an excerpt from An Electronic Silent Spring by Katie Singer
A historical context for the biological effects of RF signals
In 1953, the Soviets installed a wireless system that radiated the American embassy in Moscow, a system that continued until the mid-seventies. (The Soviets’ intention for this installation remains controversial.) Because they were exposed to radiofrequency radiation, many of the workers, including ambassadors, got leukemia and other diseases. The “low-level” of radiation that employees were exposed to was remarkably similar to exposures people now experience when they live near cellular antennas.
Soviet medical researchers first identified a syndrome they called Microwave Sickness, now called Electro-Hypersensitivity (EHS). The Soviets found that exposure to RF radiation can develop into tumors, blood changes, reproductive and cardiovascular abnormalities, depression and other problems.1
The U.S. Senate also studied the effects of low-level radiation emitted by the Soviets on personnel who worked at the U.S. Embassy.2 The U.S. Senate’s Lilienfield Study found eczema, psoriasis, allergic and inflammatory reactions; neurological and reproductive problems; an increase of tumors (malignant in women, benign in men); blood abnormalities; and effects on mood and well-being including irritability, depression, loss of appetite, concentration and eye problems. These symptoms are nearly identical to those reported by people with EHS and in studies of communities exposed to radiation from digital signals.3,4,5,6,7
EHS symptoms can also include disturbed sleep, rashes, facial flushing, heart arrhythmia, muscle spasms, memory loss, sinusitis, deteriorating vision, seizures, paralysis, tinnitus, elevated blood sugar levels, stroke, nosebleeds and digestive problems.
Dietrich Klinghardt, MD has explored the relationship between EHS and Lyme Disease. (klinghardtacademy.com).
Recently, the California Department of Health found that three percent of Californians (770,000 people) believe they have some form of EHS or Radiofrequency Sickness. Five percent of Swiss people experience RF Sickness.8 Up to nine percent of Germany’s 2004 population, and 13.3% of Taiwan’s 2010 population9 experience Electro-Hypersensitivity.
If three percent of the U.S. population has RF Sickness, that’s more than nine million people.
Why do some people experience RF Sickness and others–even in the same household or workplace–not experience it? Let’s answer this question with two more: Why do some people smoke two packs of cigarettes every day and keep “healthy?” Why do some people get lung cancer from exposure to second-hand smoke?
Richard Conrad, PhD, biochemist, conradbiologic.com, Hawaii Exposure to a new electronic or wireless device, or spending an unusually long time near a device that was previously tolerated can initiate Electro-hypersensitivity. Physical symptoms are then re-triggered by exposure to much lower field levels, levels far below those the FCC considers “safe.” Some people are predisposed toward developing EHS because they were exposed earlier to toxins such as pesticides or heavy metals.
I have talked to numerous scientists, engineers, programmers, financial advisors and realtors who love their work and their computers, but can no longer sit in front of a computer for more than a few minutes without getting debilitating symptoms. They can only drive older cars with early, less powerful computers under the hood. They can’t travel into many environments. They are truly disabled.
Endnotes:
1. Tolgskaya, M.S. and Gordon, A.V., 1973. “Pathological effects of radio waves,” Soviet Science Consultants Bureau, New York, pp. 133-137.
2. U.S. Senate, 1979. “Microwave radiation of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow,” Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, 90th Congress, 1rst session, April 1979, pp 1-23.
3. Santini, R., Santini, P. et al, 2002. “Enquete sur la sante de riverains de stations relais de telephonie mobile: incidences de la distance et du sexe. Pathol. Biol. 50: 369-373, doi.10.1016/50369-8114(02)00311-5.
4. Abdel-Rassoul, G., El-Fateh, O.A. et al, 2007. “Neurobehavioral effects among inhabitants around mobile phone base stations,” Neurotoxicology 22(2)l; 434-440, doi.10.1016/j.neuro.2006.07.012.
5. Navarro, A.E., Segura, J., et al, 2003, “The microwave syndrome: a preliminary study in Spain, Electromagn. Biol. Med., 22(2-3)l; 161-169, doi;10.1081/JBC-120024625.
6. Levitt, B., ibid.
7. “Consultations in primary care for symptoms attributed to electromagnetic fields: a survey among general practitioners,” BMC Public Health, October 2006.
8. www.dirtyelectricity.ca/images/Swiss%20EMF%20study.pdf
9. Tseng, M-C.M et al, “Prevalence and psychiatric comorbidity of self-reported electromagnetic field sensitivity in Taiwan: a population-based study,” J. of the Formosan Medical Assoc., 110 (2011) 634-641.