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Article 2

Cell Phone Controversy
by Rose Marie Williams MA

Rose Marie Williams has a Master's degree in sociology from the State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNYNP), and is president of the Cancer Awareness Coalition (www.cacinfo.org), a grassroots health and environmental organization. She writes about Environmental issues and health risks for the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, a publication about complementary medicine, and contributes articles to other similar magazines. She is a health and environmental advocate.

As is often the case, peacetime finds new commercial markets for war-associated technology. Since the conclusion of the Second World War the steady development  of electronic devices of all types has continued at a dizzying pace. In industrial nations nearly every human action during the past 55 years has involved an electrical appliance of some type.  Today we are all living in a sea of invisible energies life has never before experienced . 

There have been many indications of adverse health effects from electropollution. Because the United States military and governmental agencies demand unrestricted use of electromagnetic fields, most of the data about unfavorable health risks has been suppressed or negated.The majority of studies regarding health risks associated with electromagnetic exposure have been conducted in Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Electromagnetic fields/radiation:

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) consist of an electric and a magnetic field. The fluctuation in the field radiates outward from a transmitter as waves of energy. Sometimes the phenomenon is called an electromagnetic field (EMF) to emphasize  its connection with the transmitter, or it may be referred to as electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to emphasize its outward flowing aspect. The two terms are interchangeable and refer to the same phenomenon.

The human body generates its own beneficial electromagnetic field to govern its many intricately related functions. Artificially created EMFs from cellular (cell) phones and other sources can cause physical harm by disrupting the body's internally generated, biologically useful EMFs which maintain control over all bodily functions from memory and reasoning to organ function and nerve health.

The human body's EMF's travel through electromagnetic pathways called meridians, or channels of "chi" (energy), recognized in the ancient science of oriental medicine. Modern computerized imaging of radioisotope tagging in humans has proven the existence of these energy pathways. Researchers have found a measurable loss of strength in the main median running through the back of the neck (the governing vessel), and progressive weakening of other meridians during continued cell phone usage. When healthy subjects discontinued phone use after 30 seconds, the affected meridians returned to normal within 30 seconds. If phone use was longer to recuperate, approximately an additional 30 minutes..

Subjects with chronic fatigue suffered more severe weakening of their meridians, requiring 15 minutes or more to return to normal after a brief 2-minute exposure. Merely placing a live (turned on) cell phone to the ear of healthy individuals showed immediate weakening of the head and jaw meridians , followed by weakening in the back and pelvic regions.

Health Risks

EMFs from cell phones are directed into the ear, jaw, teeth, eyes, scalp, brain, hypothalamus, sinuses, and pineal gland. The full extent of harm from external EMF exposure is not yet fully documented.

The pineal gland influences reproduction, growth, body temperature, blood pressure, motor activity, sleep, tumor growth, mood, the immune system and longevity. It has been known for over 20 years that very small magnetic fields influence the pineal gland, causing an increase or decrease in the production of melatonin and serotonin. These two neurohormones have many functions including the direct control of all biocycles in the body.

Radar beams, composed of pulsed microwaves, have the highest densities of any EMR sources. In the lab, both radio frequency and microwave radiation have been shown to change the gateway-barrier function of cell membranes, upset hormones balances and induce chromosome defects, all of which are factors in malignant growth.

With the current proliferation of cell phone use, scientists and health advocates have been attempting to raise public awareness about the health hazards associated with EMR produced by cell phones and transmission towers. EMR pollution is not unique to the telecommunications industry. All electrical devices including hair dryers, electric blankets, computers, etc., produce EMR.

The most hazardous waves are from the radio frequency (RF) section of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes radio, television, and microwave  signals. Microwave radiation is considered most worrisome. While no one living in a modern environment is exempted from EMR pollution , some individuals may be particularly sensitive to EMR exposure.

Cell Phones and Towers:

For a cell phone to work it must seek out a receiver by sending strong magnetic radiation for several miles in all directions. This poses significant exposure levels to the brain, since the phone antennas are within an inch of the user's head. Cell phones operate with radio waves called microwaves, which occupy a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum than EMFs produced by ordinary electrical power systems. Microwaves have a wavelength that is vastly different, and more powerful than the 60 Hz wavelength of the electric power system used in the USA.

Cordless phones operate at different frequencies and use weaker signals than cell phones, although they must transmit back to their base unit, which transfers the signal to a conventional phone line. This radiates additional EMFs to the users brain. Newer, more powerful cordless phones produce even stronger EMFs than older models. The Cellular Phone Task Force in the USA warns consumers that using a cell phone or digital cordless for 2 minutes disrupts the blood-brain barrier, Longer use permanently destroy cells. When a cell phone is in use, everyone within  100 yards is also being irradiated, causing more pain and suffering to the most vulnerable individuals. Additional symptoms may include head or chest pain, palpitations, muscle spasms, etc. Most people will not notice any effects, others will attribute symptoms to other causes, not realizing what the real culprit is.

Cell towers pose additional problems. They are capable of irradiating the entire countryside. If a cell phone works where you live, you are being irradiated 24 hours a day. Radiation from towers and phones may contribute to strokes and heart attacks in young people, high blood pressure, arrhythmias , asthma, flu-like illness, reduced sperm count, auditory disturbance, epilepsy, autism, attention deficit disorder, thyroid disease, cataracts, leukemia, and brain cancer. Cell towers affect other living things too. Trees grow more slowly, lose their leaves or needles prematurely, and become susceptible to fungal disease. Cell towers disorient and kill migrating birds , lower milk production in dairy cows, and cause birth defects in wild and domestic animals. 

Since digital phones were first introduced in 1996, microwave pollution has grown out of control. One million Americans are currently so disabled they can no longer function in the modern world. Wireless Internet, the latest technology being heavily promoted , is more complex, and possibly even more dangerous than cell phones and towers, according to Arthur Firstenberg, founder of the Cellular Phone Task Force. Mr Firstenberg and similarly affected individuals cannot tolerate using computers, therefore his organization does not maintain a web site. He can be reached at PO Box 1337, Mendocino, CA 95460 (USA), or tel. +27 707 937 3990. 

 Jurisdiction in the USA:

 The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction over radiation-emitting devices, but did not conduct any pre-market testing of cell phones for safety, nor is the FDA tracking any wireless users for indications of a public health problem. The mobile phone radiation exposure guidelines, used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), were written by industry representatives, not by any health agency. The telecommunication industry funded a 25 million dollar research project directed by Dr. George Carlo . However, when studies found genetic damage from cell phone radiation at levels equal to some high power cordless phones, the study was discredited, as was Dr. Carlo.

Prior to 1996, citizens could prevent base stations and antennas from being located in their neighbourhood by citing concerns over health issues. To circumvent this inconvenience to industry, the United States Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA), which prohibits citizens from using health risks as a reason for refusing to allow the construction of antennas in their communities.

The federal government in the USA sets a maximum exposure limit to electromagnetic energy from cell phones, referred to as the >specific absorption rate or SAR. The SAR limit ignores other effects, such as those from very low levels of radiation when in use, but also emit small amounts of radiation when left on. Using a headset and keeping the phone away from the body can reduce exposure to radiation. 

References

1. Becker R. The Body Electric. NY:William, Morrow and Co, 1985

2. Forbes LL, Marshall RJ. Unpublished original research on EMF fields and their biological interference patterns conducted at Pacific Research Laboratories, February through April 1996. Health Line, Inc, www.healthline.cc "Phone protectors"

3. Geske A. Hang up and listen. Utne Magazine Jan/Feb 2005.

4. Cellular Phone Talk Force. Danger :Radiation. PO Box 1337 Mendocino, CA 95460 (USA)

5. Silver J. FAA points out cordless phone RF health effects. RCR News J Newton@emrnetwork.org 4 April 2002

6. Newton J, President EMR Policy Institute, PO Box 117, Marshfield, VT 05658 (USA) and www.emrpolicy.org (phone conversation 22/3/2005, tel. +27 802-426-3035.