Israeli environment ministry publishes ranking of cars with the highest passenger radiation readings
Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry has recently updated its guidance website with a table of radiation measurements from cars sold in the Israeli market, ranking vehicles from highest to lowest measured exposure. The ministry says the figures reflect the maximum radiation measured in each vehicle, and the data were collected by Safe Fields according to the European IEC 62764 standard.
At one end of the table, the hybrid Toyota CHR recorded a maximum level of almost zero milligauss. At the other end, the Chery TIGGO 8 PRO registered 28 milligauss, seven times the ministry’s recommended daily average exposure limit of 4 milligauss. The table compares average and maximum exposure levels by manufacturer, model and drivetrain, and the ministry also published separate graphics listing the 10 highest and 10 lowest readings.
The ministry said it continues to encourage low-pollution vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars, because no health danger has been proven for passengers in hybrid vehicles from exposure to non-ionizing radiation. It noted that cars are not subject to permits under Israel’s Non-Ionizing Radiation Law, and the ministry does not regulate vehicle imports or sales from a radiation perspective.
The ministry said it had examined the issue before renewing its recommendation, including convening a public expert committee in 2010 on magnetic fields from the power grid. That panel advised limiting exposure so that no member of the public would exceed, on an annual average, a few milligauss, applying the precautionary principle and using the lowest practical radiation levels. The ministry added that unlike the power grid, driving is a voluntary consumer choice, so it does not recommend treating in-car magnetic-field exposure the same way as exposure near electricity facilities. It also said it is unaware of any country that restricts the marketing or use of electric or hybrid cars, except for an acute exposure standard of 1,000 milligauss. The ministry’s update comes as more than 170,000 electric cars and about 360,000 hybrid cars are already on Israeli roads, and forecasts say one in four new cars will be electric within less than five years.
