Micronuclei in the peripheral blood and bone marrow cells of rats exposed to 2450 MHz radiofrequency radiation

Purpose: To determine the incidence of micronuclei in peripheral blood and bone marrow cells of rats exposed continuously for 24 h to 2450 MHz continuous wave radiofrequency radiation (RFR) at an average whole-body specific absorption rate (SAR) of 12 W/kg. Materials and methods: Eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 2450 MHz RFR in circularly polarized waveguides. Eight sham-exposed rats were kept in similar waveguides without the transmission of RFR. Four rats were treated with mitomycin-C (MMC) and used as positive controls. All rats were necropsied 24 h after the end of RFR and sham exposures, and after the 24 h treatment with MMC. Peripheral blood and bone marrow smears were examined to determine the frequency of micronuclei (MN) in polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE). Results: The results indicated that the incidence of MN/2000 PCE were not significantly different between RFR- and sham-exposed rats. The group mean frequencies of MN in the peripheral blood were 2.3+/-0.7 in RFR- exposed rats and 2.1+/-0.6 in sham-exposed rats. In bone marrow cells, the average MN incidence was 3.8+/-1.0 in RFR-exposed rats and 3.4+/-0.7 in sham-exposed rats. The corresponding values in positive control rats treated with MMC were 23.5+/-4.7 in the peripheral blood and 33.8+/-7.4 in bone marrow cells. Conclusion: There was no evidence for the induction of MN in peripheral blood and bone marrow cells of rats exposed for 24 h to 2450 MHz continuous wave RFR at a whole body average SAR of 12 W/kg.