Genotoxic effects of intermediate frequency magnetic fields on blood leukocytes in vitro

The widespread presence of electromagnetic sources in daily life has initiated several studies on the effects of radiofrequency and power frequency fields. Only few investigations on the genotoxic effects of exposure to intermediate frequency magnetic fields (IF-MF) have been done so far. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate possible genotoxic effects of exposure to 123.90 kHz and 250.80 kHz IF-MF on canine and human blood. Blood was exposed to IF-MF at 630 A/m (0.79 mT) and 80 A/m (0.10 mT) with exposure durations of 1 to 5 h (hourly), 20 and 24 h. Cylindrically divided Petri dish system was developed for in vitro exposures where different induced current could be achieved in the samples at the same magnetic flux density level. For the assessment of genotoxicity the alkaline comet assay was applied. We detected a statistically significant increase in DNA damage only following 20 h exposure to IF-MF.