199 lines
8.5 KiB
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199 lines
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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
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on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
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files on KeelyNet except where noted!
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May 16, 1993
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ELF-RES.ASC
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This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Walter Mohn.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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This article is from the April, 1993 issue of
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Research & Development Magazine, Des Plaines, IL, page 73.
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R&D ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH SECTION:
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"Worry Over Power Lines Likely to Last," by James Glanz
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Potential hazards of extremely low frequency fields (ELF) have taken
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an extremely low profile amid public accusations that microwaves
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from cellular phones might cause brain cancer.
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Far from the media crowd surrounding the cellular controversy ,
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however, several researchers have expressed the opinion that studies
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of ELF's potential hazards are more likely to affect American
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industry and society in the long run. ELF, defined as
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electromagnetic radiation at frequencies below 300 Hz, includes the
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60-cycle radiation emitted by everything from high-tension lines to
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toasters to video display terminals.
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"I think most of the heat is still on the power-line issue," says
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Bill Guy, professor emeritus at the Univ. of Washington's
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bioengineering center, Seattle. Guy, who has performed numerous
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laboratory studies on the physiological effects of microwaves, says
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there is "no documented literature that I know of that would
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indicate any danger of cancer [caused by] cellular telephones."
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The scientific record on ELF is less reassuring, says Larry
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Anderson, a researcher at Pacific Northwest Laboratories (PNL),
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Richland, WA.
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"I think what we're seeing is that most recent epidemiological
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studies tend to support the findings of earlier studies," he says,
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referring to elevated rates of leukemia for people who live near
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power lines.
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Other studies point to slightly increased rates of leukemia and
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brain cancer for people occupationally exposed to ELF, such as
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electricians and telecommunications workers.
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The number of people habitually exposed to ELF is likely to be far
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higher than those exposed to microwaves from hand-held cellular
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Page 1
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phones, even if the phones do turn out to be a threat.
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Anyone whose sights are set on proving a link between microwaves and
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cancer would do well to study the history of such attempts in the
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ELF regime. Although many researchers are convinced of the link
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between ELF and cancer, others (such as Robert Adair, a physicist at
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Yale Univ.) point to the many conflicting studies or ridicule the
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often marginal statistical certainty of the results.
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In one case, an epidemiological study found an elevated incidence of
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cancer among people who lived near power lines, but a later study
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found that "residential traffic density is strongly associated with
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childhood cancer...among the same study population," report ed PNL's
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Thomas Tenforde in last year's Annual Review of Public Health.
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When they are not taken into account, such "confounding variables"
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can invalidate statistical conclusions.
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Particularly damaging to the persuasiveness of the cancer-ELF link
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is the lack of any established mechanism by which the weak fields
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that penetrate the body might have a deleterious effect on cells.
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Adair has written down thermodynamic equations that he says describe
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the current flowing through cell membranes, and he estimates that
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random, fluctuating fields around the membranes would have effects
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thousands of times larger than any external ELFs could have.
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As a result of such considerations, many researchers are looking for
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a mechanism by which this naturally occurring noise would " average
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out," permitting the weak but steady 60-cycle oscillations to have a
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noticeable effect on cells.
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In one theory, the ELF fields resonate with natural oscillation
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frequencies of cellular ions such as calcium and potassium. These
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frequencies can be related to the cyclotron frequencies of the ions
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in Earth's magnetic field, or they can be determined by the
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physiology of cell membranes. Other theories emphasize the spatial
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coherence of ELF-induced currents over an entire cell. The random
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currents are again presumed to cancel.
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Still another approach to the ELF question is to directly examine
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the effect of the fields on animals and cells in vitro. With these
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methods, some groups have found deleterious effects - and others
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have failed to.
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Despite all this uncertainty, there is one thing the ELF researchers
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can tell their cellular-phone counterparts for sure: Watch out for
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politics. "It's driven by factors other than just the science,"
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warns PNL's Anderson of such research. "The issue is one of public
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interest. For that reason, whether or not there are health effects,
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we need to get some resolution to it."
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More Information: Thomas Tenforde (509) 375-3738
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FAX (509) 375-3686
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Page 2
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FIGURE 1
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Humans and Power Lines
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A Current Affair
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_________
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\ / \ /
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___/_\_/_\___ | 180 kV/m
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* |/ \| * |
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* |\ /| * |
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|/ \| *** 60 nA/cm^2
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____|_|_|____ /@ @\
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* |/|\| * { V } 550 nA/cm^2
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* |\-/| * \ - /
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|\/^\/| 200 nA/cm^2/ \_
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|/\-/\| / x-----190 nA/cm^2
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|^\/^\/^| //^| |^\\
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||/\|/\|| // | | \\
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||\/|^|\/|| ""' | | `""
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||/\|||/\|| [ ] 250 nA/cm^2
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||\/|^|\/|| ||^||
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||/\|||/\|| || || 370 nA/cm^2
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|| ||2000 nA/cm^2
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<_| |_>
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Lightning-rod effect of human magnifies effect of a 60-Hz, 10-kV/m
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electric field 18-fold. Such fields are commonly produced by over
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head power lines. The field induces currents of up to 2000 nA/cm^2
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in the person's skin. Researchers are trying to find out whether
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those currents can have adverse effects.
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Source: William Kaune
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
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as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
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Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
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Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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If we can be of service, you may contact
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Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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Page 3
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