|  COST 281 Newsflash
- August 3rd, 2007:
Application for New COST Action On 27 July 2007 a full proposal for a new COST Action was submitted to COST by Dr. Alastair McKinlay, HPA, and Dr. Gerd Friedrich, FGF.
Title of Proposal: `Emerging EMF Technologies and Health Risk Management`
We will keep you informed about progress on this website. At this stage everybody is invited to express his interest to join the Action in case of its approval (wernze@fgf.de). Each interested party will be informed about progress by mail.
For further information, please, contact Dr. Gerd Friedrich, friedrich@fgf.de
Download Abstract of Proposal
- July 4th, 2007:
Workshop in Stuttgart, Germany on November 5th to 7th, 2007
''Sleep Disorders, EEG-Changes, Altered Cognitive Functions - Is there a Connection with the Exposure to Mobile Communication RF Fields?'' Scientific Workshop organized by the FGF (Forschungsgemeinschaft Funk e.V.; Research Association for Radio Applications) in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
The workshop topics will include sleep research as well as influences of RF fields on the EEG of awake persons, on cognitive functions such as reaction time and behavioral parameters, and on regional blood flow in human brain regions. Of special interest is the repeatedly reported effect of pulsed - but not continuous wave - RF fields on EEG and cognitive functions, at least from the results of one research group. Additionally, a main part of the workshop is dedicated to the progress in dosimetry for human laboratory as well as epidemiological studies.
For more information, please download the scope
- February 21st, 2007:
Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 7th to 9th, 2007
''South African Mobile Phone Symposium'' The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and Finnish STUK - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority are organizing a South African Mobile Phone Symposium dealing with: "Mobile Telephony and its Relation to Health, Compliance with Standards, Standards & Precaution". The Symposium will be chaired by Dariusz Leszczynski (Finland) and Zen Fourie (South Africa). Symposium rapporteurs will be Dariusz Leszczynski, Zen Fourie and Niels Kuster. Top experts in the field of bioelectromagnetics and safety standards will present series of invited talks. Two panel discussions will give the possibility for thorough evaluation of the present status of health related research and safety standards. All participants will be given the opportunity to present their own research in poster format.
For more information please contact:
- science and program issues - Dariusz Leszczynski dariusz.leszczynski@stuk.fi
- registration and accommodation - Ms. Verna Schutte schuttev@sabs.co.za
Program and further informations you will find here.
- December 5th, 2006:
Workshop in Budapest, Hungary on July 2007, 1-5
'16th IST Mobile and Wireless Communications Summit' The Department of Broadband Infocommunications and Electromagnetic Theory of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and the Scientific Association for Infocommunications, Hungary (HTE) cordially invite you to participate in the 16th IST Mobile and Wireless Communications Summit that will be held 15 July, 2007 at the University Congress Centre of Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. The 16th IST Mobile and Wireless Communications Summit is a major conference organized annually in Europe, sponsored by the European Commission. In 2007 it will be held in Budapest, capital of Hungary. It is the first time that the Summit goes to a CentralEuropean country, new member state of the European Union.
One of the aims of the Summit is to give a report on the progress achieved in European research projects in the field of mobile and wireless communications in Information Society Technologies. However, being an open call conference it is by no means limited to these projects. A second aim is to give a forum for researchers, service providers and regulators from all over the world to present their results and to exchange their views. Besides of technical results and progress, technoeconomic, regulatory and security issues form also part of Summit’s topic. Authors are invited to submit highquality full papers representing original results in all areas of wireless communications systems and networks, mobile and fixed, terrestrial, satellite and HAP. Fully reviewed papers accepted by the TPC are either for oral or for poster presentation. However, this decision is based on what is more appropriate for the very paper and by no means on its quality; papers accepted as posters are not at all of “lower rank”.
More informations you will find here or at the official website www.mobilesummit2007.org
- November 23rd, 2006:
Joint Workshop in Tokyo, Japan on November 2006, 14-15
'Int. Workshop on Radio Frequency (RF) and Health' The workshop was organized by the japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The purpose of the workshop was the exchange of informations and opinions regarding each country´s policies and research activities on RF and health. In succession of the workshop held 2005 in Seoul, Korea, they discussed guidelines and standards. There were speakers from different continents (Japan, Korea, USA and Europe) who has given their presentations.
NEW 24.11.2006: Download Presentations
- October 30th, 2006:
COST Action 281: Final Presentation in Brussels on November 17th, 2006
COST Action 281 started in 2001 and has run out in September 2006. All members of COST 281 have made valuable contributions to the still ongoing debate on Electromagnetic Fields and have themselves endeavoured to put the discussion in perspective. COST Action 281 did not only react, but also acted as a neutral and impartial authority in the field of EMF and has served as platform for exchanging scientific results and experience.
At the end of the Action COST 281 will present its past activities to the national representatives of its 26 member states, EU-representatives and to stakeholders in the field of EMF. Experts will give an overview about the topics COST 281 dealt with and an outlook for the future.
The final meeting will take place in Brussels on November 17th, 2006.
Download Preliminary Agenda
NEW 22.11.2006: Download Presentations
- October 25th, 2006:
Workshop in Stuttgart, Germany on November 27th to 29th, 2006
''Do children represent an especially sensitive group of EMF exposed people? State of Research'' The workshop will take place in Stuttgart, Germany from November 27-29. Of central importance will be the question if children and pregnant women represent an especially sensitive group as to exposure in radiofrequent electromagnetic fields. Many scientific reports and statements have been published on this problem. The state of the art in this area had been presented for the last time at the WHO Workshop 2004 in Istanbul. At the FGF workshop current ongoing and planned investigations will be presented and the specific demand for other projects will be defined.
Prefaced by an introduction in child development and risk assessment for children and pregnant women the workshop will have four main parts:
- Dosimetry
- Epidemiology
- Animal and in vitro studies
- Volunteer studies
This workshop is mainly by invitation and has a limited number of participants. Nevertheless, you are invited to send an abstract for presentation or to declare your interest for participation. Deadline for application is November, 3rd
For any information please contact Lutz Haberland, University of Rostock/FGF, e-mail: lutz.haberland@uni-rostock.de
Download Scope
Download Program & Abstractbook
Download single abstracts
NEW 18.12.2006: Download Presentations
- October 10th, 2006:
Erice School in Sicily, Italy on November 19th-25th, 2006
''Mechanisms of interaction between electromagnetic fields and biological systems'' The third Course of the School will cover different aspects of interaction mechanisms between electromagnetic fields and biological systems, including a discussion on their implications for in vivo and in vitro studies. All areas of interest will be covered by lectures, seminars, and discussions where senior scientists will share with participants their own experience. Round tables on specific items will be organised jointly with the European Coordination Action EMF-NET.
The deadline for sending the requests of participation to the School is October 13th, 2006.
For details about the Ettore Majorana Centre: www.ccsem.infn.it
The preliminary programme you will find "here".
- August 8th, 2006:
Seminar in Ljubljana, Slovenia / Zagreb, Croatia on September 2006,13-15
''Int. Seminar on Electromagnetic Fields and special Workshop on Interlaboratory comparison'' The workshop is organized by COST 281, EMF NET, Forum EMS, Institute of Non-Ionizing Radiation, University of Zagreb, CIOP-PIB, Poland, University of Ljubljana
In the last three decades, the use of devices that emit electromagnetic fields (EMF) has increased dramatically. The proliferation of EMF devices has been accompanied by increased concern about ensuring the safety of their use. Throughout the world many organizations, both government and non-government, have established health and safety standards or guidelines for exposure assessment. Thus, accurate dosimetry represents an essential element of the research in determining the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. The necessity to perform EMF dosimetry is clear, but it brings along some unresolved issues. The seminar is covering the state of the science in the numerical and experimental dosimetry, exposure assessment and problems in assessment of the corresponding uncertainty. It is extremely important to assess the uncertainty of the results due to the compliance requirements of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2004/40/EC.
The aim of the EMF seminar is a proactive discussion of upcoming issues of human exposure assessment to reassure high-quality of the assessment and reliable results, which can further on contribute to the needed human health protecting strategies.
The seminar is organized in following areas: numerical and experimental methods oriented to deal with uncertainty, exposure assessment in environment and workplaces, standardization, legislation and accreditation. The invited speakers with long international reputation will present the newest state-of-the-science and real-world practice. The participants are invited to present their in-situ experiences on the seminar via posters in the poster session, as well as during workshop and round table.
Special Workshop on Interlaboratory comparison:
Please read the draft document of the interlaboratory protocolt. The 1st global interlab comparison of labs performing human exposure assessment. The interlab comparison will allow us to estimate uncertainty of performing such measurements, which are of vital importance in estimation of possible hazard of electromagnetic fields.
Within the frame of the international EMF seminar a special workshop on inter-laboratory comparisons will be organized in harmonization with requirements of the standard ISO EN 17025 (2005). The laboratories, which are already or want to be accredited in the area of human exposure assesment will get special certificates by the internationally recognized accreditation body.
All the participants are invited to present their work in the poster session, by showing the results of their performed exposure assessment.
More informations you will find "here" or at the official website EMF 2006
NEW 16.10.2006: Download Abstracts here , Download Presentations here
- November 14th, 2005:
COST 281 Workshop in Graz, Austria on April, 20th-21st, 2006
''Emerging Technologies, Potential Sensitive Groups and Health'' The initially market penetration of mobile telephony is going to involve more and more usersacross all groups of the general population. However, the process is not yet over. The dramatic speed of development of new and emerging technologies is still ongoing and will soon offer new opportunities and services. Conventional speech communication is going to be added by applications with intense data transfer such as video communicating including internet access any time everywhere. This will result in a change of the usage pattern such as site of exposure, frequency and duration of use, and of exposure signatures such as EMF signal structure, time course, frequency and frequency bandwidth. Emerging technologies are going to involve nearly everybody of the population including potential sensitive groups such as children, pregnants, in partcular their fetus, patients and elderly persons. Telemedicine will enable to telemonitor patients with potential increased vulnerability due to their illness and/ or drug treatment.
Therefore, timely scientific investigation of health-relevant aspects becomes more and more important to fill lacks of knowledge prior to market penetration and give advice to different stakeholders such as health authorities, manufacturers and the public.
The scope and 1st Call for Papers you will find here.
Deadline for abstracts is January 5th, 2006
More informations you will find on the website of the TU Graz
NEW! May 5th, 2006:The presentations of the workshop you will find here.
- October 28th, 2005:
Workshop in Stuttgart, Germany on November 21st to 23rd, 2005
''Subtle Thermal Effects of RF-fields in vitro and in vivo'' FGF, the German Research Association for Radio Application, in cooperation with COST 281 and State Ministry of Environment and Transport, Baden-Württemberg (Germany) is organizing a closed scientific workshop in Stuttgart, Germany. The topics will focus on an analysis of the differences between thermal and non-thermal effects of RF-fields and will include:
1. Thermoregulation: molecular and physiological aspects
2. Subtle thermal effects of in-vitro experiments with RF-fields
3. Possibility of generation of subtle thermal effects in RF-experiments with animals and human volunteers.
For more details, please see the scope of the workshop.
Invited experts will give an overview on thermoreception and thermoregulatory processes from the level of molecular biology to that of the whole body, as well as the impact of weak RF-fields. Additionally, a few presentations will be selected from submitted abstracts by a scientific committee.
Please be aware that the total number of participants is limited to 56 persons. Acceptance emails will be send in Mid-October.
Contact: Lutz Haberland, University of Rostock/FGF, e-mail: lutz.haberland@uni-rostock.de
The scope, the agenda, the program and the abstractbook you will find here.
NEW January 25th: The rapporteurs reports you will find here.
NEW December 6th: All presentations of the workshop you will find here.
- October 27th, 2005:
Workshop in Seoul, Korea on November 7th-8th, 2005
'Int. Workshop on Mobile Telephony and Health' The workshop was onganized by Korea electromagnetic engineering society and was hosted by korean Ministry of information and communication.
There were speakers from different continents (Japan, USA, Korea, South-Africa, Australia and Europe) who has given their presentations.
All talks you will find here: "► Go to download"
- October 26th, 2005:
Workshop in Helsinki, Finland on October 30th to November 1st, 2005
''Application of Proteomics and Transcriptomics in EMF Research'' The workshop is organized by WHO, STUK Finland, FGF, COST 281, URSI Commission K, ICES, and VerUm Foundation
In spite of years of research, there is still uncertainty about whether the various biological effects produced by low-energy EMF pose either a health benefit or a potential health risk. In the area of long term effects, the vast majority of research has focused on the possibility of induction of genotoxicity, mutations, and cancer. At the same time, there continues discussion on whether or not EMF could induce some weak effects that, although not able to induce clinical disease, could induce effects detrimental to the quality of life. This could include such symptoms as sleep-disorders, headaches etc. There is also the possibility that the effects could lead to health benefits. Even when biological effects have been reported, the biophysical mechanisms behind their occurrence are unknown. Thus far, the hypothesis driven studies have been too specific to determine all the possible effects of EMF. The use of the high-throughput screening techniques (HTST) of proteomics and transcriptomics (so called 'Discovery Science') have been proposed as a useful approach to determine all possible biological targets of EMF on the sub-cellular level.
Two and a half days of open sessions where invited speakers will present papers on the above topics. The list of invited speakers will consist of several experts in the field of HTST methods and of several EMF researchers who are already applying HTST methods in screening for EMF biological effects. Ample discussion time will be provided.
The final program and abstractbook for the workshop is now available. "► Go to download"
The presentations you will find here "► Go to download"
NEW March 15th, 2006: The final report you will find "here"
- October 25th, 2005:
9th MCM and COST-Workshop in Trondheim, Norway on October 3rd to 5th, 2005
''Potential Impact of Abdominal RF-Exposure on Human Reproduction'' The 9th Management Committee Meeting of COST 281 took place in Trondheim, Norway, October 3rd – 4th, 2005. As always, a workshop was connected with the MCM, this time split in two parts: “Biological Aspects of EMF-exposure to TETRA Systems” (Oct 3rd) and “Potential Impact of Abdominal RF-Exposure on Human Reproduction” (Oct 4th).
All presentations which were given at the second day in Trondheim you will find here.
- October 24th, 2005:
9th MCM and COST-Workshop in Trondheim, Norway on October 3rd to 5th, 2005
''Biological Aspects of EMF-Exposure to TETRA Systems'' The 9th Management Committee Meeting of COST 281 took place in Trondheim, Norway, October 3rd – 4th, 2005. As always, a workshop was connected with the MCM, this time split in two parts: “Biological Aspects of EMF-exposure to TETRA Systems” (Oct 3rd) and “Potential Impact of Abdominal RF-Exposure on Human Reproduction” (Oct 4th). For more details please see the scope.
All presentations which were given at the first day in Trondheim you will find here.
- October 13th, 2005:
Volume with documentation of FGF Workshops A summary of the FGF Workshops held in cooperation with the “Berufsgenossenschaft der Feinmechanik und Elektrotechnik” (Professional association of precision mechanics and electrical engineering) and COST 281, that means of the lectures given at this workshop, has now been published in a printed booklet in English and can be ordered from the FGF office free of charge.
The workshops were the following:
- “Genetic and cytogenetic aspects of RF-field interaction“
in Löwenstein in November 2002
- “The BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER –can it be influenced by RF”
in Reisenburg in November 2003
- “Can EMF used in mobile communication provoke sleep disorders a. o.”
in Immenstaad in December 2003
Send an email with complete postal address to info@fgf.de
- September 13th, 2005:
Erice School in Sicily, Italy on October 3rd-9th, 2005
''Electromagnetic Fields and Genotoxicity'' Topics in Bioelectromagnetics have come to Erice many times in the past, especially in the 1980s, with international courses and workshops on non-ionising radiation, and today many participants of those courses contribute greatly to the development of this research field.
Following the request of the European Bioelectromagnetics Association (EBEA) and the Inter-University Centre for the study of the Interaction between Electromagnetic Fields and Biosystems (ICEmB), in 2003 the Ettore Majorana Centre has established a Permanent School of Bioelectromagnetics, named after Alessandro Chiabrera, who is considered as a master by the young scientists of the two organizations.
For more details please see the scope.
- January 11th, 2005:
Workshop in Zurich, Switzerland on February 17-18, 2005
''Do sinusoidal versus non-sinusoidal waveforms make a difference?'' The purpose of the workshop is to examine already existing and emerging new technologies.
The COST 281 Workshop is organized in connection with the EMC 05 Symposium (http://www.emc-zurich.ch/). The Symposium and Technical Exhibition is held at the main building of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (http://www.ethz.ch) Zurich (ETHZ), Rämistrasse 101, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland.
NEW 2.3.2005: All presentations of the speakers you will find "► here".
Download Abstract Book "► here".
- October 22nd, 2004:
Workshop in Schriesheim (near Heidelberg), Germany, on November 15-17, 2004
''Are RF-fields able to raise the risk of cancer?'' The scientific workshop hosted by the FGF in cooperation with COST 281 and the State Ministry of Environment and Transport, Baden-Württemberg organises a closed, non-public workshop for invited attendees.
The purpose of the workshop is to bring together representatives of the working groups which recently have presented publications on this topic, and offer them the possibility of discussing their results.
Detailed information including the Draft Agenda, the Abstract Book and the Program you will find here.
All single abstracts which were presented you will find here.
All the presentations of the speakers are now available: "► Go to download".
The rapporteurs reports of epidemiology and in vivo you will find here.
NEW 14.4.2005 The rapporteurs report on epidemiological investigations was changed, because some discussions were included that occured at the last day of the workshop when the first version of the report was already delivered to the organizers. Additionally you can find a new folder "Comments and Discussion" including a comment by Sheila Johnston and Hagen Scherb. These documents are now available for download ► here.
- October 15th, 2004:
Joint workshop WHO-EMF/ COST 281 on November 8th - 9th, 2004 in Ljubljana:
''From Bioeffects to Legislation'' A panel of recognized international experts has been assembled to present state of the science in the field of EMF, to promote scientific background of the EMF guidelines, discuss the different models for EMF standards in new EU member states and their possible harmonization and universal model legislation.
All the presentations which were presented at the workshop are now available: "► Go to download"
- July 28th, 2004:
WHO Workshop in Prague, Czech Republic on October 25-27, 2004
''WHO workshop on Electrical Hypersensitivity'' Sensitivity to EMF has been given the general name “Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity” or EHS. It comprises nervous system symptoms like headache, fatigue, stress, sleep disturbances, skin symptoms like prickling, burning sensations and rashes, pain and ache in muscles and many other health problems. Whatever its cause, EHS is a real and sometimes a disabling problem for the affected persons, while the level of EMF in their neighbourhood is usually no greater than is encountered in normal living environments. Their exposures are generally several orders of magnitude under the limits in internationally accepted standards. The aim of the conference is to review current state of knowledge and opinions of the conference participants and propose ways forward on this issue.
Deadline for Abstracts and Registration: August 31, 2004
For comprehensive information and online registration please visit the WHO Conference Website
- July 27th, 2004:
Joint workshop IEEE, ICES/ COST 281 on September 22nd - 24th, 2004:
''Thermal Physiology Workshop'' The primary goal of the workshop is to develop appropriate techniques for predicting the thermophysiological responses of human beings who are exposed to RF/MW fields at specific frequencies, field strengths, and field characteristics and to validate some predictions with existing human exposure data. A primary focus on RF/MW bioeffects, their dosimetry and prediction through modeling, would provide an enhancement of our capability to set science-based safety standards for human exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Updated! You will find detailed informations, agenda and registration form here.
- July 25th, 2004:
Workshop in Paris, France on September 20-21, 2004
''Workshop on RF Exposure assessment'' Wireless systems and cellular network in particular have seen intensive deployment. As a consequence the Radio Frequency exposure assessment has been intensively studied last years. Efforts have been carried out in line with the analysis of the compliance of such systems to the international guidelines or to design the “in vivo” and “in vitro” exposure systems used in biological researches. Nowadays the local assessment of RF exposure induced by base station, for general public but also in occupational area, the development of measurement system and protocol are intensively studied. The used of numerical technique have been developed and they are used to analyse the influence on the exposure of the morphology and the position of the body.
Presentations of the speakers you will find here.
NEW 11.11.2004: Minutes of the MCM you will find here.
- May 10th, 2004:
Workshop Presentations
All the documents and presentations which were presented at the COST/ FGF workshops are now available:
Workshop Helsinki: "Influence of RF Fields on the Expression of Stress Proteins" "► Go to download"
Workshop Thessaloniki: "Potential bioeffects of new technologies, in particular in the UHF range (300 MHz – 3 GHz)." "► Go to download"
Workshop Immenstaad: "Can electromagnetic fields used in mobile communications provoke sleep disorders and other cognitive changes?" "► Go to download"
Workshop Budapest: "Mobile Telecommunication and the Brain" "► Go to download"
Workshop Reisenburg: "The Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) - Can it be influenced by RF-field interactions?" "► Go to download"
Please note that the presentations, summaries and reports of previous workshops were still available at the "Document section"
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