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "other",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Humans; discussion includes volunteers in prior shielded underground apartment experiments",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Protective efficacy and safety of metal EMF shielding methods/products",
    "Electro-hyper-sensitivity (EHS) symptoms",
    "Potential effects of reducing exposure to natural atmospheric EMFs relevant to biological rhythmicity and well-being"
  ],
  "main_findings": "This review analyzes physical principles of EMF shielding, the role of natural atmospheric EMFs, and available shielding methods/products. The authors argue that shielding may reduce both man-made and natural EMFs, suggest avoidance is safer than extensive permanent shielding, and state that metallic patches, chips, or minerals marketed as protective do not appear scientifically justified and may pose risk.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Review/opinion-style article rather than a primary human trial",
    "Does not provide new sample-based effect estimates in the abstract",
    "Claims rely on prior studies and theoretical/physical arguments summarized in the review"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.88,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "EMF shielding",
    "metal shielding",
    "electro-hyper-sensitivity",
    "EHS",
    "natural atmospheric EMFs",
    "avoidance strategy",
    "protective products",
    "risk"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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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: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.344
PubMed: Not supplied

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