Re: Common house heating
From: Pablo Halpern (phalpernworld.std.com)
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 18:02 CDT
> From: stanifor [at] cs.ucdavis.edu (Stuart Staniford-Chen)
> 
> Pablo talks about the possible health effects of electromagnetic fields.  
> I just wanted to point out that the health problems are a lot more 
> controversial than he suggests.

I'm sorry if I made it sound non-controversial. I am aware of very strong 
controversy.

> ...
>  It's not a case of Power Utilities vs the 
> rest of the world.  Many scientists have dismissed the putative problems 
> as ludicrous.  The reason for this is that the fields in question are of 
> too low a frequency to have any effect on chemistry (ie no molecule could 
> be split because of them, nor could any chemical reactions in the body be 
> affected).  This is in contrast to, say, X-rays which are of much higher 
> frequency and can and do split molecules.

I don't know how low frequency fields alter physiology, but it may be 
electro-chemical rather than just chemical in nature. The fact the very low 
frequency EMF can and do have an effect on biological systems is not in 
dispute. 
What IS in dispute is whether the relatively low-intensity fields we find in 
our 
homes causes harmfull effects. I believe the evidence is pretty clear that HIGH 
intensity ELFs cause noticable biological effects, so frequency is not he whole 
story.

BTW, it is not just cancer but also miscarriages and other problems. Studies 
with high intensity fields showed that ELFs caused general stress reactions in 
laboratory animals.

> [lots deleted, most of which I agree with]
 
> Incidentally, if anyone can point me to a recent review of the scientific 
> debate on this issue I'd be grateful.

I don't have any recent references. The definative book on the anti-ELF side is 
__Currents of Death__, by Paul Brodeur, published by Simon and Schuster, (c) 
1989. Warning: Brodeur is a conspiracy theorist.

I don't want to get into a debate about whether ELFs are really bad or not. I'm 
certainly not expert enough in physics, biology, or epidemiology for that. What 
I've read has convinced me that it is worth being careful. I just thought I'd 
offer it up to someone considering exposing themself and their comunity to a 
lot 
of ELFs.

- Pablo

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pablo Halpern              (508) 435-5274         phalpern [at] world.std.com

New View Neighborhood Development, Acton, MA, U.S.A.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Pablo

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pablo Halpern             (508) 435-5274          phalpern [at] world.std.com

I am self-employed, so my opinions *do* reflect those of my employer.
However, they may not reflect the opinions of my client.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.