The American military developed electromagnetic weapons long before mobile phones existed.
The ability of certain bands of electromagnetic field to cause health effects, including neurological and behavioral disturbances, has been part of US military and CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) for over 30 years.
In fact, security concern was what first prompted US to study the health effects of low-intensity (or non-thermal) microwaves. Up to 70-80% of the research was funded by military.
Project Pandora
For example, from 1965 to 1970, a study dubbed "Project Pandora" was undertaken to determine the health and psychological effects of low intensity microwaves, the so-called "Moscow signal" registered at American Embassy in Moscow.
A 1987 issue of Soviet Military Power, a Cold War Pentagon publication, warned that the Soviets might be close to "a prototype short-range tactical RF (radio frequency) weapon".
The Washington Post reported the same year that Soviets had used such electromagnetic weapon to kill goats at 1 kilometer's range. The Pentagon has been pursuing similar devices since the 1960s. Source: "Wonder Weapons" by Douglas Pasternak, US News & World Report, 7 July 1997.
Dr Milton Zaret, who undertook to analyze Soviet literature on microwaves for CIA, wrote: "For non-thermal irradiations, they believe that electromagnetic field induced by microwave environment affects cell membrane. And this results in an increase of excitability or an increase in the level of excitation of nerve cells. With repeated or continued exposure, the increased excitability leads to a state of exhaustion of the cerebral cortex cells."
The truth was however not made public
Instead Intelligence documents were censored to hide the fact that Western governments have long been aware of the deadly danger of microwaves.
According to Dr Louis Slesin, editor of the American specialist journal, Microwave News, US army scientists had succeeded in duplicating Soviet experiments by 1977. This was many years before mobile phones become generally available.
But mobile phone users worldwide have been repeatedly told by industry and Government-funded bodies that there is "no scientific evidence" that mobile phones cause harmful effects.
Dr Allan Frey, who carried out some of the earliest American research, believes there is "significant evidence" against mobile phones. His own papers reveal that US Defense Department withdrew funding after 3 studies had confirmed these effects.
["Soviet Proof That Mobile Phones Do Cause Brain Damage" by Kathy Moran,Daily Express (United Kingdom), 10 November 1999]
But Dangers Still Downplayed
US legal stand on consumer issues serves as a safety reference for many countries. In spite of long established evidence, the US has refused to conclusively acknowledge the truth about electromagnetic field radiation dangers from products.
It has instead adopted contradictory and confusing stands that play down the problem's significance. For example,
In 1990
An Environmental Protection Agency draft report recommended that electromagnetic field be considered a Class B carcinogen. This included formaldehyde, DDT, dioxins, and PCBs. However, due to pressure from utility, military and computer lobbyists, the EPA's final revision did not classify electromagnetic field as a Class B carcinogen.
In the final watered-down version of the report, reference to Class B was deleted, with an explanation that said the basic interaction between electro magnetic fields and biological interactions leading to cancer are "not understood".
Yet, in the same report, they suggest there is a causal link between leukemia, lymphoma and cancer in children with exposure to magnetic fields from residential 60-Hz distribution systems!
In 1998
The majority scientists form a working group of experts gathered by a Government initiated program, the EMF-RAPID (Research and Public Information Dissemination) program.
They voted that epidemiology studies of childhood leukemia provide enough evidence to classify electromagnetic field as a "possible human carcinogen". They released a final report containing this verdict to US Congress in 1999.
The final published report however, states that, "the NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) believes there is weak evidence for possible health effects from (power frequency) ELF-EMF exposures..."
Listen to the Russians
Russian scientists have done more studies on electromagnetic field than any other country. For decades, they have been reporting that electric fields cause
- high blood pressure
- chronic stress effects
- immune system dysfunction
- changes in white and red blood cell counts
- increased metabolism
- chronic fatigue disorders
- and headaches
In fact, there is a disease thoroughly described in Russian and Eastern European medical literature called radio wave sickness. Its existence was usually denied by western authorities (Arthur Firstenberg in the article, "Killing Fields", The Ecologist, June 2004). Bradycardia or a slow heart rate was said in these texts to be a grave sign.
Western European scientists who advise governments on the safety of electromagnetic field emitting devices however, have vested interest. Thus, they have an industry-slanted view of what constitutes a health risk. In UK for example, they tend to come from nuclear and microwave industries.
As a result, finding after finding does not resolve public concern. In US, for example, a large number of research papers and overview reports have been produced along with numerous conferences over the past 17 years. Unfortunately, the findings remain controversial and contradictory.
No comments:
Post a Comment