An Interagency Committee was convened by the Health Ministry of New Zealand to review research on the health effects of electromagnetic fields.
The committee report is not an exhaustive or systematic review of recent research.. The report covers radiofrequency field. Overall, the committee concludes: “Much new research has been published since 2004, when the Committee last prepared a report for Ministers, but none of this causes the Committee to consider that current policies and recommendations should be reviewed.”
The committee devoted a section of their report to electro-hypersensitivity. The experts note that “Recent reviews of these studies [on EHS] continue to conclude that people who consider themselves unusually sensitive to EMFs are, in fact, unable to detect EMFs, and the occurrence of symptoms appears unrelated to exposures.” They conclude that recent studies “do not support a role for EMF in the development of EHS symptoms.”
An appendix is devoted to the BioInitiative report. It points out that “several health and scientific bodies have reviewed the BioInitiative Report and noted that it has a range of weaknesses which undermine its credibility.” Notably, the committee notes the selective use of data with little or no mention of reports that do not support the point of view and the conclusions of the BioInitiative Working Group.
Bibliographical reference:
- Interagency Committee on the Health Effects of Non-ionising Fields: Report to Ministers 2015 (opens in a new window).
Wellington, published in April 2015 by the Ministry of Health of New Zealand.