Mar

21

The increase in the intensity of the electromagnetic soup (the South Park boys call it smug) in urban areas over the past 3 decades has been exponential. The limited research on the health effects in this area has been entirely on the question of whether cell phone use caused brain cancer because the receiver was held so close to the ear. What has not been researched at all is the effect of having transmitters sprinkled everywhere - on airplanes, in hotels, etc. so that the exposure is constant for people who live in urban areas. It is a question that genuinely needs statistical research, especially since Wi-Fi and Cell Phones operate at a much higher frequency than the transmissions that people have previously been exposed to - i.e. AM-FM radio and over the air TV broadcasting.


Comments

Name

Email

Website

Speak your mind

4 Comments so far

  1. Rich on March 21, 2011 6:30 pm

    Hi Kim,

    Can’t contribute anything substantive to your questions/concerns but it did jog a memory of a 2005 study by Rahimi et.al. on radio waves that I thought you might get a laugh out of.

    http://berkeley.intel-research.net/arahimi/helmet/

  2. Patrick on March 21, 2011 10:20 pm

    This is a topic of concern for me as well. I wonder if the reason for the lack of research isn’t so much a lack of interest but limited ability to measure the output of specific devices due to IP protections that allow those most staked on nothing being wrong to block further inquiry - similar to the situation with GMO food consumption research.

  3. jeff Watson on March 22, 2011 7:39 am

    Here is a great article put out by the Amateur Radio Relay League regarding their position on RF effects. http://tinyurl.com/4ng37bc

    From personal experience, I have a very healthy respect for RF energy and try to avoid it whenever possible. Being a licensed ham operator for many years, I’ve managed to get RF burns from transmitters that had an output as little as 125 watts. Those burns hurt like hell, but are nothing like a second degree burn from a 2000 watt PEP linear amplifier. Unlike getting burned on the stove, RF burns go much deeper under the skin, and although they might not look bad, they take 3 times longer to heal. In every instance, the burns resulted from improper grounding which allowed RF to leak into the room where my transmitter and amplifier was located. As of late, I’ve been reducing my power (QRP) and trying to work the most distance with less than 10 watts output. When conditions are right, with a decent antenna, it is possible to work anywhere on the planet with 2 watts on CW. Reducing power is an elegant way to approach amateur radio and minimizes the health risks of very strong RF fields.

  4. Hike 23 on July 9, 2011 12:54 am

    Yeah, remember how stupid we thought the Romans were for letting their drinking water flow through lead pipes? HA HA.

Archives

Resources & Links

Search