Published: 2026-05-30 | EMFSA

Radiation monitoring and preparedness is a critical focus area in global public health policy. On 23 May 2026, the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly approved the first global resolution on radiation and health, titled Radiation and health: strengthening global protection, preparedness and response.

This landmark resolution marks the first time Member States have agreed on a comprehensive international framework addressing both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.

The resolution highlights the importance of strengthening national systems for radiation protection, including improved exposure monitoring, workforce training, and integration of radiation risk management into broader public health and emergency preparedness frameworks. It emphasizes improving exposure monitoring as a core function of effective health protection systems.

Member States are also encouraged to ensure the safe and equitable use of radiation in medical applications, including imaging, radiotherapy, and radiopharmaceuticals. This includes strengthening regulatory oversight, quality assurance systems, and professional training.

A key priority of the resolution is addressing both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, reflecting the full spectrum of environmental, medical, occupational, and emergency-related exposure risks.

In addition, the resolution promotes stronger public communication, international cooperation, and evidence-based policymaking to improve global preparedness and reduce radiation-related health risks.

WHO will also map global stakeholders, identify gaps in implementation, and report progress to the World Health Assembly in 2028.

Source / Attribution

Source: Adapted from World Health Organization (WHO), Radiation and health: strengthening global protection, preparedness and response, World Health Assembly Daily Update, 23 May 2026.
WHO daily update – 23 May 2026

Further reading https://www.emfsa.co.za/news/urgent-action-needed-on-radioactive-gas-levels-in-south-african-homes/

The post Radiation Monitoring and Preparedness appeared first on EMFSA.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35698539/

The post How Do Different Physical Stressors’ Affect the Mercury Release from Dental Amalgam Fillings and Microleakage? A Systematic Review appeared first on EMFSA.

What is Radon and How are We Exposed to It?

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/what-is-radon-and-how-are-we-exposed-to-it

The post Radon: Protect Your Health at Home appeared first on EMFSA.

Guest Blog, from Professor Denis L. Henshaw, on the myth where EMF’s too low energy to break chemical bonds is automatically equaled to ‘no meaningful effects possible’

Posted on May 4, 2021

Below is the next in a series of Guest Blogs on BRHP. The opinions expressed in this Guest Blog are of Professor Denis L. Henshaw. Publication of these opinions on BRHP blog site does not imply that BRHP automatically agrees with or endorses these opinions.

Publication of this, and other Guest Blogs, facilitates an open debate and free exchange of opinions on wireless technology and health.

Cell phone radio waves have insufficient energy to damage DNA and cause serious illness – an enduring fallacy

Professor Denis L. Henshaw

It is said that unlike X-rays and gamma-rays, the energy of the electromagnetic radiation* (radio waves) used by cell phones is insufficient to ionise atoms or molecules and therefore cannot damage DNA and cause illnesses such as cancer.

This ancient assertion has been put more explicitly: radio waves used by cell phones lack the quantum energy to eject electrons from atoms or molecules and therefore cannot cause cancer.

Both forms of the assertion are a fallacy.

To explain this fallacy, we first need to understand the precise meaning of these statements.

In physics, ionisation refers to the ejection of electrons well away from their parent atom or molecule. The situation is different to that, familiar to chemists, of ions in solution.

X-rays and gamma-rays come in individual wave packets called photons. Each photon has energy, known as its quantum energy. The energy is indeed sufficient to cause ionisation.

Radio waves are ultimately composed of photons and indeed the individual energy of these photons is insufficient to cause ionisation – this is why radio waves are termed non-ionising radiation. There is, however, a crucial difference between radio waves and X- and gamma-rays that I will come on to later.

Most known cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) are non-ionising

Here is a simple question: If cell phone radio waves cannot cause cancer because they are non-ionising, then how do asbestos particles, cancer viruses and carcinogenic chemicals cause cancer because none of these are ionising in the sense of ionising radiation?

Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ufd8vfa4

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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution and Thyroid)

Abstract

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized in 2011 radiofrequency (RF) as a possible human carcinogen, Group 2B. During use of the handheld wireless phone, especially the smartphone, the thyroid gland is a target organ. During the 21st century, the incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing in many countries. We used the Swedish Cancer Register to study trends from 1970 to 2017. During that time period, the incidence increased statistically significantly in women with average annual percentage change (AAPC) +2.13%, 95% confidence interval (CI) +1.43, +2.83%. The increase was especially pronounced during 2010–2017 with annual percentage change (APC) +9.65%, 95% CI +6.68, +12.71%. In men, AAPC increased during 1970–2017 with +1.49%, 95% CI +0.71, +2.28%. Highest increase was found for the time period 2001–2017 with APC +5.26%, 95% CI +4.05, +6.49%. Similar results were found for all Nordic countries based on NORDCAN 1970–2016 with APC +5.83%, 95% CI +4.56, +7.12 in women from 2006 to 2016 and APC + 5.48%, 95% CI +3.92, +7.06% in men from 2005 to 2016. According to the Swedish Cancer Register, the increasing incidence was similar for tumors ≤4 cm as for tumors >4 cm, indicating that the increase cannot be explained by overdiagnosis. These results are in agreement with recent results on increased thyroid cancer risk associated with the use of mobile phones. We postulate that RF radiation is a causative factor for the increasing thyroid cancer incidence.

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https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9129

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The post Is the Increasing Incidence of Thyroid Cancer in the Nordic Countries Caused by Use of Mobile Phones? appeared first on EMFSA.

Omer Dasdag, Nur Adalier & Suleyman Dasdag (2020) Electromagnetic radiation and Alzheimer’s disease, Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment, 34:1, 1087-1094, DOI: 10.1080/13102818.2020.1820378

Abstract

This study aims to explore whether there is a relationship between different electromagnetic radiations, such as extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF), radiofrequency (RF) radiation and ionizing radiation, and Alzheimer’s disease. Resources related to the subject were scanned and 46 articles that were important to clarify the subject were evaluated. The results of the study investigating the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and electromagnetic fields were still contradictory. Whereas many researchers suggest that some electromagnetic radiation has prepared the ground for AD, others claim that RF radiation has a positive effect on the disease in question. The current state of knowledge calls for further detailed studies to clarify the issue.

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https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6605927873914130432/

Accumulating evidence reveals that exposure of bacteria to a wide variety of physical stressors ranging from ultrasound to ionizing and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation can make them resistant to antibiotics. A study conducted recently showed that the exposure of E. coli DH5α to Wi-Fi radiofrequency radiation for 5 hours influenced several bacterial cellular and metabolic processes through up-regulating 52 genes and down-regulating 49 genes [1]. Another recent study conducted by the same team shows that exposure of Escherichia coli bacteria to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radiofrequency radiation increased their antibiotic resistance and motility. Moreover, biofilm formation was enhanced in Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermis [2]. These findings clearly confirm our earlier findings on physical stressor-induced alterations (rise or fall) in bacterial drug resistance [3-5]. References:

[1] https://lnkd.in/dHBSzBw

[2] https://lnkd.in/dmC78nh

[3] https://lnkd.in/dMvusex

[4] https://lnkd.in/dSmsdYc

[5] https://lnkd.in/dHzxw-T

Added note by EMFSA:

Evaluation of Wi-Fi Radiation Effects on Antibiotic Susceptibility, Metabolic Activity and Biofilm Formation by Escherichia Coli 0157H7, Staphylococcus Aureus and Staphylococcus Epidermis

The post Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance appeared first on EMFSA.

The National Nuclear Regulator has warned that South Africa must urgently start to monitor the levels of radioactive radon gas in local homes to protect its citizens.

Radon is a radioactive gas that forms naturally when uranium, thorium, or radium – which are radioactive metals – break down in rocks, soil, and groundwater.

In South Africa, there was previously not significant control over radioactive materials in mining waste and slime.

After a century of gold mining in South Africa, with the addition of uranium mining in recent decades, radon levels in some areas are expected to be high.

The dangers of high radon levels

When a person breathes in radon the radioactive particles from the gas can get trapped in their lungs, which increases the risk of lung cancer over time.

Read more at the source: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/science/323124-urgent-action-needed-on-radioactive-gas-levels-in-south-african-homes.html

Note by EMFSA – see:

Estimation of radon potential through measurement of uranium concentrations in granite geology

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