A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

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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The Precarious Case
Against Precaution

A Deep Dive into the Swedish Cancer Registry

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Last updated March 30, 2019

It has been nearly eight years since an expert panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified RF radiation as a possible human carcinogen. Since then, neither the World Health Organization (WHO) nor the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has recommended precautionary policies to limit potential health risks.

No U.S. health agency has yet advised the public to reduce RF exposures.

Even after two large animal studies —by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) and Italy’s Ramazzini Institute— presented clear evidence of a cancer link last year, the WHO has remained silent; ICNIRP responded by calling both animal studies unconvincing.

Now comes the Annual Review of Public Health, which on January 11 posted a paper by five leading epidemiologists who posit that, after a systematic review of all the human studies, they don’t see an elevated cancer risk. The takeaway is that the IARC classification was a mistake.

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Aussies Claim No Brain Tumor Link; Skepticism Abounds

Why Were Older People Excluded?
No One Wants To Talk About It

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Last updated January 10, 2019

The incidence of brain tumors in Australia did not increase between 2003 and 2013, according to a new analysis by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and the Australian Centre for Electromagnetic Bioeffects Research (ACEBR). This means that there can be no link between the use of mobile phones and brain cancer, they claim.

If such an association were true, “then the brain tumor rates would be higher than those that are observed,” states an ARPANSA press release that accompanies the new paper published in BMJ Open.

“People say mobile phones can cause cancer but our study showed this was not the case,” said ARPANSA’s Ken Karipidis, the lead author.

Others are skeptical. The work is incomplete and misleading —or worse, they say.

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Defending the Indefensible

Deconstructing a New York Times Headline

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

How does a New York Times reporter justify a grossly misleading headline on a story of major importance?

Usually we could only speculate, but in one recent case, thanks to a health advocate’s persistence, we have a peek at the rationalizations and distortions in play.

The headline sits at the top of a story by William Broad, a staff writer, reporting the release of the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) final report on its $30 million, ten-year animal study of the cancer risks associated with cell phone radiation.

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How NTP Controlled Coverage
of Cell Phone Cancer Story

Did New York Times Have an Inside Track?

Friday, November 9, 2018

Much of the press coverage of the final NTP cell phone/cancer report was lousy. This time, the NTP seems to have wanted it that way.

Reporters were given very little notice to join the NTP teleconference on the release of the report. Nor was there much time to prepare a story for publication.

I received an email at 10:45 am on October 31 for a teleconference at 2 pm that same day. Many reporters missed the advisory and the call. Editors had little time to assign the story.

Attendance on the teleconference was spotty.

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Short Takes

Pulsed RF: Plausible Cause of Havana Syndrome

March 30, 2023

A newly declassified, though heavily redacted, report from the intelligence community has put renewed emphasis on the possibility that the condition known as “Havana Syndrome” could be caused by pulsed RF energy.

“Electromagnetic energy, particularly pulsed signals in the radiofrequency range, plausibly explains the core characteristics [of Havana Syndrome, also called ‘anomalous health incidents’] although information gaps exist,” the intelligence panel concluded.

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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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Hot new papers & articles

“Exposure to ELF Magnetic Fields and Childhood Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” PLoS One, May 14, 2021. Significant associations were observed between exposure to ELF-MFs and childhood leukemia. Furthermore, a possible dose-response effect was also observed.”
“Map-Like Use of Earth’s Magnetic Field in Sharks,” Current Biology, posted May 6, 2021. “The use of magnetic maps appears to be a fundamental tactic of how marine animals migrate. … This work points to a solution for a major puzzle in biogeography: how are migratory routes and population structure maintained in marine environments…”
“Arabidopsis Cryptochrome Is Responsive to RF EMFs,” Scientific Reports, July 9, 2021. RF “reduces conformational changes associated with biological activity” and “alters cryptochrome-dependent plant growth responses and gene expression.” This is the “first demonstration of a biological receptor responding to RF exposure.”
“5G: No New Health Risks in Light of Available Data," ANSES, April 20, 2021. French national health agency, ANSES, finds research on mm waves (26 GHz band) inadequate to judge possible health impacts. Seeks public comment.
“Manmade Electromagnetic Fields and Oxidative Stress—Biological Effects and Consequences for Health,” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, April 6, 2021. Review paper. Open access. “In summary, indications for increased oxidative stress caused by RF-EMF and ELF-MF were reported in the majority of the animal studies and in more than half of the cell studies.”
“Mutational Analysis of MpPhy Reveals Magnetoreception and Photosensitivity Involvement in Secondary Metabolites Biosynthesis in Monascus purpureus,” Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology, April 2021. “A coupling effect could exist between magneto-reception and photosensitivity.”
“Science, Politics, and Groupthink,” by James Lin, IEEE Microwave Magazine, May 2021. Lin faults ICNIRP for preferring to “quibble” over the 2018 NTP and Ramazzini RF–animal studies rather than concluding that they point to a cancer risk. He writes: “The simultaneous penchant to dismiss and criticize positive results and the fondness for and eager acceptance of negative findings are palpable and concerning.”
Expert Report by Christopher J. Portier, March 1, 2021, filed with the Superior Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Division) on March 3, 2021 in the case of Murray (et al.) v. Motorola (et al.) (2001 CA 008479 B). “In my opinion, RF exposure probably causes gliomas and neuromas and, given the human and experimental evidence, I assert that, to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, the probability that RF exposure causes gliomas and neuromas is high.”
“Associations Between Artificial Light at Night and Risk for Thyroid Cancer: A Large U.S. Cohort Study,” Cancer, February 8, 2021. “We found that higher [light at night] levels were associated with higher thyroid cancer incidence in middle-aged to older adults in the U.S.”
”Is There Evidence for Oxidative Stress Caused by EMFs?” by Meike Mevissen & David Schūrmann, BERENIS Newsletter, January 2021. A ”tendency becomes apparent...that EMF exposure, even in the low dose range, can lead to changes in oxidative balance." Those with diabetes & immune deficiencies may be at greater risk.”

A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

News & Comment

True Increases or Artifacts?

A Deep Dive into the Swedish Cancer Registry

Why Were Older People Excluded?No One Wants To Talk About It

Deconstructing a New York Times Headline

Did New York Times Have an Inside Track?

Pages

Short Takes

Hot new papers & articles

Pages

Microwave News Reading

Microwave News is...

Why Were Older People Excluded?
No One Wants To Talk About It