Report of the sounding board group meeting of the EMV knowledge platform – March 9

The Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Health Knowledge Platform is a partnership between RIVM, TNO, DNV, GGD GHOR Netherlands, Telecom Agency and ZonMw. The aim of the knowledge platform is to make scientific research on exposure to electromagnetic fields available in an accessible way to citizens and professionals. An important tool for this is the website: https://www.kennisplatform.nl/.

The annual meeting of the sounding board group of the knowledge platform electromagnetic fields and health was held on March 9. Since the members of the Dutch EMC ESD association are often concerned with EMF, although usually not from the point of view of human exposure, they regularly receive questions about this from those around them. That is why our association has also been invited to take part in the sounding board group. Many parties were again represented in the sounding board group. Such as various ministries, knowledge institutes, interest groups for electrosensitive people, telecom and electricity supply companies and trade unions.

During the meeting, the board explained what has been achieved in the past year and what is planned for next year.

Topics discussed last year include:

• The Cosmos research: a cohort study into the possible connection between the use of mobile phones and their possible effects on health.
• Precautionary policy for magnetic fields in parts of the electricity network.
• Question marks about report that calls mobile telephony 'probably carcinogenic'
• New analysis of the connection between magnetic fields from high-voltage lines and leukemia in children: risk has disappeared?
• What is the influence of metal objects worn on the body on exposure to electromagnetic fields?
• WiFi 6

The need for this is evident from the website visit figures over the past year: an average of more than 10,000 unique visitors per month.

There is plenty to report for next year: Two articles will be placed on the website in the short term. One will be about EMF and bees, the other about EMF and radar. In addition, attention will be paid to: scientific research methods, storage of electrical energy at a local level, RF fields (including 5G) and cancer and other neurological disorders associated with ELF fields. Other developments that the knowledge platform monitors are the ICNIRP exposure limits that will be implemented in legislation and the precautionary policy with regard to magnetic fields from the electricity grid.

There was also an argument by the EHS foundation to deal differently with innovation within society and to take possible risks seriously at an earlier stage ('early warnings').

Finally, there was an update on the design of low-radiation zones in the Netherlands. Associations of electrosensitives are seeking help from the government to designate a permanent area for this purpose, which will remain low-radiation in the future (in some cases an exception to the 98% coverage requirement is required).

Jan-Kees van der Ven
Chairman EMC-ESD association