Effects of Exposure to 5.8 GHz Electromagnetic Field on Micronucleus Formation, DNA Strand Breaks, and Heat Shock...

In the near future, electrification will be introduced to heavy-duty vehicles and passenger cars. However, the wireless power transfer (WPT) requires high energy levels, and the suitability of various types of WPT systems must be assessed. This paper describes a method for solving technical and safety issues associated with this technology. We exposed human corneal epithelial (HCE-T) cells derived from the human eye to 5.8-GHz electromagnetic fields for 24 h. We observed no statistically significant increase in micronucleus (MN) frequency in cells exposed to a 5.8-GHz field at 1 mW/cm² (the general public level in ICNIRP) relative to sham-exposed or incubator controls. Similarly, the DNA strand breaks, and the expression of heat shock protein (Hsp) Hsp27, Hsp70, and Hsp 90α exhibited no statistically significant effects as a result of exposure. These results indicate that the exposure to 5.8-GHz electromagnetic fields at 1 mW/cm² for 24 h has little or no effect on micronucleus formation, DNA strand breaks, and Hsp expression in human eye cells.