WHO ELF evidence framework
The World Health Organization's assessment of the extremely-low-frequency evidence base, which sets no exposure limit but records the daily-average magnetic field level above which epidemiology reports an association with childhood leukaemia.
Scientific guidelineinternational2007 assessment, factsheet current
Last verified 12 August 2026.
Also searched as: WHO EHC 238, WHO ELF assessment
- Organization
- World Health Organization
- Edition
- 2007 assessment, factsheet current
- Jurisdiction
- international
- Frequency range
- DC – 300 Hz
- Status of values
- Recommended by a scientific or standards body, enforceable only where adopted into law
Scope
Reviews the ELF evidence base and endorses ICNIRP reference levels for acute effects. It defines no limit of its own: the 0.3–0.4 µT figure it records is an epidemiological association, not a threshold of harm and not enforceable anywhere.
Sources
- who-elf Electromagnetic fields and public health: exposure to extremely low frequency fields — World Health Organization, 2007. government, link checked 2026-08-12.
- who-ehc-238 Extremely Low Frequency Fields — Environmental Health Criteria Monograph No. 238 — World Health Organization, 2007. peer-reviewed, link checked 2026-08-12.
- iarc-monograph-80 IARC Monographs Volume 80: Non-Ionizing Radiation, Part 1: Static and Extremely Low-Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields — International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2002. peer-reviewed, link checked 2026-08-12.
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