최근 환경보건시민센터가 최근 목 선풍기, 헤어드라이어, 노트북 어댑터의 전자파를 측정하고 그 결과에 대한 유해성을 제기한 가운데 정부부처가 국내 시중 유통 제품은 국제 기준 및 인체보호기준에 적합하다는 설명 보도를 냈다.
Ministry of Science and Technology, Maximum of 37% below the human protection standard for commercial products
Environmental Group Recommends '30cm Distance' Due to Extremely Low Frequency Carcinogenic Concerns
Recently, the Citizens' Center for Environmental Health measured the electromagnetic waves from electric fans, hair dryers, and laptop adapters and raised concerns about the harmful effects of the results. Amid this, the government released a report explaining that products sold domestically are compliant with international standards and human body protection standards.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 29th through a press release that the electromagnetic wave measurements of 9 types of wooden fans and 11 types of handheld fans on the market were up to 37% of the human body protection standard, and there were no cases of exceeding the standard.
In addition, it was reported that in the electromagnetic wave measurement of daily necessities in the first half of this year, three types of hair dryers were investigated and the electromagnetic waves emitted by all of them met the human body protection standards.
In order to prevent the risk of electromagnetic waves from household products and to alleviate public anxiety and concerns, we select domestically distributed ICT products as measurement targets every six months and disclose the results of electromagnetic wave measurements. Among these, there have been no cases that exceeded the current human protection standards.
Major countries, including the United States and the EU, as well as Korea, are setting the standards of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) as the standards for human protection from electromagnetic waves in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Accordingly, Korea has set stricter regulations, such as not exceeding 833mG (milligauss), compared to the international standard of 2000mG (milligauss).
On the other hand, the 4mG increase in childhood leukemia claimed by the Environmental Health Citizens' Center is due to exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields, and is based on the classification of electromagnetic wave exposure, including extremely low frequency magnetic fields, as a possible carcinogenic risk group 2B by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Environmental groups have measured electromagnetic waves at 421mG for a neck fan, 1,113mG for a hair dryer, and 213.9mG for a laptop adapter, and have urged people to use electronic devices at a distance of at least 30cm due to concerns about the possibility of carcinogenicity.
However, this is a value measured in an everyday environment, not a shielded environment, so it is difficult to confirm the exact frequency band and value when using a simple measuring instrument.
In response to the controversy over electromagnetic waves from portable handheld fans raised by the same group in 2022, Professor Baek Jeong-gi, emeritus of the Department of Radio Information and Communication Engineering at Chungnam National University, said in a briefing by the Ministry of Science and ICT, “International and domestic human protection standards take into account the health effects of long-term exposure,” and expressed his opinion that “4mG is only the result of a study from a specific research group and lacks scientific evidence due to the lack of additional verification.”
On the other hand, Professor Park Dong-wook of the Department of Health and Environment at Korea National Open University argued in his review of the literature in his study titled “A Study on the Risk of Childhood Leukemia Due to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields,” that the ICNIRP standard can only prevent acute effects from short-term exposure, and that the 833 mG standard cannot prevent damage from chronic exposure.
The current IARC classification of carcinogens as Class 2B does not classify substances that have been proven to be carcinogenic in human or animal experiments. As epidemiological studies have suggested a possible carcinogen, it has been listed as a Class 2B product, and additional, long-term research is needed based on each individual's electromagnetic wave sensitivity, radio wave environment, and exposure type.
Meanwhile, the government urged consumers to be careful when purchasing through a purchasing agent or directly from overseas, such as checking whether the product has undergone conformity assessment certification, as overseas products that do not comply with domestic human protection standards may be distributed illegally.