Health Effects of EMF Exposure: the Mercury Connection (Gov’t studies)
In
a long term comprehensive electromagnetic fields(EMF) risk assessment study by the California Dept.
of Health Services, all reviewers concluded that it is highly likely that EMF
causes some forms of cancer, along with chronic neurological conditions like
Actually there is strong evidence in the medical literature already supporting these conclusions and documenting mechanisms by which the effects occur. The evidence is based on the fact that chronic mercury exposure has been documented to cause all of these conditions (12-16), and EMF exposure has been documented to cause significant release of mercury into the body, including the brain and Central Nervous System, from those who have amalgam(2). Studies have found persons with chronic exposure to electromagnetic fields(EMF) to have higher levels of mercury exposure and excretion(2,9). Electromagnetic fields are known to induce current in metals and would increase the documented effects of galvanism(9,12-16). Amalgam has also been documented to be the largest source of mercury exposure in most people who have amalgam fillings(12,16).
EMF is also documented in animal and human studies to cause cellular calcium efflux and affect calcium homeostasis(3,4), which may be a factor in the reduction of melatonin levels caused by EMF exposure in animal and human studies(4,5). In studies on chicks this had significant adverse effects on viability of embryos and chicks. Melatonin is known to be protective against mercury and free radical activity and against cell proliferation(cancer)(17), as well as regulating the circadian rhythm cycle and sleep cycle. EMF exposure lowers melatonin production, disrupts the sleep cycle(5,8c), and blocks melatonin’s cell antiproliferation effects (17). Another study provides evidence for an association between occupational electromagnetic fields and suicide(10). The authors indicate that a plausible mechanism related to melatonin and depression provides a direction for additional laboratory research as well as epidemiological evaluation.
Occupational
exposure to higher levels of EMF have also been found in many studies to result
in much higher risk of chronic degenerative neurological conditions such as
References
(1) California Dept. of Health Services, California
EMF Program, Draft of final risk evaluation report,
www.dhs.cahwnet.gov/ehib/emf/RiskEvaluation/riskeval.html
(2) F.Schmidt et al,
"Mercury in urine of employees exposed to magnetic fields", Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen,
1997, 117(2): 199‑202; & Granlund-Lind R, Lans M, Rennerfelt J,
"Computers and amalgam are the most common causes of hypersensitivity to
electricity according to sufferers' reports", Läkartidningen
2002; 99: 682-683 (Swedish); & Sheppard AR and EisenbudM.,
Biological Effects of electric and
magnetic fields of extremely low frequency.
(3) Aldinucci C; Palmi M; Sgaragli G; Benocci A; Meini A; Pessina F; Pessina GP. The effect of pulsed
electromagnetic fields on the physiologic behaviour
of a human astrocytoma cell
line. Biochim Biophys Acta 2000, 11;1499(1‑2):101‑108; & Fitzsimmons
RJ, Ryaby JT, Magee FP, Baylink
DJ. Combined magnetic fields increased
net calcium flux in bone cells. Calcif Tissue Int 1994 Nov;55(5):376‑80
(4) Pablos MI;
(5) Juutilainen J; Stevens
RG; et al; Nocturnal 6‑hydroxymelatonin
sulfate excretion in female workers
exposed to magnetic fields. J Pineal Res 2000 ;28(2):97‑104;
& Akerstedt T;
Arnetz B; Ficca G; Paulsson LE; Kallner A. A 50‑Hz electromagnetic field impairs sleep. J Sleep Res 1999
Mar;8(1):77‑8
& Ronco AL, Halberg
F. The pineal gland
and cancer. Anticancer Res 1996 Jul‑Aug;16(4A):2033‑9; &
& Zecca L, Mantegazza
C, Margonato V, Cerretelli
P, Caniatti M, Piva F, Dondi D,
Hagino N. Biological effects of prolonged exposure to
ELF electromagnetic
fields in rats:
(6) Savitz DA; Checkoway H; Loomis DP.
Magnetic field exposure and neurodegenerative disease mortality among electric
utility workers. Epidemiology 1998 Jul;9(4):398‑404;
& Savitz
DA; Loomis DP; Tse CK. Electrical occupations and neurodegenerative disease:
analysis of
(7) Sobel E; Dunn M; Davanipour Z; Qian Z; Chui
HC. Elevated risk of
Alzheimer's disease among workers with likely
electromagnetic field exposure.
Neurology 1996 ;47(6):1477‑81; & Sobel E, Davanipour Z.
Electromagnetic field exposure may cause increased production of amyloid beta and eventually lead to Alzheimer's
disease. Neurology.
1996 Dec;47(6):1594‑600; & Sobel E; Davanipour Z; Sulkava R; Erkinjuntti T; Wikstrom J et
al; Occupations with exposure to electromagnetic fields: a possible risk factor
for Alzheimer's disease. Am J Epidemiol 1995 Sep 1;142(5):515‑24; & Hansen NH, Sobel E, Davanipour Z, Gillette
LM, Niiranen J, Wilson BW. EMF exposure assessment in the finnish garment industry:
evaluation of proposed EMF exposure metrics.
Bioelectromagnetics 2000, Jan;21(1):57‑67
(8) London SJ;
Bowman JD; Sobel E; Thomas DC; Garabrant
DH; Pearce N; Bernstein L; Peters JM. Exposure to magnetic fields among electrical workers in relation to
leukemia risk in
(9) Mercury Exposure and Health Effects from Dental
Amalgam Galvanism,
www.home.earthlink.net/~berniew1/galv.html
(10)van Wijngaarden
E, Savatz D, Kleckner R, Cai J, Loomis D.
Exposure to electromagnetic fields and suicide among electric utility
Workers: a nested case-control study. Occup Environ
Med 2000; 57:258-263
(11) Zyss T, Dobrowolski JW, Krawczyk K. Neurotic
disturbances, depression and anxiety disorders in the population living in the
vicinity of overhead high‑voltage transmission line 400 kV.
Epidemiological pilot study
Med Pr 1997;48(5):495‑505
(12)
Kingman A, Albertini T, Brown LJ, Mercury
concentrations in urine and whole blood associated with amalgam exposure in a
US military population., J Dent Res 1998
Mar;77(3):461-71
(population
of over 1000 Air Force personnel; found each
(b) Leistevuo J, Pyy L, Osterblad M, Dental amalgam fillings and the amount of
organic mercury in human saliva. Caries Res 2001 May‑Jun;35(3):163‑6; &
(c) Bjorkman L, Sandborgh-Englund G, Ekstrand
J. "Mercury in Saliva and Feces
after Removal of Amalgam Fillings", Toxicology and Applied
Pharmacology, 1997, 144(1), p156-62;
(d) Mercury levels from amalgam fillings, DAMS, www.flcv.com/damspr1.html
(13)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(
(14)
Alzheimer’s Disease: the Mercury Connection, www.flcv.com/alzhg.html
(15)
Depression: the Mercury Connection:
www.home.earthlink.net/~berniew1/depress.html
(16)Mercury exposure and related health effects from
amalgam fillings, www.flcv.com/amalg6.html
(B.Windham(Ed.), over 2000
peer-reviewed medical studies reviewed and referenced),
(17) Drs Masami Ishido and
Hiroshi Nitta,
www.tassie.net.au/emfacts/forum/1_4ezine3.html
(18) Draper G,
Vincent T, Kroll M & Swanson J, Oxford Childhood Cancer Research Group -
Childhood cancer and electromagnetic field exposures from powerlines
- Department of Health funded 1997-2001, RRX 46
Pablos MI;
of calcium on melatonin secretion in chick pineal gland I. Neurosci Lett
1996 Oct18;217(2‑3):161‑4; & Nikaido SS; Takahashi JS. Calcium modulates circadian variation in cAMP‑stimulated melatonin in chick pineal cells. Brain Res 1996 Apr
15;716(1‑2):1‑10; & Youbicier‑Simo BJ; Boudard F; Cabaner C; Bastide M. Biological effects
of continuous exposure of embryos and young chickens to electromagnetic fields emitted by video display units. Bioelectromagnetics 1997;18(7):514‑23
(lower melatonin & adverse effects on embryos & young chicks)
calcium input from extracellular medium and output from intracellular
calcium reserves are primary mechanisms in the
activation of melatonin synthesis in the chick pineal gland
****
causes cell calcium efflux and affects calcium homeostatis
Aldinucci C; Palmi M; Sgaragli G; Benocci A; Meini A; Pessina F; Pessina GP. The effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields on the physiologic behaviour of a
human astrocytoma cell line. Biochim Biophys Acta 2000 Dec 11;1499(1‑2):101‑108
EMF exposed workers consistently produced less melatonin
Juutilainen J; Stevens RG; et al; Nocturnal 6‑hydroxymelatonin sulfate excretion in female workers exposed to magnetic fields. J Pineal Res 2000 ;28(2):97‑104; & Akerstedt T; Arnetz B; Ficca G; Paulsson LE; Kallner A. A 50‑Hz electromagnetic field impairs sleep. J Sleep Res 1999 Mar;8(1):77‑81
(impairs sleep quan. & qual.)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Savitz DA; Checkoway H; Loomis DP. Magnetic field exposure and
neurodegenerative disease mortality among electric utility workers.
Epidemiology 1998 Jul;9(4):398‑404. (higher risk in occupations
with exposure, and inc with time)
Savitz DA; Loomis DP; Tse CK. Electrical occupations and
neurodegenerative disease: analysis
of
Health 1998 Jan‑Feb;53(1):71‑4.
(5 times higher risk for power plant operators‑
Johansen C; Olsen JH. Mortality from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
other chronic disorders, and electric shocks among utility workers.Am J
Epidemiol 1998 Aug 15;148(4):362‑8. higher
risk of
more exposure
Davanipour Z; Sobel E; Bowman JD; Qian Z; Will AD. Amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis and occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Bioelectromagnetics 1997;18(1):28‑35. Occup. with higher exposure to
EMF had higher risk of
***
Savitz DA; Checkoway H; Loomis DP. Magnetic field exposure and
neurodegenerative disease mortality among electric utility workers.
Epidemiology 1998 Jul;9(4):398‑404;
& Savitz
DA; Loomis DP; Tse CK. Electrical occupations and
neurodegenerative disease: analysis of
Health 1998 Jan‑Feb;53(1):71‑4; & Johansen C; Olsen JH. Mortality from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, other chronic disorders, and electric shocks among utility workers.Am J
Epidemiol 1998 Aug 15;148(4):362‑8; & Davanipour Z; Sobel E; Bowman JD; Qian Z; Will AD. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Bioelectromagnetics 1997;18(1):28‑35.
***
Alz
Sobel E; Dunn M; Davanipour Z; Qian Z; Chui HC. Elevated risk of
Alzheimer's disease among workers with likely electromagnetic field
exposure. Neurology 1996 Dec;47(6):1477‑81.
Workers in occup. with more EMF exp. had 4 times higher risk of Alz
Sobel E, Davanipour Z. Electromagnetic field exposure may cause increased
production of amyloid beta and eventually lead to Alzheimer's disease.
Neurology. 1996 Dec;47(6):1594‑600.
Sobel E; Davanipour Z; Sulkava R; Erkinjuntti T; Wikstrom J;
Occupations with exposure to electromagnetic fields: a possible risk
factor for Alzheimer's disease. Am J Epidemiol 1995 Sep 1;142(5):515‑24.
(Occup with more exp. to EMF‑semstress
have 3 times higher risk of Alz)
**********
Sobel E; Dunn M; Davanipour Z; Qian Z; Chui HC. Elevated risk of Alzheimer's disease among workers with likely electromagnetic field exposure. Neurology 1996 ;47(6):1477‑81;
& Sobel E, Davanipour Z. Electromagnetic field exposure may cause increased
production of amyloid beta and eventually lead to Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. 1996 Dec;47(6):1594‑600; & Sobel E; Davanipour Z; Sulkava R; Erkinjuntti T; Wikstrom J et al;
Occupations with exposure to electromagnetic fields: a possible risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Am J Epidemiol 1995 Sep 1;142(5):515‑24.
*************
Leukemia/Cancer
N; Bernstein L; Peters JM. Exposure to magnetic fields among electrical
workers in relation to leukemia
risk in
1994 Jul;26(1):47‑60.
(Higher risk of leukemia & mylenoid leukemia in occup. With more emf)
Breast Cancer
Caplan LS; Schoenfeld ER; O'Leary ES; Leske MC. Breast cancer and
electromagnetic fields‑‑a review. Ann Epidemiol 2000 Jan;10(1):31‑44
Lots of studies that find higher breast cancer in occup. exposed to
EMF(men & women)
‑
Aldinucci C; Palmi M; Sgaragli G; Benocci A;
Meini A; Pessina F; Pessina GP. The effect of
pulsed electromagnetic fields on the physiologic behaviour of a
human astrocytoma
cell line. Biochim Biophys Acta 2000 Dec
11;1499(1‑2):101‑108.
ABSTRACT:
We evaluated the
effects of 50 Hz pulsed electromagnetic fields (EMFs) with a
peak magnetic field
of 3 mT on human astrocytoma cells. Our results clearly
demonstrate that,
after the cells were exposed to EMFs for 24 h, the basal
[Ca(2+)](i) levels increased
significantly from 124+/‑51 nM to 200+/‑79 nM.
Pretreatment of the
cells with 1.2 microM substance P increased the
[Ca(2+)](i) to
555+/‑278 nM, while EMF exposure caused a significant drop in
[Ca(2+)](i) to
327+/‑146 nM. The overall effect of EMFs probably depends on
the prevailing
Ca(2+) conditions of the cells. After exposure, the proliferative
responses of both normal and
substance P‑pretreated cells increased slightly
from 1.03 to 1.07
and 1.04 to 1.06, respectively. U‑373 MG cells spontaneously
released about 10
pg/ml of interleukin‑6 which was significantly increased after
the addition of
substance P. Moreover, immediately after EMF exposure and
24 h thereafter,
the interleukin‑6 levels were more elevated (about 40%) than
in controls. On the
whole, our data suggest that, by changing the properties of
cell membranes,
EMFs can influence Ca(2+) transport processes and hence
Ca(2+) homeostasis.
The increased levels of interleukin‑6 after 24 h of EMF
exposure may
confirm the complex connection between Ca(2+) levels,
substance P and the
cytokine networ
*********************
Nevertheless, as
your question suggests, there are several studies from a number of countries
showing that suicide rates among
medical
practitioners are higher than those in the general population or in some other
professions (Lindeman et al, Psychological
Medicine, Sept.
1997 pp. 1219‑22; Lindeman et al, British Journal of Psychiatry March
1996, ppl 274‑79).
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
EMFs Increase
Suicide Rates
This study
examined mortality from suicide in relation to
estimated exposure
to extremely low‑frequency
electromagnetic
fields (EMFs) and found a significant increase
in the risk of
suicide.
Researchers studied 138,905 male electric
utility workers.
They found
a more than doubled risk with electricians and
an almost
60% increase in line workers.
Even stronger associations, up
to a 3.5‑fold increase, were
found in
men younger than 50.
The authors
state that "These data provide evidence for an
association between occupational
electromagnetic fields and
suicide that
warrants further evaluation." They hypothesize
that this link
has something to do with disturbing melatonin
secretion or
metabolism.
COMMENT: There
is no question that EMF exposure should
be avoided as
much as possible. The practical issue is to
determine how to
avoid it. I have recently located some
relatively
inexpensive gauss meters which only cost $40
(800‑497‑9516).
I have absolutely no connection with this
firm and if
anyone has a better and less expensive device I
would be glad to
post that information. Generally, one
should try to
keep exposures as low as possible. Ideally,
your sleeping
environment and regular sitting places should
be less than 0.3
milligauss.
Related
Articles:
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ELECTROMAGNETIC
FIELDS EXERT
EFFECTS ON
HORMONES
Several years
ago, Cindy Sage hired an electrician to install a
new light in her
daughter's bedroom. After he left, Sage swept
the room with a
gaussmeter to measure the magnetic fields
present. In some
98 percent of
strength of
magnetic fields ranges from 0.5 to 0.9 milligauss
(mG). Until the
electrician's visit, the field in Sage's daughter's
room also fell
within that range. Afterward, it was 3 mG.
Although that
reading is somewhat higher than normal, it falls
well below the federally permitted 1,000‑mG
limit for
workplaces.
However, this didn't reassure Sage, a Montecito,
(EMF) issues.
The workplace limit "is based on the faulty
assumption that
only thermal, or heat, effects are important as
a potential
biological hazard," she says.
Sage called the
electrician back to find out what he'd done. It
turns out that
he hadn't wired the light according to the
electrical code.
When he rewired the room, its average field
dropped to 0.2
mG. Electromagnetic fields are invisible lines of
force that
surround all electric devices and wiring. Concern
about the potential
health effects of these fields was catalyzed
in the late
1970s by studies suggesting an association between
childhood
leukemia and proximity to certain types of power
lines or equipment, such as utility
transformers.
Several studies
suggest "a doubling of childhood leukemia
incidence
between 1 and 2 mG" and up to a sixfold increase for
exposures between 4 and 5
mG, says Sage. There have even
been hints of a
breast cancer risk in adults exposed to high
fields More
recently, several other sources have been added:
large currents
on the job, poorly grounded wiring, and
appliances.
Magnetic fields do not necessarily correlate with
the size, power,
or noisiness of a device. Moreover, there can
be a tremendous
difference between models of an appliance.
Because it's
difficult to shield oneself from magnetic fields, the
only practical way
to limit exposures is to put distance between
oneself and the
source.
Sage conducts
sweeps of magnetic fields in her clients' homes,
offices,
schools, and hospitals. She deploys electricians to fix
any fields that
run dramatically above the national norm.
Usually, they
trace to code violations that prove easy and
inexpensive to
fix. A 1996 report issued by the National
of affecting
biological tissues, their link to cancer remains
unproven.
However, Sage argues that until or unless EMFs are
exonerated,
avoidance of them is a reasonable policy
Richard G.
Stevens of the Department of Energy's Pacific
Northwest
National Laboratory in
disagrees,
arguing that it's premature to sweep homes or even
to advocate
prudent avoidance. That's not because he believes
EMFs are
necessarily benign. Indeed, he is the father of the
10‑year‑old
"melatonin hypothesis", a theory that exposure to
certain EMFs may trigger cancer,
especially in the breast, by
perturbing the
body's natural concentrations of this brain
hormone.
He says that
many questions remain about what types of fields
and features of
exposure‑such as timing‑underlie any risks. The
problem with
prudent avoidance is that it may make people
less willing to act if the risks are later
proved more
circumscribed.
Stevens doesn't challenge the idea that fields
can bring about
potentially disturbing biological changes.
Indeed, new studies describing
such effects were presented 7
weeks ago at a
U.S. Public Health Service conference he helped
organize in
hitherto
unrecognized responsiveness of cells, tissues, and
animals ‑
even humans.
Melatonin, a
hormone produced by the brain during periods of
darkness, is an
important natural suppressor of breast cancer
cell growth,
both in test tubes and in animals. Stevens'
melatonin
hypothesis holds that because EMFs can depress or
shut down
melatonin secretion in animals, they may play a role
in fostering the
growth of malignancies in people.
To test this
hypothesis, toxicologist Wolfgang Loescher of the
exposed groups
of up to 120 female rats to
melatonin‑suppressing
EMFs of between 100 and 1,000 mG. An
equal number of
rats received a negligible background exposure
of roughly 1 mG;
these rats produced melatonin normally.
Loescher
injected into each rat a chemical that causes
mammary cancer,
then observed the rats for 3 months.
Compared to the
unexposed rats, those in the 100‑mG field
developed about 10 percent more tumors,
animals exposed to
500 mG got 25
percent more, and rats receiving 1,000 mG
developed 50
percent more. Tumors also grew as much as twice
the size under the influence of
EMFs. To understand why,
Loescher has
focused on the immune system's T cells, a class
of white blood
cells whose role is to attack and destroy tumors
and foreign
substances. T cells from animals raised for 3
months in 500‑
or 1,000‑mG fields proved only half as likely as
those from
unexposed rats to proliferate when exposed to a
foreign
substance. "This indicates that EMFs indeed suppress
the immune
system's response to ongoing processes such as
tumor
growth," Loescher says.
He has also
analyzed rats' production of the enzyme ornithine
decarboxylase.
This enzyme has to be present in large amounts
for any cells to
proliferate. "If the melatonin hypothesis were
true, then when
one exposes rats to EMFs, there should be an
increase of this
enzyme but only in the breast," he says. That
is exactly what
he's found in EMF studies that he has replicated
several times.
"To me," he told SCIENCE NEWS, "this is the
most convincing
data that the melatonin hypothesis may be
true."
At the
Liburdy has been
probing the underpinnings of EMFs' apparent
cancer fostering
effects in test‑tube studies of malignant cells.
He has found
that 12‑mG EMFs can suppress the ability of both
melatonin and
the hormone‑emulating drug tamoxifen to shut
down the growth
of cancer cells. In a follow‑up study that he
described in
July at a meeting in
another drug
proved even more negatively affected by 12‑mG
fields. Both
tamoxifen and this second drug, which goes by the
unwieldy moniker
have been designed to dock at a
cell's estrogen receptor and
block it. In the
breast, this can starve most cancer cells of the
estrogen that
normally spurs their growth. Unlike the
which interacts
only with the estrogen receptor, tamoxifen can
alter the
activity of other proteins. Magnetic fields proved more
effective
against the
its binding to
the estrogen receptor, Liburdy says. If they do,
then the body's
natural estrogen should be affected similarly.
Tests of that
possibility are now under way. Liburdy's studies
suggest that
"a new melatonin hypothesis is emerging," argues
Charles Graham,
an experimental physiologist at the
Research
Institute (
hypothesis,
Graham notes, focused on how much melatonin the
body produced
and circulated. While reasonable, it downplayed
any relevance
for humans because "we saw no decrease in
melatonin"
among people exposed to EMFs. If magnetic fields
can make cells less sensitive to melatonin,
as studies by
Liburdy and
others now indicate, then EMFs may yet pose a
melatonin‑mediated
cancer threat, he says.
Graham's own
research indicates that magnetic fields can alter
two other
hormones that affect cancer risk‑‑estrogen and
testosterone.
Compared to measurements taken in the
presence of negligible background
fields, overnight exposure of
women to 200‑mG
EMFs in the laboratory significantly elevated
estrogen; other
studies have shown that elevated exposure to
estrogen over
many years can increase a woman's breast
cancer risk. In
men, the EMFs reduced testosterone‑a hormone
drop that has
been linked to testicular and prostate cancers,
Graham's most
intriguing data come from experiments with
what he terms
intermittent EMFs. He and Mary R. Cook, also at
hour and then
off for an hour throughout the night. During each
"on"
cycle, the field switches on and off every 15 seconds. Not
only do preliminary
studies indicate that intermittent fields
"really
have an effect," Graham observes, but they emulate
real‑world
exposures, which can vary from second to second in
frequency,
intensity, and waveform, depending on their source
and an
individual's distance from it.
In a 3‑night
study of 24 healthy young men, roughly one‑third
got steady 200
mG exposures on any given night. Another third
received 200‑mG
fields intermittently, and the remainder slept
in the presence
of negligible background fields. At the Energy
Department's
annual EMF Research Review Meeting in San
Diego last
November, Graham and Cook reported that the
intermittent fields
and only those fields‑disturbed 6 of 10
measures of
sleep quality. They not only contributed to broken
sleep and
shorter periods of deep, dream‑stage sleep, they
also led to more reports of feeling unrested
in the morning.
In an upcoming
report in BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Graham's
team links those
same intermittent fields to decreased heart
rate variability in 77
college‑age men. In healthy people, heart
rate tends to
vary somewhat from second to second in
response to the
body's need to maintain blood pressure,
temperature, and
so on. Often, individuals with heart disease
exhibit a more
stable heart rate‑‑‑an indication, Graham says,
"that their
heart is no longer as well connected to the nervous
system."
While the young
men that Graham studied exhibited normal
heart rate
variability during the nights they were exposed to
background
fields or constant EMFs, that variability diminished
substantially on
the night each was exposed to intermittent
fields. Graham
is planning follow‑up studies to probe the
long‑term
health implications of this provocative finding.
"What
concerns me," Graham says, is that the public "tends to
get so worried
about the magnitude of a field. The bigger it is,
the worse it's
supposed to be." In fact, Loescher has found that
very high fields, as well as those
below a certain strength,
have little
impact on tumor growth. Only those across a
relatively
narrow range consistently foster tumors and other
negative health effects.
"We've seen
the same thing in our studies," Graham told
SCIENCE NEWS.
Moreover, he says, it's beginning to appear
that a field's magnitude matters less than its
intermittency or
other features,
such as power surges called electrical
transients.
These surges can pack a big burst of energy into a
short period of time. They
occur whenever lights or other
electric devices
turn on, when motors or compressors (such as
those in
refrigerators and air conditioners) cycle on, or when
dimmer switches
operate. "Being transient doesn't mean
they're rare,
just quick," Graham notes. Transients are hard to
avoid because
they may stem from surges elsewhere‑in a
neighbor's house
or even power lines up the street.
Little research
has been conducted to untangle the potential
health impacts
of EMF characteristics other than field strength,
Graham notes,
and money for such EMF studies is all but drying
up. The two
major federal programs dedicated to financing
research on EMF
effects on health are slated to shut down in
October. A
program funded by electric utilities through the
Electric Power
Research Institute will also end this year.
One should
expect that "research on EMFs in the
will take a big
nose‑dive," says Graham. One ray of hope,
Liburdy notes,
comes from the recent proliferation of
government funds
for endocrine‑disrupting pollutants. While
magnetic fields
are a type of radiation, they functionally
resemble many environmental pollutants that
mimic hormones.
In fact, he
observes, EMFs may actually fit the definition of an
endocrine
disrupter better than these chemicals do. That's
because magnetic fields
appear to elicit their effects by acting
on and through
hormones, rather than as hormones.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Are EMFs
Hazardous to Our Health?
Can electromagnetic fields (EMF)
from power lines, home
wiring, airport
and military radar, substations, transformers,
computers and
appliances cause brain tumors, leukemia, birth
defects,
miscarriages, chronic fatigue, headaches, cataracts,
heart problems,
stress. nausea, chest pain, forgetfulness,
cancer and other
health problems? Numerous studies have
produced
contradictory results, yet some experts are convinced
that the threat
is real.
Dr. David
Carpenter, Dean at the