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.
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The harm from high power is due to heat, as in burning. Low power is simply the applicaiton of something less than warm.
You all have reached the correct answer but just to add a touch of credibility: I'm an electrical engineer. My "specialty" is bulk power distribution.
The EMF propeller-beanies have been around for a long time and are nuts. I won't rule out some 2+ standard deviation anomoly but save that, there is NOTHING to this nonsense.
I remember as a youngster, a cop friend demonstrated his radar gun to us. Putting your hand 3 feet in front of the emitter would result in a warm, tingly feeling on your skin...
Holy crap! What did he do for an encore, stick his head in a microwave?
I'm sure the damage depends on a few factors. Most "stuff" has a threshold, below which there is no harm. Arsenic is necessary for life, but in large doses, is poison. Ionizing radiation is part of our background environment, but heavy doses of gamma, X-ray, or even microwave and RF are, as you have noted, harmful.
The technical matter is to find that threshold, which is the matter of producing evidence to show the harm caused by low doses. So far, no evidence. Hence the study to see if there is any evidence. This has been studied before. It's a huge issue with 50-60 Hz power transmission lines, all that buzzing and crackling and stuff.
Do como types use stuned beebers?
I have spent a few times in my life living without electricity, and the difference is noticeable. Subtle, but noticeable. Affects thought and mood for sure - probably because of its effect on the brain. Maybe one of the reasons people really like to go camping.
I'm not talking about the difference in conveniences or refrigerators.
I like not having electricity surrounding me, but it's too hard if you need to do things in life.
Oh yeah, I want in on the class action lawsuit that's sure to be filed in a few months!
It sounds like if I are/were a como type I would be dead.
Nope, no encores.....
He was making the point to us youngsters, not to get too close to the business end of a radar gun. At the time, a few Little Leage teams/associations were starting to get the same radar devices for use on the ball field.
This would have been in the mid-70's. I don't know how well that technology has progressed since.
I knew a guy in school about 15 years ago that had been a Navy F-14 avionics tech. He told us that you didn't want to be anywhere NEAR a Tomcat with it's avionics radiating.
Church of S. Vittore
The Romanesque bell tower, with angular pilaster strips and mullioned windows with two lights, is among the oldest of the Como type (the 11th century), whereas its present nave dates back to the fifth century.
http://englagodicomo.zine.it/NotiziaStandard.asp?IDNotizia=28215&IDCategoria=7859
Roger that....
I'm just saying that from what I know about high-power EM effects, I am unwilling to state that the theory that long-term low-power EM emitters cause physiological harm is bunk.
As for myself, I don't want to be any near a device that's radiating any kind of significant energy. It may not kill you 100% for sure, but why take the chance?
And yes, I know we're exposed to varying levels of radiation on a daily basis, such as cross country flights, the dentist and typing at a keyboard...
Oh, I'm not knocking EM emitters either.
I am a Ham, so I use the RF spectrum at varying power levels for varying periods. I use a cell phone as much as I please, etc. etc.
I'm jusrt saying that I won't reject the theory out-of-hand unless I see some contradictory studies.
Consider the effect of getting to close to a 100W light bulb. What's the long term effects of having your room lit up so you can see?
Thurber's grandmother was right! She went around checking all of the light bilbs to make sure they were screwed in tightly, and suffered from "the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house."
So the question then becomes: does long-term exposure to low power devices have a cumulative effect?
I'd like to see some peer-reviewed research.
And he not only had a cell phone, but had eaten carrots.
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