Posted on 01/23/2005 7:05:01 PM PST by aculeus
Scientists and health advisers are taking the claims of people who say electricity makes them ill seriously for the first time.
The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) is carrying out a review of existing scientific studies into "electromagnetic hypersensitivity" (EHS).
Two studies into the condition, funded with £750,000 from the Department of Health and the telecommunications industry, are already under way.
Sir William Stewart, the government's adviser on radiation, has called for more research into the issue.
Some researchers believe a proportion of the population suffers ill health, with symptoms including fatigue, severe headaches and skin problems, because of exposure to electromagnetic fields. Other scientists say there is no evidence.
The Swedish government, which recognised EHS as a physical impairment in 2000, calculates that 3.1 per cent of its population – 200,000 people – suffer from the condition. A recent warning by Sir William, head of the NRPB and the Health Protection Agency, that parents should limit their children's use of mobile phones received widespread publicity.
However, his suggestion that another section of the population, as well as the young, could have extra sensitivity to exposure to either radio frequency fields from mobiles or electromagnetic fields in general did not.
The NRPB has commissioned Dr Neil Irvine, of the Health Protection Agency, to carry out a review of existing scientific literature on EHS.
His report, focusing on symptoms, prognosis and treatment, will be published in the summer.
The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme, funded by the Government and the telecommunications industry, is spending £8.6 million on 29 studies, two of which will investigate EHS.
A team at King's College, London, is looking at whether mobile phones cause symptoms such as headaches, nausea and fatigue in those who claim to be hypersensitive and those who do not.
Researchers at the University of Essex are exposing two groups of volunteers to signals from a mobile mast to test if cognitive functions such as attention span and memory are affected. Half will be people who say they suffer EHS.
Dr David Dowson, a former GP who is now a complementary medicine specialist based in Bath, said he had seen around 10 patients he believed to be suffering from EHS. "I think the condition is increasing in prevalence, because we are living in a more electrically polluted environment."
Olle Johansson, associate professor of neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, has been studying EHS for 20 years.
He has shown in experiments that there is an increase in the number of mast cells near the surface of skin when exposed to electromagnetic fields, a similar reaction to that when it is exposed to radioactive material.
He said: "If you put a radio near a source of EMFs you will get interference. The human brain has an electric field so if you put sources of EMFs nearby, it is not surprising that you get interference, interaction with systems and damage to cells and molecules.''
Others say the condition is in the mind.
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
Aw, c'mon man! If you're going to use 'tech-speak' in your posts...ya gotta get it right.
The proper phrase is "boogity-boogity".
Hey, for £750,000 I'll take them seriously too!
>>I can easily believe that long-term exposure to EM emissions, even on low power, can be damaging to your health.<<
I look at it this way: too much exposure to water can get you killed too, especially if you're wearing cement overshoes.
Anything in the frequency of x-rays and above produces ionization directly through absorption or scattering of the incident photon, which is harmful, in sufficient quantities, to biological systems, because of the inhibiting of essential biochemical reactions, and the breakdown of long-chain molecules. Direct ionization requires incident energy quanta sufficient to remove electrons from the atoms they are bound to. Below a given threshold, ionization will not occur, but thermal effects, as noted in earlier posts, can be significant if field strengths are high enough. RF can produce ionization (like in the ion bottles of accelerators) but that is essentially a thermal effect. The free electrons are accelerated to high velocities by the oscillating field and collisions eventually strip other electrons from their associated atoms.
"It's the other way around. The absorption ends up as heat and efficiency of absorption depends on the relationship of half wavelength to say radius of part absorbing. "
It's the "Magnetic" portion at lower frequencies......It's the "Electro" portion at higher frequencies. At least that's what the standard on electromagnetic exposure says.....
Perhaps they need to readjust their tin-foil hats? The shielding effect is directly related to the fit, don't ya know.
Only if the human touches the wires. :-)
We had a huge case of "stray radiation" case here in Michigan aCorrection: I believe those/that was termed "Stray Voltage".
"stray radiation" is a whole 'nother field ...
From Douglas J. Reinemann, Wisconsin Extension Engineer:
It has been know for over a century that high-power RF transmissions can have a harmful effect on humans.How did they develop those high-power "high-power RF transmissions" in 1905 anyway?
Putting your hand 3 feet in front of the emitter would result in a warm, tingly feeling on your skin.50 or 100 mW 3 feet out isn't going to be felt - it was your imagination and the 'power of suggestion' that did it!
(I've personally repaired the bias circuits that power those Gunn diodes (no joke - that's what they're called!) in models like the old MPH Industries model XR-10)
Good thing I have a grounding strap!
Background of the HAARP ProjectHave you ever heard HAARP?
Many dozens of people have, near 80 Meters and also near 40 M.
This is the first I've heard of HAARP.That was his intent - to scare!Sounds dangerous.
Why do you think they called the early ones radar ranges?That was a TRADE NAME intentionally used by RAYTHEON.
The Raytheon Corporation produced the first commercial microwave oven in 1954; it was called the 1161 Radarange. It was large, expensive, and had a power of 1600 watts. The first domestic microwave oven was produced in 1967 by Amana (a division of Raytheon).
if you were/are in communication, that is, working in a com-center you would know. a com-center in a screen room that keeps ALL signals inside the area.Cite or reference please?
Like radiation - rf is invisible and undetectable to the naked eye. But it's still there causing problems.Hmmm ... like when nature lets loose with one of her real zingers?
Ka-pow! and there goes your static wire, the transmission class surge supressor and the potential transformer all in one shot!
Sounds like he was building a feriday cage to protect his electronics and computers in case of a eletromagnetic pulse weapon.Well, he'd better do more than just build the fabled 'Faraday cage' - he'd better build something to block that pesky H-field component as well!
(It's all the rage around the semi-elite techy types; mentioned 'Faraday cage' when discussing RF and you'll generate ooohs and aaahs and be regarded as a genius when the truth is any physicist will say that you have solved only half the problem - the E-field - with a Faraday cage!)
Sorry about that. I had been led to believe that "booga-booga" was an acceptable derivation by the local rep for ChickenLittle Corp. Obviously, they haven't been keeping up with company policy. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.