Living with Microwaves by Julia Griffin, with Dr. John Moulder

What Are Microwaves?

Electromagnetic radiation consists of waves of electric and magnetic energy that move together through space. The waves are generated by the movement of electrical charges. For example, the movement of electrical charges in a transmitting radio antenna creates electromagnetic waves that radiate away from the antenna and are picked up by a receiving antenna.

Microwaves are naturally occurring electromagnetic waves that are in the low frequency scale of radiation and are sometimes referred to as ELF, or Electromagnetic Low Frequency waves. Like light, which also is an electromagnetic wave, ELF or microwaves travel at the speed of light, but compared to light waves, they are very short.

Microwaves carry the signals to and from our cell phones, and in microwave ovens they are used to heat our food. Radar emits microwaves, bouncing them off distant objects. Radio and television broadcasts via microwaves, as do walkie-talkies.

The type of radiation that microwaves emit is called non-ionizing and does not cause the damage associated with other types of electromagnetic waves such as radioactive substances.[1]

Microwave Technology

It was in the 1930s that scientists started calling these short waves "micro waves," and microwave technology was first developed during World War II for use with radar. Following the war, microwaves came into use to send long-distance telephone calls around the United States and the world.

Later, microwave "repeater" towers, spaced every 30 miles or so, were used for television networks and telephone companies. Microwave lengths were cheaper to use than buried cables and had a higher transmission capacity.

Between 1950 and 1970, many microwave link networks were built for long-distance telephone companies. The development of fiber-optic cables decreased the need for microwave networks, as a single fiber optic has many times the carrying capacity of the microwave, but short-range applications of the microwave are still used in cell phones and wireless computer and data networks.[2]

So today, we live in a microwave soup, a pool that is rippled by the effects of these unseen electromagnetic waves.

How Do Microwaves Affect Us?

Many of us question how we are affected by the low levels of non-ionizing radiation associated with microwaves, especially with the use of cell phones. Does the amount of radiation involved have negative effects on our health?

Radiation research once suggested that exposure to microwave or radio frequency radiation caused lymphoma in mice. Lai and Singh observed that it could cause breaks in the DNA strand.[3], and there have been numerous allegations that brain cancer can be caused by radiation from cell phones.

There are those, such as dowsers, healers, and psychic intuitives, who communicate with the Earth and feel its unseen, natural rhythms. People in this group all feel that the microwaves with which we are bombarded are harmful to our biofield — causing patterns of disturbance — and that locally, radiation from fields such as the Hartmann lines, allegedly caused by our excess use of electricity (there are no Hartmann lines in the Amazon River basin, for example) affect our health and well-being.

To get the science-eye view of this subject we spoke with John Moulder, PhD, a recognized authority on electromagnetic fields and their effect on human health.

Dr. Moulder agrees that microwaves can be extremely dangerous in some applications, such as radar, antennas, and television towers — but only if we come too close. But he claims research has not shown that the frequency of microwaves generated in cell phone use, at least under U.S. regulations, is harmful to brain cells, and he feels that the shielding in microwave ovens is effective in preventing them from hurting us.

In fairness, to balance the view of such intuitives as Slim Spurling, Drunvalo, and Cal Garrison (in this issue's article on geomancy; see Clearing Geopathic Lines), we here present Dr. Moulder's comments.

Julia: Can we begin with cell phones? How correct are the measurements of the microwaves that a cell phone produces? I've read some research saying that the measurements vary and are often not accurate.

Dr. Moulder: The cell phone measurements are extremely complicated. You would have to know what the intensity would be and whether or not this is reasonable. I can't read the measurements to know if they are correct, nor can you, but an electrical engineer can. So we know that the values are pretty close to real. The value of the measurements of the cell phones is pretty true.

Julia: How safe are cell phones? Is there a significant or minimal risk associated with their use?

Dr. Moulder: I believe that cell phones are safe, that they simply are not powerful enough to create a risk. This wasn't true three years ago, but I feel that it is true now. They are reasonably well regulated, and I don't think there is a risk.

Let me explain how a cell phone works.

A cell phone system has base stations and antennas. When you make a call from your cell phone, the base station nearest you works with the phone to set the lowest power of transmission that will allow the call to go through to the nearest base station. Microwaves are used to transmit from your cell phone to the base station, and sometimes between the base station and the main telephone network as well.

A cell phone has an adaptive power control that cause it to adjust its signal to match the frequency that it receives from the cell tower — the better the signal or frequency it receives, the less power it outputs to receive the signal. All of this has to do with how close you are to the signal tower that is sending the frequency. The closer you are to the station that sends the frequency, the better the signal and the less output from the cell phone.

You often see people standing outside of their cars or on their front porches or near a window when they are using a cell phone. This is because there is less interference; the cell phone outputs less power to receive the signal. If you have a power meter, you can actually see the amount of power that is being used.

So if you're concerned about cell phones, then use them outside. There's less output from the cell phone outdoors because there's not as much resistance for the microwaves to travel through.

The shields don't work because the signal actually has to become stronger in order to move through the shield. So the cell phone increases its output in order to meet the signal!

Let's complicate the issue a little here. If you and I are standing a short distance apart, and we're talking on the same model phones, but we have different companies for our phones, then we will each have a different exposure to microwaves. This is because the signal is coming through a different base station.

If we're standing the same short distance apart, talking on the same model phones, and we have the same company, then we are essentially receiving the same exposure. In other words, your exposure is relating to the strength of the signal coming through the base station or how close you are to the base station.

Julia: I have read several studies that cited brain cancer and DNA changes as risks associated with using cell phones. Why do you still think that there is no risk?

Dr. Moulder: Let's start with the Lai and Singh study in Seattle, Washington. This study showed DNA single and double breaks at levels below the current FCC exposure standard. It also supported the thesis that damage and repair-initiation were not simple and immediate processes, and that DNA damage from use of a cell phone could be cumulative.

This experiment was conducted on rats and mice to prove a DNA strand break. But no one has ever been able to repeat it.

There was a 1997 Australian project in which rats with lymphoma were exposed to microwaves, and this supposedly proved that the lymphoma would grow. Now, this experiment utilized rats with an oddity: They were genetically predisposed to develop lymphoma. This is not as far out as it seems. It is practical to begin an experiment with animals that are scientifically proven to develop lymphoma, to see if they will develop the lymphoma, and then try the experiment on normal animals. It's practical because you don't need as many animals in the beginning stages of the experiment.

It was a good idea, but unfortunately, they couldn't replicate the Lai and Singh experimental results.

There also have been five studies on brain cancer in rats exposed to microwaves. It's practical to use rats for brain research because their brains are good for this.

Again, the Lai and Singh results have not been replicated. There is simply no evidence to support that experiment showing that microwaves in cell phones can cause cancer or breakage in the DNA strand in rats.

Julia: How safe are microwave ovens? Are they dangerous?

Dr. Moulder: A microwave oven is 1,000 times more powerful than a cell phone; however, it is shielded. It is possible to tinker with a microwave oven, open it up, and keep it operating. Although this is pretty difficult, it's possible. Certainly, this would be dangerous. The oven could broadcast enough power in this scenario to hurt someone.

Julia: What about antennas?

Dr. Moulder: Five or six years ago, antennas were more likely to cause harm. The old antennas consisted of rods going upward with what looked like an antenna on top. They broadcast in all directions.

The new antennas are directional, made of 9 antennas that form three triangles. In each of the three triangles, one of the antennas is broadcasting, and one is receiving.

A base station antenna is exceedingly safe for RF professionals, but it is powerful enough to hurt you.

The broadcast behind the antenna is very low, and the broadcast in front of the antenna is very high. This poses a problem in that most people do not know how to distinguish the front of the antenna from the back. These antennas are often mounted on roofs, and there is a real danger if you are in front of the antenna. They could cause harm to sunbathers, air conditioning people, electricians, or plumbers — in other words, people who have access to the roof but are not aware of the broadcast of the antenna.

Some people own water towers, and they mount these antennas on the towers. If they hire someone to paint the water tower without warning him about the antenna, there could be significant risk to the painter.

On most buildings, there is not too much risk because the antennas are mounted on the edge of the roof and broadcast out, or they are mounted on a sled.

Outside of the United States, in countries where they are not regulated, the situation is more serious. I have pictures from South America, Asia, and Africa in which antennas are mounted incorrectly. For example, I'm looking at a picture on an antenna mounted right next to a patio in a city in the Far East.

So there are dangers. But the United States regulates the antennas very well.

Julia: So from your perspective, there is absolutely no risk from microwaves?

Dr. Moulder: I wouldn't say that at all. It takes a certain amount of thermal heat to make the body temperature increase. This can happen in many ways, and our body simply gets rid of the heat. When we're talking about cell phones, there are simply not enough microwaves to make the body temperature increase. There was a risk from cell phones as little as three or four years ago. I'm speaking of the model where you had to hold the button to talk. And there is a risk from the phones that the military uses, the type that are more like walkie-talkies and that also require you to push the button when you talk.

And there is significant damage from radar. I worry about people who work on a military base or on a cruiser on which planes land. I certainly wouldn't want to be in front of a plane that had turned on its radar.

Television towers are dangerous. They have acutely dangerous radio frequency. They actually have contracts requiring them to power down when the lights are changed every six months. It would be very dangerous if someone got into the range of one of these towers while the power was on. Radar can hurt you if it is aimed at you.

So yes, there are dangers from microwaves. But cell phones, antennas, and microwave ovens are well regulated in the United States.

In Conclusion...

The controversy about cell phones and cancer is likely to continue, either until clear-cut evidence of a hazard is established or until the public (including politicians, businessmen, lawyers and journalists) concludes that there is little likelihood of a real and significant hazard.

Perhaps the greatest contribution that scientists can make to this debate is to help educate the public, and other scientists, about the uncertain nature of risk assessment, and about the breadth of disciplines and rigor of analysis that must be brought to bear if high-quality risk assessment is to be accomplished.

"Because there are no precise rules for deciding how much research is 'enough,' the answers will always be judgment."[4]

Meanwhile, if you're going to use a cell phone, and you are concerned about its effects, you might want to follow Dr. Moulder's suggestions: take your phone outdoors.

John E. Moulder, Ph.D., is professor of radiation oncology, radiology, and pharmacology/toxicology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received his Ph.D. in biology from Yale University in 1972.

Dr. Moulder's primary research interest is the biological basis for cancer causation and cancer therapy. He has published extensively in this area (including articles in Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese and Japanese), and his research has been supported by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Moulder has lectured on his subject matter to biologists, physicists, physicians, policy makers and industry groups around the world. He also served as a consultant and expert witness in several cases involving the alleged health effects of exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and he maintains the Medical College of Wisconsin's Clinical Research Center web page.

Dr. Moulder can be reached at or by phone at 414-456-4672.

Footnotes:

SeeMicrowaves: From Your Kitchen to the Edge of the Universe.
SeeWhat Makes Microwave Ovens Work?.
See for exampleDNA Damage and Cell Phone Radiation.
Moulder, J.E.,Cell Phones and Cancer: What is the Evidence for a Connection?.