A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

First Prospective Study

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

A prospective epidemiological study —the first of its kind— has failed to find an association between a woman’s melatonin level and her risk of developing breast cancer. Ruth Travis and coworkers at the University of Oxford in the U.K. report in the March 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that, while they cannot rule out a “moderate” association, their results are a setback for the hypothesis that “endogenous melatonin concentration is a major factor in breast cancer etiology. ”

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng of the University of Malay in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, attempts to debunk the idea that there are any health risks associated with mobile phones in a new 30-page pamphlet. Radiation, Mobile Phones, Base Stations and Your Health reassures that there are no established nonthermal effects resulting from exposure to RF radiation and warns that science can never “prove that something is absolutely safe and harmless.”

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

A U.K. panel has thrown some cold water on the idea that charged particles (ions) created by power lines could increase cancer rates among those living nearby. In a report issued on March 10, the advisory group on non-ionizing radiation (AGNIR) to the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) concludes that “it seems unlikely that corona ions would have more than a small effect on the long-term health risks associated with particulate air pollution.”

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Sir William Stewart, the chairman of the U.K. Health Protection Agency as well as the chairman of the NRPB, will give the opening address at the International Scientific Conference on Childhood Leukemia. The meeting, to be held in London, September 6-10, will examine all the possible risk factors including genetics, ionizing radiation, EMFs, chemicals and viruses. Those signing up before June 30 will get close to a 20% discount on the registration fee.

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

On March 15, Richard Saunders, head of the non-ionizing radiation effects group at the U.K.’s National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), will join the WHO’s EMF project in Geneva for an 11-month sabbatical. Saunders, who received his doctorate in zoology and comparative physiology in 1973, has spent most of the last 30 years at the NRPB. He is a member of ICNIRP’s standing committee on biology.

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Short Takes

David Carpenter Reinstated

February 21, 2023
Last updated February 22, 2023

The University at Albany in New York State has closed its investigation of Professor David Carpenter, the director of its Institute for Health and the Environment, without taking any disciplinary action.

After being barred from going to his office most of last year, Carpenter may now once again “teach and conduct research on campus,” according to a statement released by the University on Tuesday evening.

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Abe Liboff Dies at 95

January 12, 2023
Last updated March 21, 2023

Abraham Liboff, a biophysicst and journal editor, died on January 9 at the age of 95.

Abe was a wonderful and generous man. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, I wrote an appreciation of his work. You can read it here.

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French Health Agency Seeks RF Research

November 16, 2022

ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, has issued a request for proposals for studies on RF radiation.

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RF Health Review, Paris in November

October 19, 2022
Last updated October 31, 2022

Two influential health agencies, both based in France, will host a one-day meeting on RF–health research, November 23 in Paris. The public is invited to attend in person or online. Registration is free.

The conference, organized by ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, and IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, will focus on potential effects of RF radiation on the brain and on cancer risks. The theme is “Research in a Fast-Moving Environment.”

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The MW Debate Continues
—in Norwegian

July 14, 2022
Last updated July 15, 2022

Close to 40 years after its first publication, The Microwave Debate, Nicholas Steneck’s history of research and regulation of microwave health effects, is back in print —this time in Norwegian.

The new translation comes with an epilogue by Thomas Butler, a professor at Ireland’s Cork University Business School, who has contributed seven chapters —about 30,000 words— to bring Steneck’s story up to the present.

The translation is the brainchild of Einar Flydal ...

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NIER Effects on Flora & Fauna:
A Major Review

September 27, 2021
Last updated November 25, 2022

A detailed examination —likely the most exhaustive ever attempted— of the environmental effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation has been published in Reviews on Environmental Health.

“Effects of Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Fields on Flora and Fauna” is in three parts, the last of which was posted today.

Taken together, the three papers run over 200 pages in the journal and include more 1,000 references.

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All Short Takes...