What is Electro Magnetic Radiation or EMR ?

Electro Magnetic Radiation (EMR) covers a wide spectrum of non-ionising (ie non-radioactive) electromagnetic fields including visible light, infra red & ultra-violet light, radio, radar, microwaves, etc.

The two authorities who set what are regarded as being “safe” levels of electromagnetic radiations (largely, microwaves), from mobile phone masts and other sources in the UK are:

NRPB – the National Radiological Protection Board

ICNIRP – the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

Any emitter which complies with these regulations is accepted by the UK Government as being inherently safe, yet in many instances, even these two august bodies cannot agree between themselves on just what constitutes a “safe” level of electromagnetic radiation and, worldwide, the regulating bodies in each country suggest wildly differing acceptable levels of electromagnetic radiation.

Meanwhile, many sources worldwide – physicists, doctors, researchers & others are casting doubt on these supposedly “safe” levels of electro magnetic radiation (EMR) and are pushing for lower radiation limits, the reduction of use of mobile phones (especially by children), the use of caution, sensible siting of mobile phone masts and the presumption of a possibility of danger from those mobile phone masts unless conclusively proven otherwise.

Some experts in the electro magnetic radiation (EMR) field are of the opinion

that the current levels of “acceptable” electro magnetic radiation are set 1000 times or even maybe 10,000 times too highly for safety.

A part of the reason for this discrepancy, even between the opinions of experts in the field, is that the only effect taken into consideration when evaluating a safe level of microwave radiation was that level at which there was a perceptible heating effect on biological tissues, but that some experts are of the opinion that there are demonstrable deleterious biological effects at MUCH lower microwave levels than these.

Little agreement on what is a safe level of electro magnetic radiation (EMR)

This is a contentious issue & there is little agreement, even between experts, as to what constitutes a “safe” level of electromagnetic radiation, but logically, it could be argued that it is better to err on the side of caution until there is concensus, but the government & related bodies continue to approve unabated the siting of – and the emission levels of – mobile phone masts, Tetra masts, 3G masts, network rail masts, GSMR masts and other such sources of electromagnetic radiations including microwave emitters. Such contentious siting has included obviously “problematic” areas such as on, inside, or near -

hotels,

schools, colleges,

churches,

lampposts

and other localities where the general public, and in particular, children, may often have very close contact.

Other Emitters of electrical field radiations (EMR)

Related to this, the siting of electricity pylons has been contentious for many years & continues to be so. Whilst such pylons do not emit electromagnetic radiations such as microwaves, they do still emit what are widely known as electrical field radiations – ELF or VLF radiations - as do all types of electrical equipment.

These electrical field radiations are also thought to be harmful to humans & other lifeforms & there is significant strong evidence of a preponderance of cancers, especially leukaemia, in the immediate geographical vicinity of these electricity pylons and electricity substations.