A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation

power lines: Microwave News Article Archive (2004 - )

October 8, 2023

Paul BrodeurThe Original Microwave Pioneer

In the summer of 2012, Paul Brodeur sent me an email that began, “Don’t forget that when I croak, you’re supposed to give some credit to me as the original microwave pioneer.” I came across it in my files after learning that Brodeur had died on August 2nd at the age of 92. It was among his many letters, notes and clippings I had stashed away over the last 50 years.

The story begins on a rainy fall afternoon in 1977 at the New York office of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a public-interest environmental law firm, where I was working at the time. Brodeur, then a star investigative reporter at The New Yorker, came by with copies of his new book, The Zapping of America, an exposé on the dangers of microwave radiation and how they were being covered up. The previous December, the magazine had run two long articles by Brodeur which caused a national sensation and drew attention to the otherwise obscure world of electromagnetic health.

May 12, 2023

“EMFs Disrupt the Pollination Service by Honeybees,” Science Advances, May 12, 2023. Strong conclusion: “Our study provides conclusive evidence of detrimental impacts of [power-frequency] EMF on honeybee’s pollination behavior, leading to negative effects on plant community.” From Chile; open access.

 

February 5, 2022

“Assessment of Cortisol Secretory Pattern in Workers Chronically Exposed to ELF-EMF Generated by High-Voltage Transmission Lines and Substation,” Environment International, February 1, 2022. “This study strongly suggests that chronic exposure to ELF-EMFs alters the peak-time serum cortisol levels.” From France.

September 4, 2019

EMF Studies: Industry Funding Sways Findings

Industry-funded studies have promoted false doubts about EMF cancer risks and led to the failure of the public health community to reduce exposures, argues David Carpenter in a paper published last week in Environmental Research.

Carpenter, the director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany in upstate New York, shows that, over the last 20 years, findings on the link...

June 21, 2019

Health Effects Linked to Low-Frequency EMFs, from ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, released June 21, 2019.

French government agency recommends precaution especially for children and pregnant women. Also: No high-voltage lines & substations near schools & hospitals. ... And more research. Full report here.

January 3, 2019

“Low-Intensity EMFs Induce Human Cryptochrome To Modulate Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS),” PLoS Biology, October 2, 2018.

“Here, we show … that exposure of mammalian cells to weak pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) stimulates rapid accumulation of ROS, a potentially toxic metabolite with multiple roles in stress response and cellular ageing. Following exposure to PEMF, cell growth is slowed, and ROS-responsive genes are induced. These effects require the presence of cryptochrome, a putative magnetosensor that synthesizes ROS. We conclude that modulation of intracellular ROS via cryptochromes represents a general response to weak EMFs, which can account for either therapeutic or pathological effects depending on exposure.” Funded by USAF. Also this follow-up: “Cryptochrome: The Magnetosensor with a Sinister Side?” (Both open access)

January 9, 2017

Making It Up As He Goes Along

Facts don’t seem to mean much anymore. We live in a “post-truth” time. So much so that post-truth was recently named the international word of the year. As 2017 opened for business, a stark example of the new reality came to our attention courtesy of Paolo Boffetta, an Italian epidemiologist now at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

In an interview with Fox News, Boffetta said that the link between power lines and childhood leukemia had been debunked. In response to a question as to whether it was safe for a pregnant woman to live next to a “huge power line,” Boffetta advised that there was no reason for concern.

According to Boffetta, the 1979 classic study by Nancy Wertheimer and Ed Leeper pointing to higher rates of leukemia among children living near high-current power lines had been contradicted by “newer and better” studies, carried out with improved methodology. Boffetta sent a clear message that “very high exposures” to power line EMFs are safe for pregnant women and children.

Boffetta has lost his truth compass.

December 1, 2014

No Cancer Risk from Power Lines, Says the New York Times

”Still worried about power lines and cancer? That’s so retro, says the New York Times. You’re just stuck in the 1980’s.  

This is what the “newspaper of record” wants you to know about the risk of childhood leukemia from power lines: A “fairly broad consensus among researchers holds that no significant threat to public health has materialized.”

The full message is told in a new 7+ minute video, produced by the Times’ RetroReport, which boasts a staff of 13 journalists and 10 contributors, led by Kyra Darnton. The video even credits a fact checker. What was missing is the common sense to do some digging when reporting on a controversial issue.

March 13, 2014

“Why Reindeer Steer Clear of Power Lines: Zaps of UV May Explain Why Some Animals Avoid the Cables,” Nature, March 14, 2014.

Based on a “letter” to Conservation Biology, open access, posted online March 12. See also: The Guardian (U.K.), March 12.

 

February 4, 2014

“Maternal Residential Proximity to Sources of ELF EMFs and Adverse Birth Outcomes in a U.K. Cohort,” Bioelectromagnetics, posted online January 31, 2014. From Frank de Vocht’s group in Manchester.

“This large population-based study indicates that close (≤50m) proximity to high-voltage cables, overhead power lines, substations or towers is associated with suboptimal growth, and provides some indication … of clinically significant outcomes.”

November 26, 2013

Fudging Power Line Health Risks in Ireland

EirGrid, the Irish state-owned power line company, is planning to build three new 400 kV lines and to upgrade 2,000 km of existing power lines at a cost of €3.2 billion to help provide reliable service in the years to come. But there's nothing new about its approach to addressing the public's concerns about EMFs.

Take a look at this new 35-minute “Prime Time” video from RTÉ, a local TV station. It illustrates, once again, the double talk endemic to...

July 15, 2013

“Association Between Exposure to EMFs from High Voltage Transmission Lines and Neurobehavioral Function in Children,” PLoS1, published July 3, 2013.

“The results of the current study suggest that there is a significant association between power EMF exposure and poor performance on neurobehavioral … tests.” From China, open access.

April 8, 2013

“Childhood Leukemia Close to High-Voltage Power LInes —The Geocap Study, 2002-2007,” British Journal of Cancer, posted online April 4, 2013, by a team led by Jacqueline Clavel of INSERM in Paris.

This new French study supports "the hypothesis that living <50 m from a 225 or 400 kV high-voltage overhead power line may be associated with an increased incidence of childhood acute leukemia."

May 1, 2006

U.K. Ready May Stop Building Homes Near Power Lines

A paradigm shift is taking place in the U.K. A high-level government advisory panel, the Stakeholder Advisory Group on ELF EMFs or SAGE, is set to recommend that homes should no longer be built near overhead power lines, according to the April 26 Daily Telegraph.

In an  April 29 follow-up item, Nic Fleming revealed that the National Grid is considering buying some 75,000 homes in England and Wales that are within 230 feet of high-voltage lines or 115 feet from lower-voltage lines. In contrast, on this side of the Atlantic, there is still no official recognition that power line EMFs present a cancer risk. For instance, an Arizona Public Service (APS) environmental scientist recently told the Arizona Republic that there are "no known adverse health risks." Who does APS' Marty Eroh cite for support for this view? The World Health Organization.

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