THE EFFECT OF MICROWAVE RADIO SIGNALS ON SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a great deal of concern about the possible health consequences arising from exposure to electromagnetic radiation principally those emitting from wireless communication devices such as the mobile phones. Children who have thinner skulls and smaller heads stand a greater risk of absorbing more electromagnetic radiation than adults. Hence, this research aimed at comparing both the biological and behavioural effect of microwave radio signals on both adult rats and rat pups. Thirty three female adult rats and thirty three female pups were exposed to microwave radio signals emitted from a mobile phone. Analysis on the blood, brain and weight of these rats were carried out. The results obtained showed that there was a progressive increase in body weight of both adult rats and the pups. However the percentage increase in the adult rats were greater than that of the pups. The results also showed a variation in haematological parameters for both the adult rats and rat pups. The adult rats showed more remarkable changes in their haematological parameters than the pups. However, both groups returned to normal states at the end of the exposure period. In assessing the effect on lipids, the result revealed a variation in Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances Assay (TBARS) values for both groups. However, at the end of the exposure period, the TBARS values for both groups decreased as compared to the control. The Morris Water Maze test also revealed an increment in time taken to locate hidden platform for both groups. This increase was more pronounced in the rat pup than the adult rats. This study therefore concluded that microwave radiation can produce observable changes in the biology of rats. However, these changes do not lead to detrimental health effect within a short term exposure.