EMFSA November 2025 Newsletter Updates – in this newsletter we look at the following topics:

Offshore Wind Farms

Can offshore wind production affect the structure and function of marine ecosystems? What could the potential impacts be?

We take a look at a report by the Eklipse Expert Group on Impacts of Offshore Wind Farm Expansion 

Citation: Cervantes, A., Pace, F., Gallaou, E., Kadiri, M., Velázquez, J., Fernandes, M., Langridge, J., Scott, AJ., Sieber, I.M., Bhatia, S., Limache de la Fuente, D., Maureaud, A.A., Dajka, J (2025). State of knowledge regarding the impacts of offshore wind farm expansion: what are the consequences for achieving Good Environmental Status across European marine waters? Report prepared by an Eklipse Expert Working Group. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17064612

Flora and Fauna: How Nonhuman Species Interact With Natural and Man-Made EMF at Ecosystem Levels — and Public Policy Recommendations

The authors of this article call for an urgent, government-wide response that treats EMF as an air pollutant and establishes the emerging discipline of air ecology (aeroecology).

Citation: Levitt BB, Lai HC, Manville AM II, Scarato T (2025). Flora and fauna: how nonhuman species interact with natural and man-made EMF at ecosystem levels and public policy recommendations. Front. Public Health 13:1693873. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1693873

Comment by EMFSA: Under South Africa’s National Environmental Management Act (NEMA 107 of 1998), the legal definition of pollution is broad enough to include different forms of energy, specifically waves. 

Pesticides – Another Environmental Pollutant of Concern

Citation: Paola Gabriela Viglietti, Lena Jäggi, Hannah Wey, Anouk Petitpierre, Christian Lindh, Kim-Louise Rousseau, Jade Mac Donnell, Martin Röösli, Susan Malcolm-Smith, Samuel Fuhrimann, Mohamed Aqiel Dalvie, Postnatal pesticide exposure and executive function in children and adolescents: Findings from South Africa, Environmental Research, Volume 289, 2026, 123310, ISSN 0013-9351, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.123310

Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA)

Terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) is the standard digital communication system used by police and other emergency services in Great Britain. During active use, TETRA emits radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, which are potentially carcinogenic in humans. Here, using data on objective call duration, the authors examined cancer risk from personal radio use among police forces across Great Britain. No significant association was detected between radio use, call duration, and cancer risk. 

RESEARCH ARTICLE Personal radio use and risk of cancers among police officers in Great Britain: Results from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.70255

Radiofrequency Exposure and Cancer – ANSES Findings

On the 26/11/2025, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) published their findings on RFR exposure and cancer https://www.anses.fr/fr/content/exposition-aux-ondes-de-nouvelles-etudes-precisent-les-connaissances-sur-le-risque-de

Two French NGOs have provided commentary on ANSES’s report

Aviation: Persistent 5G Challenges

IATA Urges ITU to Strengthen Safeguards for Aircraft Safety Systems as 5G/6G Expands https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-releases/2025-11-20-01/

See our book recommendations for the festive season!

(Image used with permission of the author)

EMFSA November 2025 Newsletter Updates  https://mailchi.mp/emfsa/emfsa-november-2025-newsletter

Further reading: Maritime 5G and Marine Ecosystems https://www.emfsa.co.za/news/maritime-5g-and-marine-ecosystems/

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Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

•Maritime 5G and Marine Ecosystems 

•Subsea power cables, renewable energy and EMF

and more!

Link to our free November 2024 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/emfsa/maritime-5g-direct-to-cell

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Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Maritime 5G and Marine Ecosystems 

•5G Maritime is specifically designed for maritime environments like coastal areas, offshore platforms, ships, and other seafaring operations.

•Current implementations of 5G in marine contexts, such as in fisheries, tourism, and naval operations, might focus on economic and logistical benefits rather than studying ecological impacts. Balancing infrastructure development with conservation efforts is crucial to mitigate these impacts and sustain marine biodiversity.

Features of Maritime 5G

Depending on the providers, maritime 5G may include:

•5G-Advanced, also known as 5.5G: An enhancement to standard 5G for improved connectivity and efficiency.

•Hybrid Infrastructure: Combining terrestrial 5G infrastructure along coastlines with satellite-based systems to extend connectivity to open seas and remote areas.

•Massive device connectivity: Supporting IoT (Internet of Things) applications, including advanced setups utilizing higher frequencies for high-bandwidth activities near the shore, such as IoT-enabled smart ports and vessel tracking systems.

•Massive MIMO (Massive Multiple Input, Multiple Output): Enhancing beamforming and spatial multiplexing to improve network capacity, coverage, and energy efficiency.

•Spectrum Aggregation: Combining spectrum from different bands (e.g., low, mid, and high) including millimeter waves.

Maritime 5G Marketing Incentives

Maritime 5G is marketed as providing high-speed, low-latency connectivity to support diverse applications such as:

• Navigation, safety, and tourism.
• Environmental monitoring and efficient operation of maritime systems.
• Smart city and port promotion.

Green networking technologies, such as AI-driven energy management and base station sleep modes, are also promoted to reduce carbon footprints.

Possible Environmental Impacts of Maritime 5G

Coastal 5G developments require new antennas, upgrades and infrastructure. Higher frequency bands, such as millimeter waves, have limited water penetration but may interact with the ocean’s surface, potentially affecting small organisms like plankton. Although direct studies are lacking, these interactions could lead to ecosystem-level changes, warranting further investigation. Current guidelines largely ignore non-human species, emphasizing the need for targeted research to understand and mitigate potential risks.

•Noise Pollution

The integration of communication networks, including hybrid systems involving satellites, drones, and underwater equipment, contributes to noise pollution. This can disrupt marine species that rely on sound for navigation, communication, and mating.

•Light Pollution

Urban coastal development increasingly exposes marine ecosystems to artificial light. Coastal cities, offshore oil rigs, and ships flood the ocean with artificial light, impacting a wide range of sea creatures. From zooplankton to whales, light pollution disrupts natural rhythms and habitats. Specific impacts include:

• Disruption of feeding, mating, and camouflage behaviors in fish and marine organisms.
• Interference with natural light cycles essential for coral reefs and other organisms, leading to reduced survival rates.

A Look at the Marine Environment at Langebaan and Mossel Bay

5G maritime projects have been announced for these areas, providing a backdrop for evaluating potential ecological impacts alongside technological advancements.

South Africa’s coastline is home to over 13,000 marine species, many of which are protected within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the West Coast. These include:

• Langebaan Lagoon: Known for its rich marine invertebrate fauna with over 400 species.
• Mossel Bay: A haven for marine life, including Southern Right Whales that calve in the bay. Other species frequently spotted include Humpback Whales, Killer Whales, and Bryde’s Whales. The area also supports Great White Sharks, various dolphin species, and a Cape Fur Seal colony of over 2,500 individuals on Seal Island.

Despite these natural riches, challenges persist. Whale strandings around Cape Town and injuries from ship strikes near Saldanha Bay and Cape Town’s ports highlight the urgent need for conservation. While the causes of these events vary, they underscore the necessity of protecting South Africa’s marine environment.

Protecting Marine Ecosystems

The Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action, endorsed at the 2024 Ocean Literacy World Conference in Venice, emphasizes the need for policies that respect the ocean’s inherent rights to exist, flourish, and regenerate. To achieve this, urban and coastal planning must adopt a participatory approach, engaging governments and stakeholders through Ocean Literacy programs tailored for municipalities, engineers, architects, local businesses, and residents. By prioritizing community-centered strategies, we can safeguard coastal and submerged natural and cultural heritage, ensuring that this invaluable legacy becomes a cornerstone of a more sustainable ocean future.

References

• 5G Promises to Transform Marine Industries
• Potential Use of 5G for Innovative Business Models
• ZTE, MTN, and Partners Launch 5G Marine Project
• Digital Solutions for Ports: Private 5G Connectivity
• Brzozek, C., Mate, R., Bhatt, C. R., Loughran, S., Wood, A. W., & Karipidis, K. (2024). Investigating the impact of anthropogenic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on animals and plants in the environment: analysis from a systematic map. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 81(5), 2343–2358. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2024.2375861
• Levitt BB, Lai HC, Manville AM 2nd. Low-level EMF effects on wildlife and plants: What research tells us about an ecosystem approach. Front Public Health. 2022 Nov 25;10:1000840. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1000840.
• Urban Light Pollution is a Danger for Marine Ecosystems
• From the Beach to the Seafloor, Light Pollution Interferes with Marine Life
• Maritime Traffic Around South Africa Rises Dramatically
• Three Stranded Whales Die Off Cape Town Coast
• Marine Protected Areas: Conserving Marine Life in South African Seas
• Marine Protected Areas: West Coast National Park
• Marine Life Around Mossel Bay
• Drowned Out: Why Whale Beachings Are On The Rise
• The Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action

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• The exact location has not been revealed but signals can reach submarines across vast distances, researchers say
• A joint experiment with Russia confirmed a ‘ping’ from the facility can also travel effectively underground

By Stephen Chen in Beijing

Published: 10:30pm, 2 Dec, 2021

The biggest antenna on the planet is up and running in central China, opening up long-distance communications with submarines as well as civilian applications, according to engineers and scientists involved in the project.

The exact location of the facility has not been revealed, but is believed to be somewhere in the Dabie Mountains, a protected natural reserve straddling Hubei, Anhui and Henan provinces.

From space, the antenna, which is formed by a network of cables and pylons much like those in ordinary power lines, would look like a giant cross more than 100km (62 miles) long and wide.

But at the ends of those lines, copper nodes are fixed deeply into thick granite. Two powerful underground transmitters – capable of working independently in case one is damaged – charge one megawatt of electrical current and turn the Earth into a giant radio station.

According to a paper published in last month’s Chinese Journal of Ship Research, receiving devices planted 200 metres (700 feet) below the surface on the sea floor can effortlessly pick up signals from the giant antenna 1,300km (800 miles) away – a range that covers the Korean peninsula, Japan, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The project’s lead engineer Zha Ming and his colleagues, from the Wuhan Maritime Communication Research Institute, said the facility was designed to maintain underwater communications over a total range of 3,000km (1,9000 miles) – enough to reach Guam, the biggest US military base in the western Pacific Ocean.

The extremely low frequency (ELF) facility can generate electromagnetic waves from 0.1 to 300Hz. These radio waves can travel great distances both underwater and below ground.

Read more at: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3158162/china-antenna-turns-earth-giant-radio-station-signals-reaching

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Highlights

• In a bundled DC cable, closer cable cores reduced the emitted DC magnetic field (DC-MF) intensity.

• As a cable’s burial depth increased, the intensity of DC-MF at the seabed surface decreased.

• Buried cables still present a DC-MF at intensities perceivable to some receptive species.

• Variable burial depth along a cable route will present a variable EMF to receptive species.

• An animal’s proximity to a cable (buried or not) influences their exposure to the EMF.

Abstract

The expanding marine renewable energy industry will increase the prevalence of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from power cables in coastal waters. Assessments of environmental impacts are required within licensing/permitting processes and increased prevalence of cables will increase questions concerning EMF emissions and potential cumulative impacts. It is presumed that protecting a cable by burial, may also mitigate EMF emissions and potential impacts on species. Focussing on a bundled high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cable, we use computational and interpretive models to explore the influence of cable properties and burial depth on the DC magnetic field (DC-MF) potentially encountered by receptive species. Greater cable pair separation increased the deviations from the geomagnetic field and while deeper burial reduced the deviations, the DC-MF was present at intensities perceivable by receptive species. An animal moving along a cable route may be exposed to variable EMFs due to varied burial depth and that combined with an animal’s position in the water column determines the distance from source and EMF exposure. Modelling contextually realistic scenarios would improve assessments of potential effects. We suggest developers and cable industries make cable properties and energy transmission data available, enabling realistic modelling and environmental assessment supporting future developments.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148121007175?via%3Dihub

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The Turkish-led consortium has filed an appeal against the rejection of its powership emergency energy solution on environmental grounds. Meanwhile, the Green Scorpions recommend criminal charges arising from Karpowership’s earlier attempt to bypass environmental regulations

Karpowership SA is not going down without a fight: on Tuesday it filed an eleventh-hour appeal against the government’s decision to reject its ship-borne power plants on environmental grounds.

But its R225-billion deal faces fresh icebergs ahead. 

The Green Scorpions, the law enforcement unit tasked with investigating environmental crimes, believes that agents of the company should face criminal charges for intentionally misleading the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).

“The docket was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (‘DPP’) North Gauteng on the 15th of June 2021. The DPP is in the process of reviewing the docket, and the investigating officer has been requested to provide additional clarity on certain aspects of the investigation,” spokesperson Albi Modise confirmed in a written statement.

Read the article at https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-15-green-scorpions-close-in-as-karpowership-fights-to-rescue-r225bn-deal/

Added note by EMFSA: Our Oceans – The 22nd of May was Biodiversity Day. Decisions humans make that influence biodiversity affect the well-being of themselves and others. https://mailchi.mp/emfsa/important-emfsa-june-webinar

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Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasing anthropogenic pollutant, closely associated with human population density, and now well recognized in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. However, we have a relatively poor understanding of the effects of ALAN in the marine realm. Here, we carried out a field experiment in the coral reef lagoon of Moorea, French Polynesia, to investigate the effects of long-term exposure (18–23 months) to chronic light pollution at night on the survival and growth of wild juvenile orange-fin anemonefish, Amphiprion chrysopterus. Long-term exposure to environmentally relevant underwater illuminance (mean: 4.3 lux), reduced survival (mean: 36%) and growth (mean: 44%) of juvenile anemonefish compared to that of juveniles exposed to natural moonlight underwater (mean: 0.03 lux). Our study carried out in an ecologically realistic situation in which the direct effects of artificial lighting on juvenile anemonefish are combined with the indirect consequences of artificial lighting on other species, such as their competitors, predators, and prey, revealed the negative impacts of ALAN on life-history traits. Not only are there immediate impacts of ALAN on mortality, but the decreased growth of surviving individuals may also have considerable fitness consequences later in life. Future studies examining the mechanisms behind these findings are vital to understand how organisms can cope and survive in nature under this globally increasing pollutant.

Extract

In conclusion, combining the growing number of studies showing the negative impacts of ALAN in marine ecosystems with the projections of global population increases, especially along coastlines and the close association with levels of light pollution and population density, ALAN is already a risk to our marine ecosystems and will only exacerbate in the future. Marine-protected areas (MPAs) are not excluded from ALAN and due to the current lack of legislation, 20% of MPAs are already exposed to ALAN and 14.7% are exposed to increasing levels of light pollution [79], therefore mitigation measures should be of paramount importance. Mitigation measures and policy changes are urgently needed including maintaining and creating dark areas, only lighting part of the night and improving lighting technology in terms of directing light where it is needed, reducing light intensities, and changing spectra [80]. There is also growing concern regarding the combined interactions of multiple anthropogenic stressors, such as light and sound pollution [29,30] and the worldwide impact of these cumulative stressors needs to be better understood to help future management strategies [81].

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0454

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https://ssrn.com/abstract=3153458 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3153458

Abstract

This article aims at offering a preliminary exploration, from the perspective of the law of the sea and of the protection and preservation of the marine environment of a specific use of a particular ocean area beyond national jurisdiction known as the “space cemetery”. In this area, characterized as devoid of life and of human activity, space faring nations have since the early 1970s de-orbited a diverse array of spent, derelict or otherwise no longer functional space objects, such as satellites or even entire space stations, with the double aim of ensuring the sustainability of space activities by reducing the “space junk” that orbits around Earth, and of addressing the risks that space debris may pose to people or property when falling down back to Earth, and avoiding the corresponding liability. However, these practices may pose a number of questions related to the marine environment. This article then aims at exploring in a preliminary manner the actual or potential environmental consequences of these oceanic re-entries, known as splashdowns, and at assessing, this practice in light of the general principles and specific rules – both substantive and procedural – relevant for the protection and preservation of the marine environment in areas beyond national jurisdiction, as set out in the LOSC Convention, in other relevant Treaties, as well as in customary international law. Relatedly, since the practices in questions may be simultaneously lawful and unlawful, according to which branch of international law the analyst uses as interpretive lens, this article also aims at exploring the terrain of intersection between space law and law of the sea. The aims of this article are however exploratory and as such the article will offer only a preliminary discussion of some of the relevant issues and will raise some questions, rather than assessing comprehensively the applicable law. The article will first discuss the question of the sustainability of space activities, thus presenting the problem as well as the legal framework. The it will discuss in some details one of the available options to address the problems threatening the sustainability of space activities, namely oceanic splashdowns in the so-called “spacecraft cemetery”, as well as the potential negative implications for the marine environment. Finally, it will revisit the practice of splashdowns from the perspective of the law of the sea, in order to explore some of the legal questions that may be raised in connection with the practice of splashdowns, asking specifically whether splashdowns: can be considered a form of pollution under UNCLOS; can be considered a form of dumping under UNCLOS; entail a form of cross-media pollution ex art. 195; trigger obligations of environmental impact assessment, and whether these obligations are met.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3153458

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Bonnethead sharks swam in the direction of their home waters when placed in a tank charged with an electromagnetic field.

By Alex Fox SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
MAY 6, 2021

Every December, great white sharks swimming off the coast of California make a beeline for a mysterious spot in the middle of the Pacific roughly halfway to the Hawaiian islands. The sharks travel roughly 1,000 miles to the so-called white shark cafe. Tracking data has revealed that their routes are remarkably direct considering their paths traverse apparently featureless open ocean. Tiger sharks, salmon sharks and multiple species of hammerheads also make lengthy journeys to and from precise locations year after year.

Pete Klimley, a retired shark researcher who worked at the University of California, Davis calls the ability of some animals to find their way to pinpoint locations across the globe “one of the great mysteries of the animal kingdom.”

Now, new research published today in the journal Current Biology provides new support for a longstanding hypothesis that sharks use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate during their long-distance migrations. Scientists caught bonnethead sharks off the coast of Florida and put them in a tank surrounded by copper wires that simulated the magnetic fields sharks would experience in locations hundreds of miles from their home waters. In one key test, the bonnetheads were tricked into thinking they were south of their usual haunts and in response the sharks swam north.

Iron and other metals in Earth’s molten core produce electrical currents, which create a magnetic field that encircles the planet. The north and south poles have opposing magnetic signatures and invisible lines of magnetism arc between them. The idea that sharks can navigate by sensing these fields rests on the fact that Earth’s geomagnetism isn’t evenly distributed. For example, the planet’s magnetism is strongest near the poles. If sharks can somehow detect the subtle perturbations of Earth’s magnetic field, then they might be able to figure out which way they’re heading and even their position.

Sharks are known to have special receptors—tiny jelly-filled pits called ampullae of Lorenzini that are clustered around their noses—which can sense changes in voltage in the surrounding environment. In theory, these electroreceptors, which are usually used to detect the electrical nerve impulses of prey, could pick up Earth’s magnetic field. Prior experiments have shown that, one way or another, sharks can indeed perceive and react to magnetic fields, but figuring out whether sharks can use them to navigate long distances or as a kind of map is another matter.

Extract:

Scientists’ expanding sense of how sharks perceive their environment may even one day help researchers understand if humans are blocking or confusing the animals’ navigation as offshore infrastructure continues to grow in scope and complexity.

“One of the things that makes this work important is that they’re putting in wave farms and offshore wind farms and all of these projects have big high-voltage cables leading to shore,” says Klimley. “Those cables put off their own electric fields and if that’s how sharks navigate, we need to find out how that undersea infrastructure might impact migratory sharks.”

Read the article at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-evidence-suggests-sharks-use-earths-magnetic-field-navigate-180977668/

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