EUROPAEM EMF Guideline
for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of EMF-related health problems and illnesses

Sensitivity to electromagnetic fields has been reported for nearly 100 years. The wide range of non-specific symptoms is often related to the nervous system, such as headaches, sleep problems, fatigue, and many other health conditions.

As the use of technology has increased, so has the prevalence of electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). As a result, the International EMF Project of the World Health Organization (WHO) held a workshop on electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) in 2004. The symptoms reported by affected individuals were accepted as "real" and that they can be disabling for those affected. However, a causal relationship between these symptoms and the exposure to electromagnetic fields has not yet been accepted by the WHO. The 2005 WHO Backgrounder on EHS specifically recommends that physicians should focus their treatment of affected individuals "on the health symptoms and the clinical picture, and not on the person’s perceived need for reducing or eliminating EMF in the workplace or home." A 2016 WHO Q&A Section on radiation and health states that there is no "accepted biological mechanism to explain hypersensitivity."

The EMF Working Group of the European Academy for Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM) (as of 2024, the European Society for Clinical Environmental Medicine, EGKU) builds on the work of many scientists, researchers, and physicians. In their 2016 EMF Guideline on EMF-related Health Problems and Illnesses, they recommend treating EHS as a chronic multisystem illness (CMI), while recognizing that "the underlying cause remains the environment." Oxidative stress, one of the possible biological mechanisms cited in the EMF Guideline, is increasingly recognized as a valid effect of low-level EMF exposure (see 2021 and 2021). Sensitive populations such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to excessive oxidative stress.

In addition to discussing a wide range of treatment options, diagnostic tests, and possible biological mechanisms and effects, the EMF Guideline is most notable for its recommended precautionary limits for radio frequency radiation, ELF magnetic and electric fields, and VLF magnetic and electric fields. And the precautionary limits for radio frequency radiation vary for different sources based on their signal characteristics, not just the level of exposure. For example, Wi-Fi radiation has the lowest precautionary limit because it is one of the sources that has the highest potential to interfere with the proper functioning of body systems due to the inherent pulse of the beacon signal.