Electromagnetic Radiation

Electromagnetic waves at low frequencies are referred to as non-ionizing radiation and contain relatively small amounts of energy. An important difference is shown between this and the ionizing radiation that we associate human health problems with. Ionizing radiation is represented by alpha and beta particle emissions from radioactive materials and X-rays, gamma rays, cosmic rays. These have dramatic and well documented harmful effects on living things. These high frequency waves or particles have enough energy to eject electrons from molecules and can damage the structure of cells,including DNA. They also can cause the creation of highly reactive free radicals within cells which is a known condition associated with Cancer. Although low frequency, non-ionizing radiation does not react with matter in this way there are studies that show cellular damage even to DNA from high frequency bursts associated with cell phones and other new digital equipment now in use by millions of humans. Well used scientific models which examine the effect of EMF on humans and animals are inadequate for studying the effects of low frequency electromagnetic fields and researchers are presented with new challenges in mechanisms of EMF interaction.

Health Issues of EMF

A correlation between EMF and health became an issue in 1979 when epidemiologist, Nancy Wertheimer, began looking for possible causes of a number of childhood leukemia cases in the Denver metropolitan area. She conducted her research with physicist Ed Leeper and found that children with leukemia were more than twice as likely to have lived in homes near high current power lines where the electromagnetic fields were stronger. Further research on the issue has shown mixed results and the science is far from conclusive. There is a substantial base of data from years of research which highly suggests an association between the development of certain health problems from exposure to electromagnetic fields. There is a possibility that a portion of humans may have a genetic sensitivity to even minimal levels of electromagnetic radiation or who have been exposed to chemical or alternate causal agents. There is currently no information which enables scientists to identify these groups of people. The need for careful research directed toward answering these questions is clear.

Types Of EMF

EMF is a force created by an electric field. Electric fields are created by charged particulates in motion. It can be derived from a variety of natural sources such as thunderstorms, the Earth’s magnetic field and the solar and lunar cycles and many man-made sources. Light itself is a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that can be visually detected. EMFs have a very wide range of frequencies from non-ionizing extremely low frequency (wavelengths of some hundreds of metres), to optical range, to ionizing very high-frequency wavelengths. Ionizing radiations such as X-rays and gamma rays possess much higher frequencies and already have documented health effects. The frequencies in question are static fields, electromagnetic fields (EMF) with extremely low frequencies , intermediate frequencies, and radio frequencies. They all belong to what is know as non-ionizing radiation.

Effects Of EMF

There is insufficient research to show definitive results regarding long-term exposure or the multi-exposure present in our modern lives. There are conflicting reports about the actual effects of EMF exposure and research on these potential health effects have fueled an on-going debate about the extent of any harm that is possible. The World Health Organization recently declared EMF a Class 2B carcinogen. This simply means that there is a possibility that EMF can cause Cancer. While a number of recent studies can show support on either side of the debate, mainstream media continues to report that the research to date has failed to provide conclusive scientific evidence to link EMF exposure with negative health consequence

Issues About EMF

The problems that surround the issues about EMF relate not only to the political sphere but also the domain of public health. Health-related problems have been shown through scientific research to be present in technology industries such as mobile phone companies, internet service providers, wireless communication companies, and satellite transmission stations. Numerous studies, including a series of large-scale epidemiological surveys, have been carried out in different countries on the possible health effects of EMF on humans, animals, plants, and cell or tissue cultures. Nonetheless, although some health effects have been observed in some studies on EMF, no concluding evidence has been established and after more than two decades of scientific research, no scientific consensus has been achieved concerning the adverse health effects from EMF exposure (namely long-term exposure).

EMF Around Us

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) have always existed on Earth in nature. An example is electric field produced by the local build-up of electric charges in the atmosphere associated with thunderstorms. However the invention of man-made devices during the twentieth century has increased the amount of EMF that surrounds us exponentially. Electricity demand, wireless technologies, telecommunications, and broadcasting have all brought ever increasing amounts of electromagnetic radiation into our environment and medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging devices and soft tissue healing appliances are directly impacting our physical bodies. This has caused much scientific and political debate regarding the potential for the adverse health effects of EMF at long-term and high levels of exposure. The technologies that emit EMF are providing us social and economic benefits as they improve the quality of our lives. No one really wants to live without electricity and both broadcasting and telecommunications have become an integral part of modern life.