Electromagnetic Radiation and Health

It’s easy to ignore electromagnetic radiation. We can’t see or feel it and most of us don't feel sick when exposed to it.

But there are growing indications that certain diseases, some of them deadly, can be caused or aggravated by electromagnetic radiation.

This is confirmed by an increasing volume of published, high-quality, scientific and medical research which provides a definite link between electromagnetic radiation and many health problems.

Electromagnetic Radiation Health Effects

•  Cell phones can cause cancer
  • Microwave ovens can cause miscarriages
  • Power lines can cause heart disease, leukemia and alzheimers disease 

Are these statements true? If so, how is it that EMF radiation can be implicated in so many different health problems?

In fact, all these diseases, and many others, have been associated with electromagnetic radiation, in dozens, if not hundreds, of studies and trials.

 Electromagnetic health dangers are real.

They take many forms because EMF radiation affects many fundamental biological processes.

EMF radiation - the long and short of it

With EMF radiation, the danger to your health depends on your exposure. Heavy EMF exposure will result in higher EMF health risk. What do we mean by heavy exposure?

• • a very intense EMF exposure for a short time, or 
  • an accumulation of low-intensity EMF over a much  longer time.

Low intensity EMF radiation

As an illustration, let's take sunlight.

A few hours of intense sunlight can cause sunburn. But many years of exposure to less-intense sunlight can cause serious skin problems - ageing, wrinkles and cancer.

It doesn't have to be super-intense. A low intensity EMF over a long time is just as harmful.

Fortunately, sunlight doesn't penetrate your skin. If it did, you might expect it to cause all kinds of problems throughout your body.

But the EMF radiation that we are discussing here is able to penetrate right through your skin, soft tissues, even bone.

That is why it can do so much more damage than sunlight, anywhere in your body.  

EMF protection starts here...

There is some electromagnetic radiation exposure that we cannot easily avoid, but there is much more that is under our direct, personal control.

EM Watch is dedicated to alerting the intelligent layperson to the dangers of electromagnetic radiation exposure, and helping everyone to avoid them.

Some pages on this site are dedicated to one particular source of electromagnetic radiation, such as cell phones or power transmission lines.

But to grasp the whole picture, we need to realise that we are exposed to EMF radiation from many different sources.

Growing electromagnetic pollution

EMF sources include:

• • cell (and other mobile) phones
  • computers and related equipment
  • electrical appliances (including TV's)
  • electronic equipment of all kinds
  • cell phone masts
  • radio and TV transmitters
  • microwave ovens
  • house-wiring
  • power lines
  • information networks.

Each year new devices are brought to market and find their way into our homes and workplaces already crammed with electrical and electronic devices. All these devices produce electromagnetic fields of different frequencies and intensities.

Collectively these EMFs create a rising background level of electromagnetic energy, as well as local hotspots.

This electromagnetic energy reacts with all living organisms.

EMF radiation causes cellular disfunction

Our body cells use electric charges and electro-chemical signals to perform their vital functions. EMF radiation alters the flow of electrons around and inside our cells, changing some of these signals. As the signals change, the cells start to work differently. In time this can lead to cellular damage.

Our bodies have repair processes to deal with this type of cellular damage, but each repair process has a limited capacity. It was designed to handle electromagnetic radiation levels millions of times smaller than we are now exposed to. (And yet our EMF exposure keeps on growing)!

Eventually some of this cellular damage becomes permanent, as the repair process fails to keep up with the rate of damage. The longer the EMF exposure continues, the more damage is sustained and the more likely it becomes that our health will be affected.

If this damage affects the cell's DNA, the damaged DNA is passed on to daughter cells when the original cell subdivides - and to all future generations of the cell. This can give rise to cancer.

EMF Pollution begins at home

For a typical town or city dweller, there is hardly a moment when we are not exposed to EMFs.

At home, school, in the workplace and while we travel we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields  and constantly absorbing radiation.

Even while we sleep we may be soaking up EMF radiation from electric clocks, electric blankets, house wiring, wireless telephones, cell phones and other electrical and electronic equipment, as well as from cell phone masts, radio and TV towers.

If we take no protective measures, our biological defenses may be gradually overwhelmed and our health may start to deteriorate.

EMF Radiation worse for your health than smoking?

It took several decades for scientists and doctors to conclude that cigarette smoking was harmful to health. During that time, many smokers were unaware of the dangers and continued to expose themselves (and others) to tobacco smoke.

By the time it became commonly accepted that smoking caused disease and shortened peoples' lives, many smokers had suffered irrepairable damage to their health.

A similar pattern is emerging with electromagnetic radiation. It, too, is insidiously damaging our health and shortening our lives, while most of us are completely unaware of the danger.

The evidence is accumulating slowly, and powerful commercial interests do not wish us to know about EMF health dangers.

In time, everyone will be alerted, but it may be too late for some.

If you are old enough you may remember how unwilling the tobacco companies were to alert smokers to the dangers of tobacco smoke, when the evidence against cigarettes was starting to accumulate.

EMF health dangers - who will warn us?

Human nature has not changed. We can expect that industry today will be just as reluctant to alert their customers to the electromagnetic hazards now being uncovered.

Let’s not rely on cellphone manufacturers or power transmission companies to raise the alarm. They prefer not to alert us.

In fact, they continue to reassure us. Some will even fund research projects to demonstrate that no danger exists. (It is really very easy to structure a research project in such a way that it fails to find an effect.)

Nor should we expect government action to protect us. Government will only get involved when ordinary people demand action. (Some are starting to do that.)

EMF Health Protection starts with knowledge

Meanwhile, we are not helpless and we need not become victims. There are many ways we can reduce electromagnetic exposure for ourselves, our families and others around us.