MAN:  The Human Receiver

           This article appeared in Monitoring Times, March, 1991 issue.
                                   by Bob Grove

       Two types of  radiation,  ionizing  and  non-ionizing,  pervade  our
       planet.  Ionizing radiation   is    produced   by   nuclear   energy
       radioactivity as unleashed  by nuclear explosions  and  power  plant
       accidents.  It is  also  present  in  nature  as  attested to by the
       continuing concerns about radon gas in our homes.

       Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation  (NIEMR)  is  more  insidious
       everywhere we look in our electric world we see its  evidence in our
       homes, offices, vehicles and even on the open road.

       The suspicion that radio waves and other forms of electromagnetic
       (EM) pollution may  be  harmful has been with us for decades.  Early
       radar experiments cooked the experimenters;   now scientists suspect
       that weaker energy  fields  like  those produced by  electric  power
       lines may have delayed effects.

                           - Some Alarming Statistics -

       Dr. Genevieve Matanoski  of  Johns  Hopkins  University  claims that
       there is a disturbing link between  human  cancer  and  exposure  to
       power lines.  She  cites  the high level of cancer  among  telephone
       linemen and breast  cancer  among  male repairmen working on central
       office switching equipment.

       Data collected by the University  of  North  Carolina  suggest  that
       pregnant women who  use  electric blankets are 70%  more  likely  to
       induce leukemia and  130%  more  likely  to induce brain cancer into
       their unborn children.

       Young children using electric blankets  seem  to  have  a 50% higher
       cancer rate and  90%  higher  leukemia incidence than  non-electric-
       blanket users.

       Even electrically-heated water  beds  are suspect.  Fortunately, the
       actual numbers of these cases are small.


                                      Page 1





       So what is  the  governments official stance on the NIEMR question?
       The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a statement in June
       1990 in which they observed that there is a small but statistically
       significant correlation between electromagnetic  fields  and cancer.
       It is the magnetic, not electric, component of the  fields  that the
       EPA holds suspect.

       White House Science Advisor D. Allan Bromley and Assistant Secretary
       of Health James  Mason  withheld  from  the  public  for six months,
       ostensibly to prevent alarm, a portion of the report which concluded
       that there is a consistent pattern  of  response  which  suggests  a
       causal link between  electric  power  line radiation  and  leukemia,
       brain cancer and  lymphoma  among  children.   A  summary of the EPA
       study was finally released in full in mid-December 1990.

       Not unexpected, the U.S. Air Force, with its extensive deployment of
       video terminals and other electronics,  blasted  the report and EPA,
       saying that Air Force reviewers have never found any  evidence  of a
       link between electromagnetic   fields  and  cancer.   Further,  they
       charged that the EPA biased the entire  document to establish such a
       link.

       We know very little about the hazards of electromagnetic radiation
       because of its  recency,  but  when  unexplained trash  fires  erupt
       spontaneously near power  lines  in  Honolulu,  or  the incidence of
       Downs Syndrome (Mongolism) is unusually  high in Vernon, New Jersey,
       the site of  an  enormous satellite transmitting complex,  there  is
       cause for concern.

       Paul Brodeur, author of the books, Currents of Death and The Zapping
       of America (both published by Simon and Schuster), accuses the White
       House of suppression and politicization of a major health issue.

       In the July  9,  1990,  issue  of  the  New  Yorker, Brodeur reports
       increased cases of miscarriages,  brain  tumors,  birth  defects and
       cancers among residents  near  power  lines.  Some experts  disagree
       with Brodeur whom  they see as an alarmist fanning the flames of the
       popular press.

       Most researchers do seem to agree, however, that long-term, nearby
       exposures are more hazardous that short-term, distant exposures, and
       that simply restringing power line  cables  so  that  they are close
       together dramatically reduces    their   radiation.     With    this
       information now public,  what  are the legal ramifications for power
       companies who have done nothing to correct the problem?

       The hazards of  computer  video display  terminals  have  been  well
       publicized, but how  are  they  different from TV screens?   They're
       not.  But computer  operators  sit  right in front of their screens,
       and only terminal couch potatoes  get  that  close  to  their vidiot
       boxes!  The lesson is to sit at least an arm's length  away from the
       screen to significantly reduce the radiation hazard.

       The December 1990  issue  of  the  American  Journal  of  Industrial
       Medicine reports a sharp increase  in  brain  cancer  cases over the
       last few years.  There are concerns as well about antenna  radiation
       from walkie-talkies, ham  and  CB radios, broadcasting transmitters,
       and cellular and  cordless  telephones.    While   some   of   these
       technologies may be relatively new, critics claim that the

                                      Page 2





       government is purposely   avoiding   such  studies,  afraid  of  the
       political consequences of revealing the truth.

       In a faltering economy, homeowners near power lines are doubly hurt,
       finding their property  values plummeting.   Power  companies  could
       face lawsuits for maintaining wide-spaced, overhead power lines when
       they are aware   that   close  spacing  and  underground   placement
       dramatically reduce electromagnetic   exposure.   Obviously,  homes,
       playgrounds and schools should not be close to high tension lines.

       Other industries as  well  face  staggering   lawsuits   brought  by
       employees who feel that their disabilities were caused  by  electric
       and electronic equipment  to  which  they  were  exposed.   Computer
       operators should stay at least 30  inches from their screens (and 36
       inches from the sides and back).

       Like other forms   of   pollution,  the  cost  to   clean   up   the
       electromagnetic environment would filter down to the consumer who is
       already burdened by high taxes and economic recession.

                       - A generation of experimentation -

       In the early 1970s, Dr. Ross Adey discovered that low-level 16 Hz
       radiation would alter  the  flow  of  calcium ions in the brain; the
       U.S. Navy pulses their 420 MHz long-distance  radar  bursts  at 18.5
       Hz, well within the calcium window.

       Dan Lyle, an associate of Adey's, discovered that a  60-Hz-modulated
       450 MHz signal  could  alter the immune system.  In England, Richard
       Dixey and Glen Rein showed that  pulsed  600  Hz  fields  affect the
       body's neurotransmitters.  What effect does the Navy's  Project  ELF
       76 Hz transmitters have?

       EM experiments with  humans  were  reported long ago:  6.6 Hz caused
       depression, 11 Hz  caused  agitation  and  riotous  behavior,  8  Hz
       produced elated feelings,  and  frequencies below  6.26  Hz  induced
       confusion and anxiety.   What  are the consequences of the global 10
       Hz radio pulses from the Russian woodpecker?

       Red, green and blue color perception  may  be  enhanced  by  placing
       electrodes on the subject's temples and introducing  42.5  and 77 Hz
       voltages.

       Robert Becker, in    his    recent    book,    The   Body   Electric
       Electromagnetism and the Foundations  of Life, states that 30-100 Hz
       electric fields, weaker  than  even  the  earth's  natural  magnetic
       field, interfere with  the  body's  cycles  and  rhythms,  producing
       chronic stress and impairment disease.

       The human bodys nervous-system  works  on  very  minute  pulses  of
       electrical energy, typically a few millionths of a  volt.  The heart
       depolarizes, producing a  beat, in only a quarter second. It doesn't
       take much induced EM to interfere with those tiny signal levels.

       Currents as low as 10 milliamperes  produce pain, while those in the
       100-200 milliampere ranges are lethal.

       Our earth is  constantly  bathed in waves of electromagnetic  energy
       from the sun, the planets and even more distant heavenly bodies.

                                      Page 3





       How do these  emanations  influence our daily lives?  What are their
       long term effects?

       30 years ago Charles Susskind at the University of California, under
       a U.S. Air Force grant, demonstrated  that  3-cm radar transmissions
       killed laboratory mice  in  front of a radar horn  when  their  body
       temperature exceeded 111  degrees  (your  tax  dollars inventing the
       microwave oven!).  In  1962  Susskind   and   his  assistant,  Susan
       Prausnitz, published their daring conclusion that pulsed  microwaves
       could cause leukemia.

       In another experiment,  ants  lined  up in a 3-cm EM field, aligning
       their antennae parallel to the field  in  an  effort to minimize the
       effect.  Not surprising, since the antenna of an ant  is very nearly
       a quarter wave  resonator  at  3 cm.  The ant-alignment behavior was
       observed at frequencies as low as 9 MHz.

       It was during that period that a report  from the National Institute
       for Neurological Diseases  warned  that the frequency  388  MHz  was
       noted to have  a  lethal  effect on monkeys.  Subsequent experiments
       with a milliwatt-power oscillator  positioned several feet away from
       human subjects and swept through the 380-500 MHz  range  elicited  a
       pulsing in the  brain,  ringing  in the ears and a powerful urge to
       sink their teeth into the experimenter!

       In that experiment,  each  individual   appeared  to  have  his  own
       resonant frequency, probably a function of the height  of  the  body
       acting as a  half-wave  antenna.   Most  humans  should  resonate at
       around 82-85 MHz (TV channel 6; do you live near a TV transmitter?).

       Extremely low frequency brain waves have long been identified; delta
       (1-3 Hz) are related to deep sleep;  theta  (4-7  Hz)  reflect mood;
       alpha (8-12 Hz) imply relaxation; and beta (13-22  Hz)  are  tied to
       conscious thought.

       Externally-pulsed lights can alter behavior in the human: 6-7 Hz
       induces anger; 10  Hz is soothing but may trigger epileptic seizures
       in vulnerable subjects by synchronizing  with  the alpha waves.  And
       there is the story about a man who involuntarily tries  to  strangle
       an adjacent patron  every time he visits a movie house, triggered by
       the 24-frame-per-second film flicker!

       Animals have their own sets of frequencies.  Some snakes hypnotize
       their prey with a 3 Hz dance; many  animals flea in terror when they
       hear vibrations in the 7-15 Hz range, possibly a primordial reaction
       to earthquakes.  Infrasound (under 20 Hz) can take its toll in human
       adjustment as well, producing disorientation and even euphoria.

       Professor Geraud, a French engineer, became ill from  the continuous
       7 Hz vibration  of an office air conditioner.  Noting that the sound
       generated by French police whistles had low frequency components, he
       built a six-foot, air-powered replica  which  killed  his laboratory
       assistant with one blast!

       Later experiments showed   that   high-intensity  infrasound   could
       destroy buildings at  distances  of  five miles.  Pulsing rock music
       mesmerize its audience while the  soft  1.2  Hz  beat  of a mothers
       heart soothes her baby.


                                      Page 4





       By 1930 Nrunori claimed that humans react to radio emissions at 129
       MHz and its  harmonics,  while  in  the  1920's Cazzamalli bombarded
       volunteer subjects with VHF radiation  to induce hallucinations.  He
       also claimed to  have  recorded  re-radiated  beats   of   emotional
       reactions using an   untuned   galena   crystal   receiver   and   a
       galvanometer during the RF blitz from his oscillatori telegrafica.

       More recently, UHF fields reportedly change brainwave patterns in
       rabbits, alter the heartbeat of chicken embryos, change the optical
       properties of glycogen (which supplies  our  muscles  with  energy),
       reduce conditioned reflexes in laboratory animals,  increase  visual
       sensitivity (while reducing color perception), expedite the regrowth
       of severed nerve tissue (in short exposures only; long-term exposure
       suppresses the regrowth),  and  affect  our  reaction  to pain (weak
       fields are an analgesic while strong  fields are painful).  Fifteen-
       meter (21 MHz) signals increase the germination of  gladiolus  bulbs
       while ten meter (29 MHz) energy kills bugs in bread!

                      - And experimentation on a generation -

       The earth's natural magnetic field varies from place to place; could
       it have correspondingly varying effects on the human body as well as
       variably alter the effects of radiation?

       One hypothesis suggests that NIEMR causes cancer by increasing the
       rate of cell  reproduction  (DNA and RNA alteration), by suppressing
       the immune system and by making  abnormal  cells  resistant  to  the
       body's natural defense system.

       Could it be  that pulsed EM waves are the modern-day  equivalent  of
       the Chinese water  torture, taking its toll on human mental health a
       little at a time?  Could this partly  explain our accelerating crime
       rate?  Are we  changing  our  evolution  by  altering   our  genetic
       structure?

       Perhaps most important  of  all,  can  we  do  anything  to  protect
       ourselves?  Absolutely.  Don't live  near  high  tension lines.  Use
       underground power lines  to  your  home and have them  enter  at  an
       unoccupied part of the dwelling like the garage.

       Keep at least  an  arms length from CRT video screens.  Install ham
       or CB transmitting antennas at least  20  feet  away  from  occupied
       parts of the  house.   The  higher  the frequency, the  greater  the
       effect on tissue, especially the lens of the eye and the testicles.

       Use low transmit  power linears are for sissies!  Keep walkie-talkie
       transmissions short; portable cellular  telephones  at  800  MHz are
       particularly suspect.  Warm your bed with an electric blanket before
       you get in, then switch it off when you slip under it.

       Keep several feet  away  from electric appliances,line  operated
       clocks, mixers, toasters and the like.

                                   - Activism -

       Suits against the  perpetrators  of this uninvited blitz of toxicity
       will probably increase.  Charges of negligence, liability, nuisance,
       trespass and even battery have been successfully brought recently in


                                      Page 5





       similar cases.  Join a recognized consumer lobby group.  A collected
       voice IS heard in Washington!

       For those readers  who  wish  additional  information,  an excellent
       overview of NIEMR health hazard studies  and  legal  cases, complete
       with bibliography, appeared  in  the  August 1990,  issue  of  Trial
       magazine, a publication of the American Trial Lawyers Association.