Q. Is there any proven electromagnetic health risk with long-term EV driving? – N Doherty, Co Dublin
A. The short answer is no; no one has yet found a direct provable link between the electromagnetic emissions from an electric vehicle’s (EV) battery and motor, and any potential health risks.
However, it is known that prolonged exposure to high-energy electromagnetic radiation may cause health issues. At the highest end of the electromagnetic spectrum we find what’s called ionising radiation. This is the sort of emission that you’d expect from a nuclear fission reactor, and as anyone who’s old enough to remember the Chernobyl incident, that has very definite effects on your health.
Don’t panic however; that is the extreme end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dial things back a bit – a lot, in fact – and you reach the section of the spectrum with which we’re all much more familiar. At this point in the electromagnetic spectrum, we reach the level of radio signals, wifi and mobile phone signals, television antennae, and so on. The computer on which I’m typing these words and the mobile phone or tablet on which you’re most likely reading them have their own electromagnetic output, and concerns over that output causing health effects have been largely put to bed – although concerns are still raised from time to time.
Essentially, we all live in this electromagnetic “soup” in our daily lives, walking in and through invisible radio waves all day long. So to what extent do electric cars – whose high-voltage batteries and motors very definitely do create their own electromagnetic waves – pose a potential health risk?
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In Germany, the Bundesamt für Strahlenshutz (BfS, the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection) has carried out a series of studies into potential electromagnetic exposure from driving an EV.
The research shows that the exposure to the electromagnetic field being emitted by the battery, wiring, and motors of an EV is highest in the car’s footwells, where you’re physically closer to the battery. The studies also noted, with a faint hint of concern, that many cars have their strongest electromagnetic fields in and around the back seat, which is where the concentration of high-voltage wiring is often at its greatest. The reports note that’s also where young children are most likely to be sitting.
“According to current knowledge, these intermediate-frequency fields do not trigger any health effects, provided that the recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection are adhered to,” the report states, adding that there is currently no legislated legal limit of exposure values in an EV in Germany.
“The analyses revealed a highly uneven distribution of magnetic fields in the electric vehicles, with the highest values often appearing in the footwells of the front seats. Significantly lower values were measured at other locations, such as in the areas occupied by drivers’ and passengers’ heads and torsos. This highlights potential for minimisation that manufacturers could utilise in vehicle development.”
The report also noted: “There were no indications that the recommended maximum exposure levels were exceeded in the analysed vehicles, nor were excess levels observed in a more recent study.”
“Comparative measurements in two vehicles with combustion engines found similarly high field strengths in the footwells of the front seats as in the electric vehicles,” the report said. “These fields originated from the motor of a ventilation fan and its wiring.” That suggests that we’ve been driving around for years with this issue without realising it.
The BfS report largely chimes with an academic investigation into the issue by Krzysztof Gryz, Jolanta Karpowicz and Patryk Zradziński from the Laboratory of Electromagnetic Hazards, Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute in Poland, edited by Felipe Jiménez.
In this study, the group looked at the emissions of electromagnetic radiation in both electrically-powered forms of public transport and in private cars. Interestingly, the paper found that measurements of electromagnetic radiation in electric buses isn’t much different from being in a building in the same area, and that measurements of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) inside the bus changed according to how many passengers were using mobile phones and other devices.
According to the paper, significant differences were not found in the level of exposure depending on the type of vehicle (EVs, HEVs, regular petrol and diesel cars).
There’s a kicker, though. The paper found that instantaneous exposure to electromagnetic fields was low enough to not present any major health problems, but that there was less certainty when it came to prolonged and repeated exposure over time. Just as having one X-ray a year doesn’t do you any harm, but having one every day for a year probably would, it’s not yet known whether long-term repeated exposure to the electromagnetic fields generated by EVs might cause any health issues further down the line.
To be very clear on this point, the paper wasn’t issuing a direct warning over prolonged exposure, but merely calling for more research into the issue so that it can be better understood.
So, to sum up: according to the experts, the exposure to electromagnetic radiation in an electric car isn’t enough to cause any health issues in the short term. However, it has been suggested that more research, and long-term research, is needed to rule out any potential health effects from repeated exposure over many years.
