World expert explains link between EMF and human disease,
radiation in Ireland 1,000 times higher than recommendation
In Ireland, at present, all references - including the Department of the Environment and the Irish
Cancer Society - are to ICNIRP guidelines which are 1,000 times higher and for a short duration only.
Nowhere is there reference to the BioInitiative recommendation or to long term exposure.
In a mere six years half of us will become electromagnetically sensitive. A prediction by
Salzburg’s Dr. Gerd Oberfeld who addressed the Irish Doctors Environmental Association
(IDEA) April 9, parallels the prediction by the Royal College of Physicians last year which
predicted that half the Irish population will have “some form of cancer” by the year 2025.
Dr. Oberfeld spoke at the Eithne Naylor / Enda Dalton Memorial Lecture on the topic of
“Electromagnetic Pollution and Our Environment” sponsored by IDEA. He has practiced
environmental medicine
with the Office of the
Provincial Government of
Salzburg Provincial
Health Directorate,
Department of Health,
Hygiene and
Environmental Medicine
since 1992 and speaker
for the Austrian Medical
Association on health
issues since 1994.
Oberfeld is credited with
the policy implemented
the city of Salzburg which
has maintained the city as
having the lowest
electromagnetic radiation
levels in Europe.
Like the famous photo of Nikola Tesla between two globes of power,
In 2006 Oberfeld drew Dr. Gerd Oberfeld, of the Department of Public Health in Salzburg,
attention when, along with Austria is credited with overseeing public health in the city with the
Orjan Hallberg, of Hallberg lowest ambient levels of electromagnetic radiation in Europe.
Independent Research,
Trångsund, Sweden, the two released research which predicted that half of humanity will
suffer electromagnetic sensitivity by the year 2017 in the journal Electromagnetic Biology
and Medicine published by Informa Healthcare. “Contrary to the views of mainstream
medical authorities, Figure 1 shows that the group of electrosensitive people around the
world, including Sweden, is not just a small fraction that deviates from the rest of the
healthy population. Instead, it points at the possibility that electrosensitivity will be more
widespread in the near future. The extrapolated trend indicates that 50 percent of the
population can be expected to become electrosensitive by the year 2017.”
Even before Oberfeld could begin, several people had to leave the Carmelite Centre in
Dublin’s Aungier Street, claiming discomfort from the toxic atmosphere generated by the
concentration of cell phones and electromagnetic frequencies just a short distance from
the capital’s premier shopping street and St. Stephen’s Green.
Non-ionizing and Ionizing Radiation
Oberfeld organized his presentation along the classic division of the electromagnetic
spectrum between non-ionizing and ionizing radiation. 'Non-ionising radiation occurs from
frequencies that extend down into the natural biological frequencies with which man and
all life evolved, such as the Schumann Resonance frequency (about 7,8 - 50 Hz) as well
as frequencies used by the brain. These natural frequencies overlap with artificial ELF/
VHF frequencies including those from power mains (i.e., 50/0Hz) (Tetra at 16.67Hz) The
non-ionizing spectrum ranges through radiation produced by visual display units,
fluorescent lamps, radio and television with the upper limits including the second, third and
fourth generation of digital communications up to any including radar infrared and visible
light. Importantly he included the concept of harmonics, where devices may emit radiation
at other frequencies than the main frequency. These lower harmonic frequencies may fall
into the more sensitive and biologically important frequencies and disturb naturally
occuring processes. For example, the new energy-saving bulbs (compact fluorescent
bulbs) simultaneously emit a host of different freqencies other than their older tungsten
counterparts that output at the nominal mains frequency (50 or 60 Hz).
Ionizing radiation has long been recognized as dangerous to human health. Oberfeld
traced the process of how ultra-violet radiation, x-rays and gamma radiation produce free
electrons at the high end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Ionizing radiation interacts with
oxygen in human tissue which forms what Oberfeld called superoxide, an oxygen molecule
with an additional free electron. This in turn, reacts with nitric oxide which is a signal
molecule needed by the body and forms peroxynitrate. “This is one of the most important
molecules in our bodies because it’s the molecule that will interact with proteins, with
lipids, with certain enzymes and it will cause the definitive damage in the cell,” explained
Oberfeld.
“That is the way ionizing radiation is acting. The same is true for non-ionizing radiation
where also free electrons are produced by the NADH oxydase,” he said. PubMed, the U.S.
National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health, supports Oberfeld’s
interpretation of the effects of NADH oxidase on smooth muscles leading to DNA damage
with research presented by scientists from Taiwan.
Five Types of Electromagnetic Frequencies
There are five different types of EMF: Static electric fields (ie. produced by pulling a
synthetic jumper over your head and the hair standing up), static magnetic fields (from
nature which a compass measures), ELF magnetic fields, ELF electric fields and radio
frequency and microwaves.
Sources of ELF magnetic fields include pylons, transformers, water pipes, earthing cables
and wires as well as clock radios and other devices which have small transformers inside
the case. Regarding pipes and wiring, Oberfeld said they raise magnetic field exposure up
to a distance of 10 to 20 metres from the source and are frequently overlooked. “It is
possible that there is a lot of current flowing,” he said.
Oberfeld explained that ELF is the acronym for Extremely Low Frequency magnetic fields
which are in the 3 Hz to 3 kHz at the lower end of the spectrum. The measurements are
based on units called Tesla (after the Serbian pioneer inventor, Nikola Tesla, 1856 - 1943)
or, especially in the U.S., Gauss (after the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss,
1777 - 1855).
In terms of area covered by ELF fields, Obefeld cited the wide spread of magnetic fields
from power line on pylons as opposed to buried cables. Pointing to a diagram of a typical
field created by a power line on pylons, Oberfeld said, “You can see pylons or structures
will emit magnetic fields if you are close down to the wire the field is higher and if you go
away from it There’s a lot of discussion in Austria about 380 kV power lines and a lot of
citizen groups urge to have earth cable used instead of the other ones,” he said, noting
that the space required for the cabling is significantly less.
The doctor produced a chart comparing the difference between the three ways of power
transmission: pylons / overhead cables are detectable at a distance of 80 metres; buried
cables produce a spike in energy which is higher than pylons at close proximity to the line;
but shielded cabling buried two metres underground is barely detectable. Pointing to the
peaked underground cabling measurement, Oberfeld said, “If you use earth cable you can
see that at about 20 metres you are in a safe level so its a very fine way to reduce
magnetic fields.”
Domestic appliances such as televisions, refrigerators aquarium pumps, clock radios and
electric cookers all produce magnetic fields with the aquarium being of particular interest
because they use inductive processes which produce very strong fields. Oberfeld noted
the recent development of energy-saving domestic induction cookers. Unlike other forms
of cooking, heat is generated directly in the pot or pan opposed to being generated in the
stovetop by electrical coils or burning gas. An alternating electric current flows through the
coil producing an oscillating magnetic field that creates an electric current in the pot heats
the food. These cookers use a large current at low voltage. “Induction cookers work with
kHz so the power is transferred to a magnetic field will make the heating of the pan. The
interface is kilohertz, very bad, very strong magnetic fields. I wouldn’t recommend to use
it,” he said.
Oberfeld is adamant that the home is no place for DECT phones or wi-fi. In a domestic
situation Oberfeld recommends strict caution. “When it comes to other technologies like
wi-fi or cordless phones,” he said, “one has to be aware that we have a transmitter which
is a nexus point with respect to wi-fi but also we have the notebook or the computer where
there’s another transmitter as well. If you use a notebook or pad or whatever you’re very
close to the wi-fi antenna and you put it on your knees and the antenna is within the tablet
for example you’re exposed to very, very high levels of microwave radiation and it’s the
same frequency as is used in the microwave oven and the effects are directly to the cells.
In order to prevent any effect and in order to apply the Precautionary Principle, my advice
would be not to use wi-fi or DECT technology anyplace.”
The Evidence for Causing Disease
The increase in our reliance on electricity parallels a rapid rise in the incidence of young
childhood leukaemia. Oberfeld cited a study by Stelairova and Fourcher in 2004 that
uncovered an annual increase in childhood leukaemia on average of 1.4 percent a year
from 1970 - 1999. This is just show you,” said Oberfeld, “ that this is not an incidence that
is going down. It is an incidence that is steadily increasing.” The incidence of childhood
leukaemia reaches its peak around the age of two which is in line with other countries.
According to a joint study between the National Cancer Registry and University College
Cork, in Ireland the survival rate of cancers was high but the incidence of leukaemia is
significantly higher. Researchers concluded, “Observed 5‐year survival in Ireland (79%
overall) was slightly higher than European and US averages, and was significantly higher
for acute non‐lymphocytic leukaemia (67%) and (compared with the USA) significantly
lower for Hodgkin lymphoma (83%).”
Oberfeld’s remarks build on the 1996 observation by William Reville, a senior lecturer in
Biochemistry and Director of the Central Electron Microscopy Unit, University College
Cork, that “there is evidence of a weak association between increased exposure and an
increased risk of leukaemia in children.” However, the title of Reville’s work “Radiation from
Electric Power Is Not a Significant Cause of Cancer” published in The Irish Times could
have sidetracked further Irish research.
Oberfeld cited a study by Milham that there is a “switch-on effect” of leukaemia following
electrification. An increase of ten percent in electrification results in an increase of
leukaemia by 24 percent. Underscoring the Milham results, Oberfeld also cited a German
study using a moving cut point of exposure which showed that childhood leukaemia starts
to increase at 0.1 µT in a ratio which is associated with 24-hour exposure to magnetic
fields.
Finally in 2001, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health
Organization based in Lyon recognized that extremely low frequency magnetic fields are
possible carcinogenic to humans in relation to childhood leukaemias. It marked a distinct
change in perception about the ability of low frequency electromagnetic radiation from
solely childhood leukaemia to the whole area of being classified as being a full-blown
carcinogen.
With funding from the EU, the IARC conducted a large-scale investigation into the effects
of radio frequencies used in the cell phone industry called the Interphone Study. The
overall result of the study released last year remains contentious because, while admitting
the possibility of increased incidence of cancers, researchers could find no increase in the
risk of gliomas or meningiomas (brain tumours). The study does, however, admit the
possibility that the duration of exposure can play an important part in the development of
tumours. “Interphone did not look for ELF effects but RF effects from mobile phones,”
said Oberfeld, “however I would say that most researchers are not aware that mobiles
emit magnetic fields in the Hz, kHz and MHz Range.”
Standards: Risky Business or Business Risk
“When it comes to standards and recommendations, you might be aware of the
recommendation of ICNIRP which is the International Commission on Non-ionizing
Radiation Protection which is based in Munich,” said Oberfeld, “which is taken by the WHO
and the European Union which is 100 µT. This guideline value is okay if you add, that it
doesn’t cover long term effects. There are some countries, that have for power lines, in
order to reduce the exposure and in order to reduce the risk, lower limit values. For
example Italy 3 µT and Switzerland 1 µT. In Austria new power lines that need an
environmental impact assessment have to apply to 1 µT as well. The BioInitiative working
group recommended in 2007 0. 1 µT and this is for long-term effects.”
“I think that even in 1998 the ICNIRP guidelines were out of date. I think they were highly
biased in favour of the electric shocks and thermal effects and not the non-thermal effect,”
said Oberfeld.
The BioInitiative Report (www.bioinitiative.org) of 2007 states “While new ELF limits are
being developed and implemented, a reasonable approach would be a 1 mG (0,1 µT)
planning limit for habitable space adjacent to all new or upgraded power lines and a 2 mG
(0,2 µT) limit for all other construction. It is also recommended for that a 1 mG (0,1 µT)
limit be established for existing habitable space for children and/or women who are
pregnant.”
In Ireland, at present, all references - including the Department of the Environment and
the Irish Cancer Society - are to the ICNIRP guidelines which are 1,000 times higher and
for a short duration only. Nowhere is there reference to the BioInitiative recommendation or
to long term exposure.
The bottom line in the on-going confusion over standards is that Swiss Re, the world’s
largest and most diversified reinsurers, operating in more than 20 countries, and with a
presence on all continents, refuses to insure the industry.
Sleeping on a barbeque?
Regarding alternating electric fields which are measured in volts per metre (V/m), the
ELF frequency range is zero to 3 kHz. Observing that there are very few epidemiological
studies on the relationship of electrical fields to the incidence of cancer, Oberfeld referred
to a 1996 study by Welsh Biologist Roger Coghill et al. which measured the electric fields
of the bed places of children suffering leukaemia. “The referent level is below 5 volts per
metre measured in the bed. This ratio is 1 of course and then the exposure between 5 and
9 that ratio increased and higher than 10 Volts up to 19 Volts per metre, the ratio was three
which was a three-fold increase of risk associated with those electric fields to see
leukaemia under the age of 15.
“When we have external electric fields,” Oberfeld continued, “it will lead to body currents
and this is called influence. I stated there are very few epidemiological studies but there is
very good experience in the field of building-biology and environmental medicine - a lot of
case studies especially in relationship with sleep, vitality and concentration - so if there is
some mitigation done in the sleeping room or the office it will get better usually. There are
some guideline values: the TCO which is quite common now for video display units. You
can find it on the monitors. They will have to stick to below 10 Volts per metres at a
distance of 30 centimetres.... The building biology standard in Germany has three values
(0.3 V/m, 1.5 V/m and 10 V/m) so we should try to be below 1 V/m to say it roughly.”
To lessen the effects of alternating electric fields, Oberfeld reommended:
• shielded cables
• demand switches for bedrooms
• screened distributors
• shielded lamps
• shielded plugs for PCs and monitors
Oberfeld introduced his remarks on Radiofrequency and Microwave Radiation with
photographs of familiar sights - a radar tower at an airport, a communications mast near a
residential area, a DECT telephone and a desktop internet router - saying, “The sources
get closer and closer and they grow and grow.”
To set the stage for his remarks about microwave radiation, Oberfeld went back to a
machine dating from to 1932 and its handbook called Shortwave Therapy: The Medical
Application of Shortwaves by Erwin Schliephake (1894 - 1995) outlining the use of a
transmitter with headphones plugged to an antenna looking like head phones in order to
achieve a warming effect of the body part under therapy. The Schliephake machine used
shortwaves in the lower MHz range. “There is no need to have the microwave oven
frequency,” said Oberfeld, “to have a heating effect which is 2,400 MHz, the microwave
oven, so it works with 10 MHz as well.’ The significance of Schliephake’s work is that as
early as the 1930s symptoms occurred after long exposure to the transmitter including:
strong fatigue, restlessness, nervousness, fear and pessimism, difficulty falling asleep,
waking with a start, strong fatigue or “waking up feeling washed out,” as Oberfeld put it.
Drawing from the EU’s 2004 REFLEX Project (Risk Evaluation of Potential Environmental
Hazards from Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro
Methods), Oberfeld displayed images of cells which exhibited DNA damage. The image
showed a near-identical appearance between a cell exposed to the equivalent of 1,600
chest x-rays and a cell exposed to a mobile phone with a specific absorption rate (SAR) of
1.3 W/kg for 24 hours - .7 W/kg below ICNIRP / WHO guidelines of 2 W/kg.
The Latest Hard Science
In the 2002 California EMF Program three epidemiologists came to a similar conclusion,
admitting that ELF magnetic fields ranged from possible to definitive as a cause of
leukaemia in both adults and children, adding the possibility of causing brain tumours in
adults, miscarriage and Motorneurone Disease (MND). The group concluded, however,
that there was inadequate evidence to support claims ELF magnetic fields were a factor in
brain tumours in children, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease or sudden heart attacks.
“The BioInitiative group made strong statements on those in 2007 so five years later they
judged it in a similar way that there might be a possible association,” said Oberfeld.
In 2006 Swedish Oncologist Lennart Hardell and his colleagues at University Hospital,
Orebro published research showing a statistically significant 1.4-fold increase in risk for
brain tumours on the same side of the head as the mobile phone was used. “The picture
gets even clearer,” said Oberfeld, “if you put into account the hours a mobile phone is
used. Between 2,000 - 3,000 hours you have a fourfold increased risk for digital phones.
Let’s assume a person uses a mobile phone for one hour a day. In one year it will be 365
hours. In ten years we have 3,600 so that’s a logical pattern.
“When it comes to age groups,” he said, “the younger you are the more areas of the brain
will be affected.” All ages grouped together show an increase in brain tumours but for
people who started to use cell phones before the age of 20, the rate of tumours is nearly
three times greater than rate of all groups, indicating, according to Oberfeld, “There’s a
distinct increase with respect to age.
The mechanism for the development of disease from electromagnetism can be found in
research by Joseph Friedman, Sarah Kraus, Yirmi Hauptman, Yoni Schiff and Rony Seger
published in the Biochemical Journal 2007. Titled Mechanism of short-term ERK activation
by electromagnetic fields at mobile phone frequencies, indicates that electromagnetic
fields affects the behaviour of proteins in membranes. When hit by an EMF 875 MHz
frequency (frequency of a typical GSM cell phone), the NADH Oxidase in the cell
membrane and the mitochondria produce free electrons.
Free electrons will combine with Oxygen to form Super Oxide which combines with Nitric
Oxide (NO )resulting in Peroxynitrite (NO3=ONOO). “This is one of the most important
molecules in our bodies because it’s the molecule that will interact with proteins, with
lipids, with certain enzymes and it will cause the definitive damage in the cell,” explained
Oberfeld.
“It is the iron-molecule within the NADH oxidase that is the probable interface between
the EMF and the biology.It is about spin resonance,” he said, “which is affected so that a
very tiny amount of energy needed in order to have it formed in other way and it will
produce free electrons. This effect is dependent on the field strength.” Oberfeld explained
that while the effect is dependent on time, ICNIRP recognizes an effect at 60 V/m yet
scientists can see an effect at only 4 V/m. Citing the work of Martin L. Pall, PhD, Professor
of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at Washington State University, Oberfeld
gave credence to the NO / ONOO theory of how the same mechanism can account for
people suffering the same condition present with different symptoms.
Scientific support for Oberfeld’s explanation about extra ion and free radicals was
produced last year by Malka N. Halgamuge at the University of Melbourne and Chathurika
D. Abeyrathne at the University of Peradenya, Sri Lanka. In answer to concerns about
possible adverse biological effects their paper, “Behavior of Charged Particles in a
Biological Cell Exposed to AC-DC Electromagnetic Fields,” nails it. They confirm that EMF
affects ions and different signals and strengths have a resonant effect. Their work is a
numerical model which tested the theories of Greek researcher Dimitris Panagopoulos and
his team at the University of Athens. Their work addressed both electromagnetic and
oscillating electric fields.
Further evidence comes from Örjan Hallberg, and brave, out-spoken Prof. Olle Johansson
who note that EMF and our sleeping habits may contribute to an explosion in the rate of
cancers. “A metal spring mattress is acting as a TV antenna and will definitely increase the
risk for standing waves and body currents that can disturb the immune system.
Consequently, countries where such beds are less frequently used should be expected to
show lower melanoma rates. Figure 16 reports on a review of bed standard and cancer in
different areas of the world. Again, the data seems in favor of this hypothesis.”
Pall’s paper, "Unexplained Illnesses:Disease Paradigm for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Gulf War
Syndrome and Others” explains in greater detail the process beginning with the production
of Super Oxide mentioned by Oberfeld who adds electromagnetic fields as a co-factor in
the Super Oxide - ROS - Peroxynitrite process as well as the onset of Alzheimer’s disease
in a vicious cycle. “There is evidence, for example, from power lines in Switzerland that
those persons that live 50 mtrs both sides of the line, high voltage power lines, have an
increased risk of Alzheimer which is dependent upon the length how long they have lived
there,” said Oberfeld.
Alzheimer’s? - Don’t Forget Other Effects
Other physical damage to the human organism attributable to ELF, radio and microwave
exposure includes lipid peroxidation, protein damage, DNA strand breaks, inhibition of
enzyme activity, disturbances in cell death, and disruption of the cell cycle. “Increasing
evidence suggests,” said Oberfeld, “the participation of mitochondria in neurodegenerative
and neuromuscular diseases involving alteration in both nuclear DNA and mtDNA.”
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are called organelles. These are biological structures within
certain cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use.
“I propose that its a biochemical mechanism and the mitochondria is especially
overwhelmed with free electrons forming super oxide, forming peroxynitrite and this will
also inhibit enzyme activity within the mitochondria, for example, with energy metabolism
so the fatigue many people claim is from my point of view very well backed by this
mechanism,” said Oberfeld.
Giving hope to sufferers, Oberfeld added, “We know when exposure is reduced people
get better. The system can cope with that... a certain amount.”
Long term exposure is another matter where people have no escape is another matter.
Communication masts, DECT telephones and wi-fi present omni-present sources of
microwave radiation from which there is in certain cases no relief or escape. Citing a
French study by Roger Santini and others, Oberfeld noted a decrease in a range of
symptoms the farther people lived from a sending mobile phone base station. The Santini
group found a significant link between the distance to a mast and the incidence of
headache: people living close to a phone mast had a headache much more often than
people living more than 500 m away from it. Their report, however, was subject to criticism
from the Dutch government because participants in the survey were aware of the purpose
of the study and which could be reflected in a biased result.
Oberfeld noted the so-called “umbrella effect” saying, “There’s a very strong relationship
with the distance to the mobile phone base station and the prevalence of certain
symptoms like fatigue. As we can see, between 10 and 50 mtrs the prevalence is low and
then there’s an increase (50 - 100 mtrs) and then there’s a decrease again. This might be
due to the effect that mobile phone antennas will, usually in towns, will hit the next houses
at those distances so if you are closer by the mobile phone mast it will radiate above your
head so you are not that much affected.
A study by Oberfeld and Spanish colleagues in 2004 investigated association between the
personal radiation exposure in the bedroom due to two GSM 900/18 MHz cellular phone
masts in the vicinity of La Ñora, Murcia, Spain. A summary report on the research notes:
All models showed statistical significant associations between the measured
electric field (~ 400 MHz - 3 Ghz) and 13 out of 16 health related symptoms.
The strongest five association found are depressive tendency, fatigue,
sleeping disorder, difficulty in concentration and cardiovascular problems. The
symptoms associated are in line with the symptoms reported in the literature
as “Microwave Syndrome”.
- Oberfeld, Navarro, Portoles, Maestu, Gomez-Perretta
The Microwave Syndrome: Further
Aspects of a Spanish Study
In support of his findings in Spain Oberfeld cited a study by Hans-Peter Hutter and his
team at the Institute of Environmental Health at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria. Hutter
reports “there was a significant relation of some symptoms to measured power density; this
was highest for headaches.”
When it comes to standards, Oberfeld noted there is a huge difference between ICNIRP / WHO
/ EU and the standards recommended by the BioInitiative Report of 2007 in place in
Oberfeld’s native Salzburg where the limit is 666 times lower than those recommended by
government on the outside and nearly 2,000 lower inside buildings. (See chart.)
Oberfeld referred the audience to The Bioinitiative Report 2007 (www.bioinitiative.org)
which argues for a biologically-based exposure standard for electromagnetic radiation.
Reading from the report’s summary for the public, Oberfeld said, “Both ELF and RF
exposures can be considered genotoxic (will damage DNA) under certain conditions of
exposure, including levels that are lower than existing safety limits. The clear consensus of
the BioInitiative Working Group members is that the existing safety limits are inadequate
for both ELF and RF.”
So compelling is the evidence of damage to the human organism, a paper by Prof. Magda
Havas resulted in the City of San Francisco’s decision to ban a proposed city-wide wi-fi
network in direct confrontation with the wishes of powerful industries based in nearby
Silicon Valley. The backlash was swift with the industry threatening to pull it’s annual
convention in the city that is recognized as the birthplace of the personal computer.
General Public Electromagnetic Standards and Recommendations
Standards and Guideline Values V/m µW/cm2
for Mobile Phone Base Stations
ICNIRP / WHO / EU (all sources) 40 - 60 435 - 950
Switzerland (per Site) 4-6 4.2 - 9.5
Italy 6 9.5
South Tyrol 3 2.4
Bioinitiative 2007 0.6 0.1
Public Health Department Salzburg 2002
Outdoors 0.06 0.001
Indoors 0.02 0.0001
Good News - Bad News. Are We Using the Ionisphere to Cook Ourselves?
Until countries are brought into agreement in terms of exposure, Oberfeld recommends
that residents can protect themselves by purchasing metallic screened window glass,
carbon paint, tin (or other metals) roofs, avoidance of sources of radiation such as DECT
phones, wi-fi, and using cabled computers rather than wireless internet connections.
After speaking for an hour, Oberfeld began to tire but his eyes radiate enthusiasm for his
subject. For the camera he offered the following:
“What is important to note is, when you are exposed to wi-fi it may last several months,
several years that you don’t experience any symptoms and your assumption is therefore
‘This technology does not harm me.’ Point: this is true but only at the first level. At the
second level during those years or months you’ve just started affecting your body and it’s a
cumulative effect at the biochemical level. At a certain amount of exposure our body can
cope with so there will be no problem. After a certain amount of time and exposure it’s the
dose, exposure time is the dose, and the sensitivity of the individual which might be
different from another one, symptoms appear.
“At this stage this person might be affected by other sources as well. For example, CFL
bulbs, energy-saving bulbs, or the television set or the computer monitor or using a mobile
phone, whatever. Then I say, ‘Welcome to the club.’ At this time the person awakens and
says, ‘Well yes, now I have a problem.’ My answer is then, ‘Okay, try to reduce the
exposure.’ That’s the first thing and when your body gets free of those exposures it has the
chance to come back to the balance again, to be healthy again. That’s the good news.”
More Bad News
CFL bulbs are also coming under fire - after they’ve been mandated by the EU and
incandescent bulbs are no longer available - speaking to the Daily Express in the U.K.
Andreas Kirchner of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops
around these lamps. I, therefore, use them only very economically. They should not be
used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.”
Oberfeld noted the nature of the public’s perception of the problem. As a cumulative
danger, eventually people will recognize that electromagnetic energy does affect their
health.
“But the bad news is however,” said Oberfeld, “even if the amount of the exposure is low,
if you are re-exposed, most of the people can recognize, ‘Oh yes, here is something that’s
not good.’ That’s good. So the body is warning. Then the people have learned to avoid
those exposures. I recommend that our society at a first step tries to be aware of these
new technologies, to reduce personal and public exposure and on the second level we
must try to find solutions. We need better technologies in order to serve the same needs.”
His words were small comfort to those forced to leave the lecture and unheard by
passers-by using cell phones on the footpath on the other side of the centre’s Brandsma
Room wall.
- John Weigel
References
Örjan Hallberg and Gerd Oberfeld. Letter to the Editor: Will We All Become
Electrosensitive? Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 25: 189–191, 2006 Copyright ©
Informa Healthcare ISSN 1536-8378 print DOI: 10.1080/15368370600873377
Lynn S, Gurr JR, Lai HT, Jan KY. NADH oxidase activation is involved in arsenite-induced
oxidative DNA damage in human vascular smooth muscle cells. Institute of Zoology,
Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10720412
Steliarova-Foucher et al. 2004http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v97/n7/full/
6603946a.html#bib23
M Stack, P M Walsh, H Comber, C A Ryan, and P O'Lorcain. Childhood cancer in Ireland:
a population‐based study, PubMed. 2007. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC2083220/
World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer. Research
Sections - Section of environment and Radiation. http://www.iarc.fr/en/research-groups/
sec6/index.php
Coghill, Steward, et al. Measured electric and magnetic fields in the bedplace of children
diagnosed with leukaemia: a case control study. (1996) Europ. J Cancer Prevention 5:
53-58 Low Frequency electric and magnetic fields in the bedplace of children with
leukaemia. Coghill RW, (1996), Biophysics 41(4): 809-816
EU REFLEX Project Report. No longer available online. For information about the report
see Omega-News. http://omega.twoday.net/stories/436261/
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Mild KH. Case-control study of the association between the use of
cellular and cordless telephones and malignant brain tumors diagnosed during 2000-2003.
PubMed. 2004. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16023098
Joseph Friedman, Sarah Kraus, Yirmi Hauptman, Yoni Schiff and Rony Seger. Mechanism
of short-term ERK activation by electromagnetic fields at mobile phone frequencies. The
Weizmann Institute of Science. Biochemical Journal. 2007. http://www.biochemj.org/bj/
405/bj4050559.htm
Pall, Martin L. PhD. Explaining "Unexplained Illnesses:Disease Paradigm for Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder, Gulf War Syndrome and Others. Allergy Research Group LLC. http://
www.allergyresearchgroup.com/Explaining-by-Martin-Pall-PhD-sp-35.html
Loos, Hendricus G., Nervous system manipulation by electromagnetic fields from
monitors. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser
Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO
%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6506148.PN.&OS=PN%2F6506148&RS=PN
%2F6506148
Peterson, Barbara H. US Patent 6506148 – Nervous system manipulation by
electromagnetic fields from monitors. 2011. http://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/
2011/02/16/us-patent-6506148-nervous-system-manipulation-by-electromagnetic-fields-
from-monitors
Santini R, Santini P, Danze JM, Le Ruz P, Seigne M. Investigation on the health of people
living near mobile telephone relay stations: I/Incidence according to distance and sex.
PubMed.gov. 2002. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12168254
Hutter HP, Moshammer H, Wallner P, Kundi M. Subjective symptoms, sleeping problems,
and cognitive performance in subjects living near mobile phone base stations. PubMed.
2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16621850
Panagopoulos DJ, Messini N, Karabarbounis A, Filippetis AL, and Margaritis LH,
(2000): A Mechanism for Action of Oscillating Electric Fields on Cells, Biochemical
and Biophysical Research Communications, 272(3), 634-640.
Panagopoulos D.J., Karabarbounis, A. and Margaritis L.H., (2002), Mechanism for
Action of Electromagnetic Fields on Cells, Biochemical and Biophysical Research
Communications, 298(1), 95-102.
