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Electromagnetic Radiation is
a Major Public
Health Concern
Cell Tower
Life Bluetube Headsets
Cell Phone Towers Health Effects
EM Field Meter
Cell Phone Sensitivity
Electromagnetic Radiation is a Major
Public Health Concern
Real At least 9.8 million people in America suffer from
sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation (Levallois 2002).
Electromagnetic radiation affects people of all ages,
economic status, race, and both genders (Levallois 2002).
Electromagnetic radiation affect everyone to some extent.
Medical Findings
People who are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation have
significantly higher natural rates of membrane leakage as
measured by their skin conductance (Eltiti et al. 2007).
This leaking of ions short-circuits natural electrical
potentials and triggers nerve impulses to the brain.
Blood tests of electrosensitive patients show thyroid
dysfunction, liver dysfunction and chronic inflammatory
processes (Dahmen, 2009).
The concentration of persistent organic pollutants is higher
in subjects who are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation
when compared to controls (Hardell, 2008).
Dirty electricity elevates blood sugar among electrically
sensitive diabetics and may explain brittle diabetes (Havas,
2008).
Significant cognitive and neurobiological alterations point
to a higher genuine individual vulnerability of
electromagnetic hypersensitive patients (Landgrebe et al,
2008).
Electrosensitive patients show altered central nervous
system function (Landgrebe et al, 2007).
The Cost of Environmental Illnesses
Annual expenditures for healthcare and lost productivity due
to environmental illnesses are estimated at $71.8 billion
dollars per year (Muir & Zegarac, 2001).
Environmental Factors
Indoor and outdoor electromagnetic radiation exposures can
trigger reactions: cell phones, wireless networks, electric
appliances, etc.
Sensitivity to Electromagnetic Radiation
Can be Controlled
With a plan that includes eliminating sources of
electromagnetic radiation, avoidance, and control of
environmental radiation exposures, many people with
sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation could lead normal,
healthy, and active lives.
Health Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation
Andrew Goldsworthy BSc PhD
Lecturer in Biology (retired)
Imperial College London
Unmodulated radio waves are relatively
safe
It has been known since the work of Suzanne Bawin and her
co-workers in the mid 1970s that pure low power radio waves,
of strengths similar to those used by cell phones, are
relatively harmless. Pretty much the only damage that can be
done by an unmodulated signal is due to the heating effect
of the radiation as it passes through the body, and the
ICNIRP safety guidelines adopted by many governments are
more than adequate to protect you against that.
Modulated radio waves are not safe
Bawin et al. also showed that the situation changes
drastically when the signal is “amplitude modulated” so that
its strength rises and falls in time with a lower frequency.
In particular, they found that signals that were far too
weak to generate significant heat, could now drive
structurally important calcium from the surfaces of brain
cells. Other work showed that pulses with very sharp rise
and fall times were even more effective. The loss of this
calcium weakens the membrane and makes it more likely to
leak and gives unwanted biological effects.
Cell phone signals are modulated
Cell phone signals have to be “modulated” if they are to
carry information such as speech and the various control
signals needed to make the system work. Most digital
modulation systems involve sharp changes in signal strength.
These occur over a wide range of frequencies, some of which
are biologically active. Furthermore, they occur at
radiation levels many orders of magnitude lower than those
specified by the ICNIRP guidelines. These guidelines are
therefore set far too high to protect us from modulated
radiation.
How the radiation affects us
The body can collect the signal and turn it into electric
currents just like the antenna of a radio set or a cell
phone. These currents are carried by ions (electrically
charged atoms or molecules) flowing through the living
tissues and in the blood vessels (a system of tubes full of
an electrically-conducting salty fluid that connect almost
every part of the body). When these currents impinge on cell
membranes, which are normally electrically charged, they try
to vibrate in time with the current. Pure unmodulated radio
frequency signals change direction far too quickly to cause
serious vibration. Almost as soon as the membrane starts to
move in one direction, it is driven back in the other so it
remains more or less stationary.
However, living cell membranes are able to demodulate these
modulated signals and extract the more dangerous lower
frequencies, which can now cause significant vibration on a
molecular scale. In particular, they drive the negatively
charged molecules of the membrane and the positively charged
ions, which are attached to it, in opposite directions. As a
result, some of these ions are shaken loose. Those with a
double charge, such as calcium ions are lost preferentially
and replaced by others with only one charge, which are less
affected. But ions with one charge are less able to
stabilize the membrane, which therefore becomes weaker and
more inclined to leak. This in turn can produce all sorts of
unwanted biological effects, ranging from electromagnetic
hypersensitivity (EHS) to a loss of fertility and an
increased risk of getting cancer.
How cells demodulate the signal
The mechanism of demodulation is controversial, but there is
no doubt that it occurs. The best explanation is that the
multitude of minute ion channels found in cell membranes act
as electrically-biased point contact diodes (the inside of a
cell is normally several tens of millivolts negative to the
outside). These can rectify and demodulate the signal, even
at microwave frequencies, so that the low frequency
component appears across the membrane, where it can do most
damage. A good demonstration of this demodulating effect can
be found at http://tinyurl.com/m4u75o , where you can see
and even hear a complete radio set, based on a single carbon
nanotube, which can receive, amplify and demodulate regular
radio programs. Furthermore, it also works at microwave
frequencies.
How people become electrosensitive
A cell phone signal, when demodulated in this way generates
a whole family of low frequency components, some of which
are biologically-active and cause membrane leakage. One
consequence of this leakage is to make the sensory cells of
electrosensitive individuals give a whole range of false
sensations.
We all have countless sensory cells that sense touch, heat,
pressure, pain etc. but they nearly all work on the same
principle. When they sense whatever they are programmed to
sense, their membranes “deliberately” leak ions, which
short-circuit the natural electrical potentials across them,
and this triggers them to send the relevant nerve impulses
to the brain.
Unfortunately, people suffering from EHS have significantly
higher natural rates of membrane leakage as measured by
their skin conductance (Eltiti et al. 2007). Since their
leakage rates are already high, even small amounts of
electromagnetic radiation that would not affect
non-sensitive individuals can trigger their symptoms. Not
everyone gets exactly the same symptoms, but they include
false feelings of heat, touch, pressure, crawling
sensations, pins and needles and pain.
The radiation can also affect the “hair cells of the inner
ear, which work in much the same way. Leakage here can
trigger false sensations of sound (tinnitus). There is a
similar effect on the hair cells of the part of the inner
ear that controls balance. Leakage here gives feelings of
dizziness and symptoms of motion sickness, including nausea.
We are all at risk
EHS may become a major problem for us all. Although only a
few percent of the population are at present
electrosensitive, the condition can be brought on in
hitherto healthy people by repeated or prolonged exposure to
the radiation. However, it sometimes takes many years to
develop so, even if you are currently one of the lucky ones
who are not affected, there is no guarantee that it will
stay that way.
Effects on the brain
When the neurons of the brain leak, they become more likely
to transmit nerve impulses, some of which are spurious and
have no right to be there. This explains many of the
symptoms reported by people living near cell towers. They
include brain hyperactivity, mental fogginess, loss of
concentration, sleep disturbances, stress headaches,
migraine and possibly an increased risk of people with
epilepsy getting seizures.
Another effect on the brain is the disruption of the
blood-brain barrier. This is a layer of tissue between the
blood system and the brain, where the gaps between the cells
are sealed, so that no unwanted materials can enter the
brain. Electromagnetic exposure makes this layer leak
potentially toxic substances that can cause permanent brain
damage. The effects of this may not be immediately apparent
because the brain has spare capacity, but are likely to be
progressive and lead to early dementia.
Effects on the heart
People exposed to the radiation from cell towers sometimes
report cardiac arrhythmia and palpitations. These too can be
explained by membrane leakage. The cells of the heart muscle
have also been shown to lose membrane calcium following
electromagnetic exposure and may also leak. Normally, the
rhythm of the heart is controlled electrically by waves of
programmed ion leakage that spread through the heart causing
it to contract. Unscheduled ion leakage brought about by
electromagnetic radiation can disrupt this process and
induce cardiac arrhythmia, with a consequent increased risk
of getting heart attacks.
Effects on the skin
Leakage in the cells of the skin, can cause inflammation as
their contents leak out. There is also a barrier layer in
the skin (the stratum granulosum) in which the gaps between
the cells are sealed, as in the blood brain barrier. When
this leaks, it allows toxins and allergens to enter the body
more easily. This can explain the current increase in
multiple chemical sensitivities and allergies, which appear
to coincide with our ever-increasing exposure to
non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. You can find more
about the biological and health effects of this sort of
radiation (including references) at
http://tinyurl.com/5ru6e6 .
Can we act responsibly?
Almost no one wants to give up the convenience of having a
cell phone. But at present, the toxic effects of their
radiation are unacceptably high. Much of this seems to be
due to the way in which the microwaves are modulated to
carry information. A great deal could be done to improve the
modulation process; e.g. to remove the low frequency changes
in signal strength that appear to be particularly damaging.
This work will need to be done by engineers working in
concert with biologists, but it may be some time before we
have an inherently safe system. In the meantime, we need to
do everything we can to reduce our exposure levels. No one
wants a “nanny state” but it is the duty of Governments to
warn us of the health risks of using cell phones so that we
can use them responsibly.
The cell phone operators have
responsibilities too
The radiation from cell towers is potentially more dangerous
than cell phones themselves because they run continuously
day and night and have been shown to have many unpleasant
effects on people living near them. These appear to be due
to an attenuation of their normal circadian rhythms, leading
to tiredness during the day, poor sleep at night and a
weaker immune system. The immune system is linked closely to
these rhythms, and any reduction in their efficacy will
increase the risk of general ill health. Furthermore, the
immune system also gets rid of incipient cancer cells so, if
compromised by radiation, it will increase the risk of
getting cancer; something that is already being reported in
people living near cell towers.
It is now up to the cell phone operators. At present, the
law allows them to put cell towers pretty much wherever they
like. But this law was made many years ago before many of
the non-thermal biological effects of electromagnetic
radiation were discovered; let alone understood. The fact
that many of these effects now have plausible scientific
explanations strengthens the need for more rigorous
legislation with tighter limits on base station power and
restrictions on placing them in densely populated areas,
especially in sensitive locations such as schools. The
question is, are they yet fully aware of the dangers they
pose and do they have sufficient of a social conscience to
do this on a voluntary basis?
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