TITLE:
Assessment of Risk of Carrier Waves in the Assisted Reproductive Laboratory
AUTHORS:
Samuel D. Prien, Jessica Smith, Christy Barron, Joseph Martin, Naghma Farooqi, Alita Loveless, Amy Van Gheem, Lindsay L. Penrose
KEYWORDS:
Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Electromagnetic Fields, Radio Frequency Waves, Embryos, Sperm
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.5 No.10,
September
2,
2015
ABSTRACT: Assisted reproductive technology (ART) laboratories represent the
marriage of the most basic of biological activities with the most cutting edge
technologies. While this association has worked well, the mixture of biology
and technology can create risks to normal embryo development. Recently a
significant amount of literature has explored the risks of manmade,
electrically induced magnetic fields and carrier waves on reproduction, which
some studies have suggested will lower functional gamete numbers in the males
and potentially induce genetic issues in embryos. However, little is known
about these phenomena within the ART laboratory, a laboratory filled with
electronic equipment. The object of the present study was to explore the
potential exposure of gametes and early stage embryos to two of the most
prevalent fields and waves utilized in manmade technologies seen in the general
environment, electromagnetic fields (EMF) and radio frequency waves (RF), and
determine the effect varying levels of these energetic forces had on gamete
function and embryo development. Results indicated that while extremely high
concentrations of EMF (approximately 50-100X of laboratory background) caused
negative outcomes in both gametes and embryos, levels consistent will the
majority of lab equipment did not appear to impact growth, or function. Further,
even extremely high RF appeared to have no impact cellular function. Results
suggest few issues with EMF or RF on gamete and embryo function at normal laboratory
levels for the relatively short exposure times seen in the ART laboratory.