Green Living Journal Article on Health Effects of RF

One of the most important life-saving news of the year —
though perhaps discouraging to many— came with the release
of the preliminary results of the National Toxicology Program’s
(NTP) $25 million study on the link between cell phone radiation
and cancer.
Ten years in the making, the study involved 4,410 rodents,
exposed to the same type of radio frequency/microwave (RF/
MW) radiation found in cell phones (2G and 3G), for nine hours
a day, for two years.
The results: some of the exposed rats developed two types
of cancer, glioma in the brain, and schwannoma in the heart.
The unexposed rats were cancer-free.
The same RF/MW radiation that caused the rats to develop
brain and heart tumors also caused DNA breaks in their brains.
This is the same type of radiation emitted by cell phone towers,
cordless phones, wi-fi routers, wi-fi enabled computers and
hand-held devices, smart meters, baby monitors, radars, and
microwave ovens.
The NTP results provide “strong evidence for the genotoxicity
of cell phone radiation,” Ron Melnick told Microwave News.
Melnick led the team that designed the NTP study. This “should
put to rest the old argument that RF radiation cannot cause
DNA damage.”
“The NTP study is a big straw on the camel’s back,” Paul Dart,
MD, FCA said. Dart is a practicing physician in Eugene, OR. He
has testified at the Oregon State Legislature on the health effects
of RF/MW transmissions.
To those who have kept abreast with the scientific studies
on the health effects of RF/MW radiation over the years, the
results of the NTP study comes as no surprise.
Cancer is just one of the “myriad health effects seen in more
than 10,000 scientific studies on the biological effects of EMFs
(electro-magnetic fields), dating back to the 1950s,” said Martin
L. Pall, PhD, professor emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical
Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA.
Pall has published award-winning scientific papers on the
biological effects of RF/MW radiation, and has lectured globally
on the subject.
According to Pall, the health effects seen in studies include
life-threatening cardiac effects, DNA damage, neuropsychiatric
and other brain diseases, oxidative stress, hormonal effects,
lowered reproduction, and infertility rate. These studies are
reviewed in www.bioinitiative.org and www.PubMed.gov.
Then there’s “microwave sickness,” more commonly known
as Electro-hypersensitivity (EHS). “I’ve been seeing more and
more people being pushed over their threshold with EHS,” Dart
said.
EHS symptoms include headache, sleep disturbance, difficulty
in concentration, memory disturbance, fatigue, depression,
digestive disturbance, and cardiac irregularities.
Dr. Dart’s experience with his patients compelled him to
do further research. He collaborated with a team of doctors to
produce the report Biological and Health Effects of Microwave
Radiofrequency Transmissions: A Review of the Research Literature.
The team presented this report to the Oregon State Senate
Committee on Health Care and Human Services and the Eugene
Water and Electric Board (EWEB) in 2013.
Dart presented findings of studies done on the prevalence
of EHS in various countries, as well as studies showing evidence
of ill effects from exposure to RF/MW radiation from cell phone
towers in urban areas.
Notably, the data in the studies indicate that adverse health
effects occurred at RF/MW exposure levels at least thousands
of times lower than the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) guideline of 600 microwatts/cm2.
“The current FCC guideline does not protect the population
from exposures that have been shown to cause adverse biological
effects,” Dart said.
The RF/MW wireless devices most people use daily are, unfortunately,
“not pre-market tested for biological safety,” Pall said.

For decades now, the FCC and the wireless industry have
held the position that there are no risks involved in the use of
these devices. “This is not what the scientific evidence shows,”
Dart said.
In May of 2011, for instance, the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the International Agency for Research in Cancer
(IARC) announced that they have classified RF/MW as possibly
carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), in the same category
as lead, DDT and chloroform, “based on an increased risk for
glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless
phone use.”
“Industry has argued that there is ‘no mechanism’ for biological
effects to happen. That there is nothing to worry about
other than heating,” Pall said.
“What studies show is that EMFs work by activating what are
called voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in the cell membrane.
When those channels are activated by EMF exposure,
they open up, and they allow calcium to flow into the cell. Many
of the biological effects are produced by the excess of calcium
in the cell,” Pall explained.
According to Pall, so far, 26 scientific studies have shown
that this mechanism produces biological effects following EMF
exposure.
A globe-trotting road warrior for the cause of educating the
public about this mechanism, Pall has observed that “important
initiatives” are underway to decrease people’s exposures in various
parts of the world
The list of international policy actions on wireless, available
on the Environmental Health Trust (EHT) website, shows how
groups of scientists, health authorities, and communities have
been taking action to protect citizens from harmful RF/MW
exposure.
Many of these initiatives follow the “precautionary principle”
— which calls for action to protect human and environmental
health in the face of uncertain risks. The WHO decided that
there was “sufficient evidence” to apply the precautionary principle
for microwave (RF/MW) radiation in 2003.
In the U.S., a good number of initiatives have been
squelched by lawsuits from the Wireless Association, originally
known as the Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA).
For instance, the CTIA sued the city of San Francisco, CA, for
passing a bill requiring cell phone retailers to post the radiation
levels of the mobile devices they’re selling. While San Francisco
was forced into a settlement, the city of Berkeley fended off a
similar CTIA lawsuit last year.
While initiatives in a growing number of countries have
been gathering steam in favor of education and precaution, Pall
thinks that, “we in the U.S. are running as fast as we can in exactly the wrong direction, especially with the impending rollout
of 5G infrastructure.”
In analyzing why U.S. public policy on wireless does not reflect
the scientific evidence for ill effects from RF/MW radiation,
Pall explained:
“In a nutshell, Congress gave the FCC the power to regulate.
A detailed report from the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard
University clearly shows that The FCC has been co-opted by
industry. The report describes the FCC as an agency that’s been
captured by the industry that it’s supposed to be regulating.”
Recommended Resources
Wireless Education Action, Portland, OR. A non-profit organization
that educates on the health effects of RF/MW wireless
technology and ways to reduce exposure. www.wirelesseducationaction.
org
Captured Agency: How the Federal Communications Commission
Is Dominated by the Industries It Presumably Regulates. A
free e-book published by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics,
Harvard University: http://ethics.harvard.edu/files/center-forethics/
files/capturedagency_alster.pdf
Dr. Martin L. Pall’s scientific papers. www.PubMed.gov
The presentations of Martin Pall, PhD, and Paul Dart, MD,
FCA, to the Oregon State Legislature. https://olis.leg.state.or.us/
liz/2013I1/Committees/SHH/2014-12-08-08-00/MeetingMaterials
Environmental Health Trust, founded by Nobel Peace Prize
recipient Devra Davis, MD, offers a wealth of educational resources
and info on ways to take action. www.ehtrust.org
Mobilize, an investigative documentary film on the potential
negative, long-term health effects from cell phone radiation.
http://www.mobilizemovie.com

“Part 2: Steps to Reduce Electro-Magnetic Pollution” will be
addressed in the spring issue.

Written in memory of Atty. Jimmy Gonzalez, 1972-2014.
Watch his testimony to the Pembroke Pines Commission
to raise awareness on the health risks of cell phone radiation.
Gonzalez detailed how he got cancer in three places from his
cell phone.
https://www.facebook.comEHTrustposts/1050121605006303
Christina Cobb is an award-winning freelance journalist
based in Oregon.

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