Armaghane Danesh Bimonthly Journal (Dec 2015)
The Exposure Duration and Distance Effects of Microwave Radiation from Wireless Routers on Sperm Parameters of Wistar Rats
Abstract
Background & aim: As a communication technology, Wi-Fi allows electronic devices such as laptops to exchange data or connect to a network resource such as the Internet via a wireless network access point using 2.4 GHz microwave radiation. However, with the exponential development of wireless communication technology, the public concern regarding the safety of this technology has increased rapidly. The main goal of this study was to assess the bio effects of duration of exposure of an animal model to 2.4 GHz microwave radiation emitted from a common Wi-Fi router on sperm quality. Method: In the present experimental study, 84 male Wistar rats were used. The mice were randomly divided based on the duration of exposure to microwave radiation and distance to the modem into seven groups of 12. Group II rats were exposed to 2.4 GHz microwave radiation for 2 hours per day in term of 7 days at a distance of 30 cm from the router. The rats in this group were allowed to live for 53 days then sacrificed and semen samples analyzed. Rats in all the groups except group II, were sacrificed 30 min to 1 hr.After exposure. To analyze the results, The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used. Result: The average sperm with normal morphology, testes weight and number of spermatogonial cells after exposure to microwave radiation decreased. With increasing exposure time and reduce the distance to the modem, testis weight and the number of spermatogonia cells significantly reduced. Conclusion: Beams of microwave radiation from Wi-Fi modems leads to sperm morphological changes and weight loss of testicular spermatogonia. With increasing exposure time and reduce the distance to the modem, testis weight and the number of spermatogonia cells significantly reduced.
