NASA: EMF Interactions with the human body

NASA: EMF Interactions with the human body

by Paris08, Tuesday, December 06, 2011, 11:58 (886 days ago)

Source of Information:

Jeremy K. Raines, PhD,
April 1981

Report Prepared for:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

EMF Interactions with the human body: observed effects and theories

Table 11: Subjective Effects on Persons Working in RF Electromagnetic Fields:
Headaches, Eyestrain; Fatigue; Dizziness; Disturbed sleep at night; Sleepiness in daytime; Moodiness; Irritability; Unsociability; Hypochondriac reactions; Feelings of fear; Nervous tension; Mental depression; Memory impairment; Pulling sensation in the scalp and brow; Loss of hair; Pain in muscles and heart region; Breathing difficulties; Increased perspiration of extremities; Difficulty with sex life. …

Table 12: Clinical Manifestations of Chronic Occupational Exposure of 525 Workers to Electromagnetic Radiation at Microwave Frequencies:

Symptomatology: Bradycardia; Disruption of the endocrine-humoral process; Hypertension; Intensification of the activity of thyroid gland; Exhausting influences on the central nervous system; Decrease in sensitivity to smell; Increase in histamine content of the blood.

Subjective Complaints: Increased fatigability; Periodic or constant headaches; Extreme irritability; Sleepiness during work.

Table 18: contains some especially unusual entries. First, there is a report by Eckert of the most extreme adverse effect, death (by sudden infant death syndrome). Second, there is a report from the United States by Bise concerningneurasthenic effects previously reported exclusively from Eastern Europe. Also, an Italian report by Albert concerns neurasthenic effects. Third, an extreme adverse effect, promotion of cancer, is reported from Australia by Holt. …

Figures 11 and 12, due to Konig, are unusual because they result from controlled experiments. They show that 3 Hz electric fields increase reaction time and galvanic skin response. Similarly, Figure 13, due to Wever, results from controlled experiments. They show that removal of the earth’s natural electric field and/or the application of a manmade field can disrupt circadian rhythm. …

… Table 22 concerns an especially curious effect, microwave hearing. Evidently, pulsed microwaves produce click like audio sensations. …

Recapitulation
From all of the tables and figures in this section, it is seen that EMF may cause death in at least two ways, ventricular fibrillation and sudden infant death syndrome. Both of these occur at power line frequencies; however, one technical newsletter (Bioelectromagnetic Society Newsletter, December, 1980) reported one fatality associated with much higher frequencies. Death followed accelerated aging, and a New York State court was convinced that protracted exposure to microwaves was the cause.

It is also seen from the tables and figures that electromagnetic fields may promote cancer. Holt (Table 18)reported the stimulation of human cancers at VHF (30-300 MHz) frequencies and exposure levels less than 10 mW/cm2 (milliwatts per square centimeter). Wertheimer and Leeper (Table 19) performed a formal epidemiological study relating childhood cancer to fields at 60 Hz. …

… With respect to curious effects, at least two have been included in this section, microwave hearing and visual effects. The former has already been discussed in connection with Table 22. Visual effects include the distortion of threshold for various colors (Table 15) and magnetophosphenes (Table 18). The latter effect is the perception of light flashes in response to a magnetic field. …

… EMF can interact with proteins, possibly disturbing them as described above, over a wide range of frequencies. …Proteins figure predominantly in at least one theory of cancer, advanced by Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, which is currently being researched. According to this theory, proteins conduct electrons out of the cell interior. Oxygen molecules at the cell exterior accept the electrons and carry them away. These free electrons are products of some chemical process inside the cell that inhibits reproduction. If the electrons are not conducted away, then the process stops, and the cell divides at an uncontrolled rate. Eventually, there are enough cells to form a tumor, which characteristically has a poor circulatory system. So, little or no oxygen-carrying blood reaches the cells. The continued lack of oxygen exacerbates the situation, and reproduction continues unchecked. …

Full NASA CR 166661 Report:

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19810017132_1981017132.pdf