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Wiley
Skeptic Friend
68 Posts |
 Posted - 05/31/2002 : 10:54:59
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I recently read a review article on the biological effects of Microwave and RF fields in the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. For those non-electrical engineers out there, this is the largest professional society for microwave and RF researchers and designers. The article was written by Elainor Adair and Ronald Peterson and was entitled "Biological effects of radio-frequency/microwave radiation." I should mention that not only is this a peer-reviewed journal, but the most prestigious microwave/RF journal.
With recent scares about the safety of electromagnetic fields produced by everything from power lines to cell phones, I thought y'all might be interested in the lastest word on the subject. One of the proposals for EU's list of basic rights included the right of freedom from electromagnetic fields. (Talk about living in the dark!)
The article is quite long and technical, but a few selected quotes are appropriate.
quote:
Due to economic and technical concerns, only a few studies have investigated the consequences of long-term exposure of animals to controlled RF/MW fields. Almost without exception, several recently published long-term studies,list of five references that omitted, have failed to demonstrate any deleterious effects, including cancer, on the exposed animals.
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Over 20 recent epidemiological studies of humans chronically exposed to assored RF/MW sources (radar, mobile phones, etc.) have suffered from multiple technical deficiencies, especially an absence of exposure assessment and, thus, have limited utility. Many of these studies targeted cancer as an endpoint and, at best, the findings were equivocal or contradictory. The low quantum energy of RF/MW fields would not be expected to initiate or promote carcinogenesis, at least in terms of classical physical principles.
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The hard body of scientific evidence for a thermal basis of RF/MW bioeffects seems to be ignored today in favor of a low-level nonthermal interaction of fields and biological tissue. ... The recent controversial claims of nonthermal effects, especially at RF/MW exposures that are amplitude modulated at ELF frequencies, have neither been substantied experimentally, nor replicated independently.
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... millions of people experienced strong RF/MW exposures via clinical diathermy during the last century and with only beneficial consequences.
The article also describes the current success of RF/MW heating of animals suffering from hypothermia and its use for incubating newborn mammals.
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It is only a short step, then, to the consideration of a MW incubation system for premature human infants, who are so susceptible to the dehydrating and burning characteristics of conventional convective and radiant incubators in use today
In short there are benefits with no confirmed deleterious effects of controlled microwave exposure. Can we sue the people who brought class action suits against cell phone makers?
Edited by - Wiley on 05/31/2002 10:55:46
Edited by - tokyodreamer on 05/31/2002 12:56:43
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Wiley
Skeptic Friend
68 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2002 : 11:45:53 [Permalink]
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I did a search on the web to see if the above article was easily available to all. I did not find it, but I did find an interview with the lead author, Eleanor Adair. It's at the NY Times so registration is required.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/16/health/16ADAI.html
I now realize the above post should probably go in the medicine forum. So any of you moderators, feel free to move it.
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2002 : 12:57:26 [Permalink]
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Woohoo! My first wielding of my moderator powers!
Muhahahahahaha!
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fortiter in re, suaviter in modo |
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Topic Locked
