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EMF revisited: the studies continue With
trilingual summary
Although much
worldwide attention has shifted to climate change, rising energy
costs, and terrorism, the possible health hazards associated with
electromagnetic field radiation (EMF) continue to be studied in
dozens
of countries. Although a United States multi-agency "Research and
Public Information Dissemination" program (RAPID) was completed in
1998, the World Health Organization's International EMF Project is
ongoing.
RAPID concluded
that scientific evidence of EMF as a health hazard was "weak," citing
"sporadic findings" of a "small, increased risk with increasing
exposure...insufficient to warrant aggressive regulatory concern" but
nevertheless a reason to be cautious.
European electric
utilities have joined in promoting adoption of EMF exposure
guidelines developed by the Council of the European Union. Some
specific limits have been adopted (for example, a magnetic field
intensity of 10 milligauss in Switzerland).
Research
continues to show a varying degree of association between EMF
exposure and the onset of certain diseases, particularly childhood
leukemia.
Authorities
differ widely in their judgment of what combination of field strength
and exposure time may be dangerous. Some studies appear to connect
EMF with a wide range of other conditions such as Alzheimer's,
spontaneous abortion, depression, and insomnia. In the State of
California, researchers have quantified the probability that EMF
could cause certain ailments.
Such
cause-and-effect relationships are difficult to prove because of the
lack of a large, unexposed control group within any population, as
well as the rarity of some diseases regardless of their cause.
Equally important: research has not yet established any specific
physical mechanism by which EMF causes biological damage marking the
onset of a specific disease.
Most studies have
involved radiation at power line frequency. In recent years, however,
the higher frequencies of cellular telephone operation have raised
concerns because so many people now use these instruments (more than
half the population in Britain, for example) and the radiation source
is close to the user's head. Cellular transmission towers are a
greater concern, although farther away from most people, because of
their continuous operation.
From “EMF
revisited: the studies continue," to
be published in Electrical Apparatus
May 2006
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copy. © 2006
Barks Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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