A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

Will WHO Kick
Its ICNIRP Habit?

Non-Thermal Effects Hang in the Balance
Repacholi’s Legacy of Industry Cronyism

Monday, November 4, 2019

Last updated December 20, 2020

After eight years of work, the World Health Organization (WHO) is reopening its review of the health effects of RF radiation for a summary report intended to serve as a benchmark for its more than 150 member countries. The report will be used as a guide to respond to widespread concerns over the new world of 5G.

The WHO issued a public call in October for detailed literature reviews on ten types of RF–health impacts from cancer to fertility to electrohypersensitivity. Some see the move as a sign that the health agency is interested in opinions beyond those of its long-time partner, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). They hope that the WHO is finally ready to recognize evidence of low-level effects, in particular the link between cell phones and cancer. Others are far from convinced.

The skeptics see the new reviews as little more than a ruse.

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NTP Turns to Mechanisms

DNA Breaks, Oxidative Stress and
Gene Expression Are on the Agenda

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Last updated October 22, 2019

The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) will soon embark on a new phase of its long-running RF project. Last year, the NTP concluded that RF radiation causes cancer; now it will begin a systematic search for mechanisms to explain how and why the tumors developed. Work is expected to begin by the end of the year.

The research plan is wide-ranging. It will include studies on gene expression, oxidative stress and DNA damage and repair, as well as on the possible role played by heat. Other priorities on the NTP agenda are studies on behavior and stress.

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A Fact-Free Hit on a 5G Critic

Fabricating History on the New York Times Science Desk

Monday, July 22, 2019

Last updated April 13, 2020

Last Tuesday, July 16, the New York Times devoted most of the front page of its science section to William Broad’s latest attack on those who challenge the dogma that wireless radiation is absolutely safe.

“The 5G Health Hazard That Isn’t” is the catchy headline of the Web version of his article. It is followed by “How one scientist and his inaccurate chart led to unwarranted fears of wireless technology.”

Broad focuses on two letters* written about 20 years ago by Bill Curry, a consulting physicist, who openly disapproved of putting Wi-Fi in classrooms.

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GBM Rising in Denmark,
Much as in England

True Increases or Artifacts?

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

GBM is going up in Denmark. The steady rise is very similar to what has been seen in England.

New government data, released in May by a member of the Danish Parliament, show a near doubling of this fatal brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, since the year 2000. You can see the trend by following the orange line in the histogram …

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Colorectal Cancer Soaring in Young Adults; Are Smartphones in the Mix?

Epidemiologist De-Kun Li Wants To Know

Monday, June 3, 2019

Last updated July 31, 2019

De-Kun Li wants to change the conversation on cell phones and cancer. Li, a senior epidemiologist and veteran EMF researcher, believes that brain tumors have been getting too much attention at the expense of other types of cancer, notably colorectal cancer.

Efforts to reduce colon and rectal cancers have been a striking success story for those over 50 years old. Incidence among older Americans declined 32% between 2000 and 2013, due largely to better screening. But the story for young adults is very different. Those born around 1990 now face four times the risk of developing rectal cancer and twice the risk of colon cancer in their 20s, compared to those born around 1950, according to the American Cancer Society.

“No one can explain this apparent contradiction,” Li told Microwave News. Known risk factors for colorectal cancer include obesity, an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity, but Li doesn’t think they can resolve the paradox.

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Short Takes

Italy’s 6 V/m RF Limit at Risk

May 3, 2021

Last updated May 5, 2021

Italy’s 6 V/m RF exposure standard, one of the strictest in the world, may soon fall victim to 5G.

The Italian limit, adopted more than 20 years ago, is widely perceived as standing in the way of the build-out of 5G infrastructure, which will require the installation of many more RF antennas. The proposed solution is to bring it in line with ICNIRP and follow its 61 V/m guideline.

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Rich Rewards for Bad Behavior

February 8, 2021

Alexander Lerchl’s bogus campaign against the REFLEX project and members of Hugo Rüdiger’s lab did nothing to harm his career. Just the opposite, Lerchl thrived as he gained stature and a succession of rich research grants from the German government.

Over the last 20 years, Germany’s Federal Office of Radiation Protection —the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, or BfS for short— has given Lerchl $5 million in contracts. Lerchl has been the best-funded RF lab researcher in Germany, Europe, and, most likely, the world.

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Physicist Robert Adair Dead at 96

January 6, 2021

Last updated January 7, 2021

Robert K. Adair, the former chairman of the physics department at Yale University and a leading critic of any and all claims that weak EMFs can have biological effects, died on September 28. He was 96.

A particle physicist, Adair held one of Yale’s prestigious Sterling professorships. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Dutch Advisory Panel Calls for Caution on 5G

November 11, 2020

An advisory panel to the Health Council of the Netherlands is recommending a “cautious approach” to 5G radiation exposures.

The committee is also advising that the 26 GHz frequency band (millimeter waves) not be used “for as long as the potential health risks have not been investigated.”

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In Memoriam: Moris Shore

October 10, 2020

“A safe level of microwave exposure was arbitrarily established —no dissent from the arbitrary safe standard was tolerated— in a largely thermal (i.e., high-exposure level) microwave research program … [It] and the averaging provisions … may represent a directed verdict rather than a culmination of objective and unbiased scientific judgment.”

Does that sound familiar?

Actually ...

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5G Waveforms in Dispute

September 25, 2020

Very little has been written in the popular media about the waveforms used in 5G signals. Two outstanding questions are: How fast are the pulses? How powerful are they?

In 2018, Esra Neufeld and Niels Kuster of the IT’IS Foundation in Zurich issued a warning in a...

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Hot new papers & articles

“Cellular Phone Use and Risk of Tumors: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, posted November 2, 2020. “This comprehensive meta-analysis of case-control studies found evidence that linked cellular phone use to increased tumor risk.” An update to a 2009 meta-analysis by the same group.
“An Overview of Potential Novel Mechanisms of Action Underlying Tumor Treating Fields-induced Cancer Cell Death and Their Clinical Implications,” International Journal of Radiation Biology, posted October 21, 2020. “Recent findings implicate TTFields’ role in different important pathways such as DNA damage response and replication stress, ER stress, membrane permeability, autophagy, and immune response.”
“Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Occupational Exposure to ELF Magnetic Fields and Electric Shocks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Reviews on Environmental Health, posted September 18, 2020. “This review of 27 epidemiological studies on the association of occupational exposure to ELF-MF as well as electric shocks and the risk of ALS suggests a risk increase of 20% for ELF-MF exposed workers but no increased risk for workers who experienced electric shocks on their job.” But, just a few days later, a New Zealand team reaches the opposite conclusion.
“Pilot Study on the Therapeutic Potential of RF Magnetic Fields: Growth Inhibition of Implanted Tumors,” British Journal of Cancer, September 2020. “Although the limited number of animals used in the experiments restricts definite conclusions, the results of this pilot study indicate consistently that a 2 µT 10 MHz RF inhibits tumor growth in mouse models.” … “[T]there is no clear understanding on the mechanism behind the observed effect.”
“Effects of RFR on Gene Expression: A Study of Gene Expressions of Human Keratinocytes from Different Origins,” Bioelectromagnetics, October 2020. “Our data demonstrate that in the four keratinocyte [skin] cell types, three different expression patterns (downregulation, upregulation, and no effect) were observed, despite their exposure having been the same in all regards.” See also this string of six tweets.
“Association Between Outdoor Light-at-Night Exposure and Colorectal Cancer in Spain,” Epidemiology, September 2020. “Outdoor blue light spectrum exposure that is increasingly prevalent in recent years may be associated with colorectal cancer risk.” An earlier paper linked blue light to breast and prostate cancer.
“Magnetic Alignment Enhances Homing Efficiency of Hunting Dogs,” eLife, June 16, 2020. “The research suggests that the magnetic field may provide dogs (and mammals generally) with a ‘universal’ reference frame, which is essential for long-distance navigation.” From Hynek Burda's group in the Czech Republic. More here.
“Absorption of 5G Radiation in Brain Tissue as a Function of Frequency, Power and Time,” IEEE Access, June 12 2020, updated July 2, 2020. ”We examine the beam penetration, absorption and thermal diffusion at representative 4G and 5G frequencies and show that the RF heating increases rapidly with frequency due to decreasing RF source wavelength and increasing power density with the same incident power and exposure time.”
“ICNIRP: Conflicts of Interest, Corporate Capture and the Push for 5G,” by Klaus Buchner and Michèle Rivasi, June 2020. Both authors are members of the European Parliament. A call for disbanding ICNIRP and replacing it with a “new, public and fully independent advisory” panel.
“Continuous Exposure to 1.7 GHz LTE EMFs Increases Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species to Decrease Human Cell Proliferation and Induce Senescence,” Scientific Reports, June 8, 2020. “The anti-proliferative effect of 1.7 GHz LTE RF-EMF on various human cells in this study suggests that the [such] exposure would be more harmful to children.” From Korea, open access.

A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

Will WHO Kick
Its ICNIRP Habit?

Non-Thermal Effects Hang in the Balance
Repacholi’s Legacy of Industry Cronyism

NTP Turns to Mechanisms

DNA Breaks, Oxidative Stress and
Gene Expression Are on the Agenda

A Fact-Free Hit on a 5G Critic

Fabricating History on the New York Times Science Desk

GBM Rising in Denmark,
Much as in England

True Increases or Artifacts?

Colorectal Cancer Soaring in Young Adults; Are Smartphones in the Mix?

Epidemiologist De-Kun Li Wants To Know

Pages

Short Takes

Italy’s 6 V/m RF Limit at Risk

Rich Rewards for Bad Behavior

Physicist Robert Adair Dead at 96

Dutch Advisory Panel Calls for Caution on 5G

In Memoriam: Moris Shore

5G Waveforms in Dispute

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A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

Non-Thermal Effects Hang in the BalanceRepacholi’s Legacy of Industry Cronyism

DNA Breaks, Oxidative Stress and Gene Expression Are on the Agenda

Fabricating History on the New York Times Science Desk

True Increases or Artifacts?

Epidemiologist De-Kun Li Wants To Know

Pages

Short Takes

Hot new papers & articles

Pages

Microwave News Reading

Microwave News is...

Non-Thermal Effects Hang in the Balance
Repacholi’s Legacy of Industry Cronyism

DNA Breaks, Oxidative Stress and
Gene Expression Are on the Agenda