A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

Hail and Farewell
NIOSH’s Joe Bowman Dies at 73

An Expert on Exposure Assessment, He Never Gave Up

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Members of the EMF/RF research community are not known as risk takers. Some have sold their souls, but most simply follow the prescribed dogma: They keep a low profile and eke out a grant or contract here and there.

In this environment, original ideas are rare and greeted cautiously. Joe Bowman, who died on July 14, was different. As one colleague told me on hearing the news last week, “Joe was honest and he had guts.”

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Show Me the Studies!

“The Nation” Resurrects an Old Controversy

Monday, May 7, 2018

Last updated July 16, 2018

George Carlo is back. … Again.

He has a leading role in an exposé in The Nation magazine, where he is portrayed as the inside man who was hired to run a $25 million health research project for the telecom industry and later fired when he found out that cell phones present a cancer risk.

At least that’s what Carlo wants you to believe. The truth is a lot messier and a lot less favorable.

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“Clear Evidence” of Cell Phone Cancer Risk, Say Leading Pathologists

Why Peer Review Panel and NTP Interpreted the Same Animal Data Differently

Monday, April 9, 2018

“You had it right the first time.” That was the implicit message to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) from an expert panel after a point-by-point review of NTP’s draft reports on its $25 million study of cancer risks of cell phone radiation in mice and rats.

Two years ago, with the results in hand, the NTP rushed to warn the public about the dangers of cell phones. It issued an interim report pointing to higher rates of tumors in the hearts and brains of male rats exposed to two different kinds of phone radiation. Then early this February with the release of the formal draft reports, the NTP made a U-turn, saying that using a cell phone “is not a high-risk situation.”

Now a peer review panel —11 pathologists and toxicologists from academia and industry and one statistician— has concluded that there is “clear evidence of carcinogenic activity” in those male rats.

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Aggressive Brain Tumors on the Rise in England

Rate of GBM More Than Doubled Between 1995 and 2015

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Last updated June 25, 2018

The incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the deadliest type of brain tumor, more than doubled in England between 1995 and 2015, according to a new analysis of national statistics. During that time, the number of cases of GBM rose from 983 to 2,531.

“We found a sustained and highly significant increase in GBM throughout the 21 years and across all ages,” said Alasdair Philips, the lead author of the study, which has just been released online by the peer-reviewed, open access, Journal of Environmental and Public Health.

“The incidence rate of GBM, the most aggressive and quickly fatal brain tumor, is rising dramatically in England while the rates for lower grade tumors have decreased, masking this dramatic trend in the overall data,” Philips told Microwave News from his home in Beeswing in southern Scotland, not far from the English border.

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Italian RF–Animal Study:
“Consistent with” and “Reinforces” U.S. NTP Cancer Finding

Ramazzini’s Belpoggi Calls for IARC To Reassess RF–Cancer Risk

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Partial results of the Ramazzini Institute’s RF–animal study, which show a statistically significant increase in tumors in the hearts of male rats exposed to GSM radiation, were officially released today. They appear in Environmental Research, a peer-reviewed journal.

As we reported last month, the Ramazzini finding of Schwann cell tumors —called schwannomas— in the rat hearts is consistent with a similar finding by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) in a $25 million RF project.

In an interview with Microwave News, Fiorella Belpoggi, the senior author of the new paper and the director of the Ramazzini Institute’s Research Center in Bologna, Italy, offered her views on the new results, the parallels with those of the NTP and the implications for IARC’s designation of the cancer risk of RF radiation.

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Short Takes

Martin Blank
(1935-2018)

June 15, 2018

Martin Blank died on June 13 at the age of 85.

A retired professor at Columbia University, Blank was a long-time EMF researcher, best known for his collaboration with Columbia’s Reba Goodman.

Writing in his 2014 book, Overpowered, Blank called himself an “unlikely activist” and urged people to practice precaution.

His...

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Cell Phone Use Is “Not a High-Risk Situation”

February 2, 2018

Last updated February 10, 2018

Here are four key takeaways from the NTP press conference held this afternoon, soon after the release of its two cell phone reports:

1. NTP’s bottom line on cell phone use: “This is not a high-risk situation.”

2. RF radiation has biological effects at levels previously believed to be innocuous —they may be good or bad.

3. NTP will continue to do RF health studies. A new exposure facility is being...

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NTP: Draft RF Cancer Reports Released

January 29, 2018

Last updated February 2, 2018

The NTP has released two reports on the cancer risks from cell phone radiation (GSM and CDMA) on rats and mice. They are available here.

The NTP press release, “High Exposure to RF Radiation Linked to Tumor Activity in Male Rats” is here.

January 29, 12018

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has announced that the draft reports...

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SARs for Apple Watch 3 Released

September 22, 2017

Apple has released the RF exposure numbers —SARs, or specific absorption rates— for its new Series 3 Watches. These are the first wristwatches that can connect to cellular networks without being tethered to an iPhone.

The highest exposures, according to Apple, occur when the new watches are placed next to the head. The SAR measurements are based on a 10mm separation distance. The Model A1860 entails the highest exposure: 0.53 W/Kg averaged over 1g of tissue (0.52 W/Kg for the A1861).

The...

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NTP Cancer Study
Now Due Early 2018

August 30, 2017

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) will release the “complete results” of its $25 million project on cell phone cancer risks early next year, according to a statement posted on its Web site yesterday.

“The complete results from all the rats and mice studies will be available for peer review and public comment by early 2018,” the NTP states. The animals were exposed to GSM or CDMA radiation for two years before they were sacrificed...

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Changing Mix of Brain Tumors in U.K.

January 31, 2017

The incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most virulent and deadly type of brain cancer, is going up in the U.K., while the incidence there of other types of malignant brain tumors are declining, according to some newly published raw data.

Take a look at the two plots below and the trends are immediately apparent.

The incidence rates are not corrected for age, or...

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Hot new papers & articles

“Occupational Exposure to High-Frequency EMFs and Brain Tumor Risk in the INTEROCC Study: An Individualized Assessment Approach,” Environment International, online July 31, 2018. “In conclusion, despite the improved quantitative exposure assessment used in this study, the results do not support a positive association between occupational exposure to high-frequency EMF and either glioma or meningioma risk. However, given our limited statistical power, due to the small number of exposed participants, and despite our results’ lack of significance our findings foster the need for further research focusing on RF magnetic fields and tumor promotion, as well as possible interactions with other frequencies and with chemicals.” (see press release.)
“A Prospective Cohort Study of Adolescents’ Memory Performance and Individual Brain Dose of Microwave Radiation from Wireless Communication,” Environmental Health Perspectives, online July 23, 2018. “We found preliminary evidence suggesting that RF-EMF may affect brain functions such as figural memory in regions that are most exposed during mobile phone use.”
“Thermal and Non-Thermal Health Effects of Low Intensity Non-Ionizing Radiation: An International Perspective,” Environmental Pollution, posted July 6, 2018. An “urgent” call for action from D. Belpomme, L. Hardell, I. Belyaev, E. Burgio & D. Carpenter.
“ELF EMFs Impair the Cognitive and Motor Abilities of Honey Bees,” Scientific Reports, posted May 21, 2018. “Together our results show that acute exposure to ELF EMFs, at intensities ranging from those at ground level to those near transmission lines, can have profound effects on honey bees.” Open access.
“Exposure to Non-Ionizing EMFs Emitted from Mobile Phones Induced DNA Damage in Human Ear Canal Hair Follicle Cells,” Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, posted April 18, 2018. This study shows “a positive correlation betwen duration of exposure and DNA damage.”
“Exposure of Insects to RF EMFs from 2 to 120 GHz,” Scientific Reports, posted March 2, 2018. SImulations show that, “A shift of 10% of the incident power density to frequencies above 6 GHz would lead to an increase in absorbed power between 3–370%. This could lead to changes in insect behaviour, physiology and morphology over time due to an increase in body temperatures from dielectric heating. The studied insects that are smaller than 1 cm show a peak in absorption at frequencies” above 6 GHz, which will to used by 5G. (Open access)
“A Circadian Clock in the Blood-Brain Barrier Regulates Xenobiotic Efflux,” Cell, April 5, 2018. “We report a rhythm of BBB permeability driven by a clock within the BBB.”
“Comparison of RF EMF Exposure Levels in Different Everyday Microenvironments in an International Context,” Environment International, May 2018. “Exposure levels tended to increase with increasing urbanity. In most microenvironments downlink from mobile phone base stations is the most relevant contributor.” One exception: Australia where broadcast radiation was #1.
“Intensity-Time Dependence Dosing Criterion in the EMF Exposure Guidelines in Russia,” Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, online March 1, 2018. From the Research Institute of Occupational Health in Moscow.
“Effect of Tumor-Treating Fields Plus Maintenance Temozolomide vs Maintenance Temozolomide Alone on Survival in Patients with Glioblastoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” JAMA, December 19, 2017. Supplementing chemotherapy with 200 kHz E-fields increased progression-free survival (by 2.7 months to 6.7 months) and overall survival (by 4.9 months to 20.9 months) in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Both are statistically significant improvements.

A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

Hail and Farewell
NIOSH’s Joe Bowman Dies at 73

An Expert on Exposure Assessment, He Never Gave Up

Show Me the Studies!

“The Nation” Resurrects an Old Controversy

“Clear Evidence” of Cell Phone Cancer Risk, Say Leading Pathologists

Why Peer Review Panel and NTP Interpreted the Same Animal Data Differently

Aggressive Brain Tumors on the Rise in England

Rate of GBM More Than Doubled Between 1995 and 2015

Italian RF–Animal Study:
“Consistent with” and “Reinforces” U.S. NTP Cancer Finding

Ramazzini’s Belpoggi Calls for IARC To Reassess RF–Cancer Risk

Pages

Short Takes

Martin Blank
(1935-2018)

Cell Phone Use Is “Not a High-Risk Situation”

NTP: Draft RF Cancer Reports Released

SARs for Apple Watch 3 Released

NTP Cancer Study
Now Due Early 2018

Changing Mix of Brain Tumors in U.K.

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A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

An Expert on Exposure Assessment, He Never Gave Up

“The Nation” Resurrects an Old Controversy

Why Peer Review Panel and NTP Interpreted the Same Animal Data Differently

Rate of GBM More Than Doubled Between 1995 and 2015

Ramazzini’s Belpoggi Calls for IARC To Reassess RF–Cancer Risk

Pages

Short Takes

Hot new papers & articles

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