by Kris Kingsland

Electropollution is a relatively young phenomenon. Most of our history has been spent without the masses of electronic equipment which generates the largely undetectable electromagnetic energy, that could be the source of many health problems. Only in the last ten or so years have mobile phone frequencies permeated the atmosphere. Scientists investigating bioelectromagnetics are reporting possible adverse health effects from short and long term exposure of cells and live animals to the same frequencies that are emitted by mobile phones.

Roger Coghill is particularly concerned with the increasing use of mobile phones. The electromagnetic radiations emitted by mobiles are kept below certain levels. Unfortunately in the UK, this is five times the level permitted in the US. This is an average value. The emissions are pulsed and may be briefly up to eight times as powerful. This could affect the functioning of the brain. Thus, Coghill is campaigning for warning labels (like the one below) to be placed on mobile phones. Despite being self-funded and up against Goliath-like organisations, Coghill appears to be swinging the sling of success. He proposed that all mobile phones be issued with this cigarette packet-like warning:

The brain is highly sensitive to electromagnetic influence - it has evolved this way. When we wish to examine brain activity we often use electroencephalograms (EEG) and can soon tell if there is any abnormal neural activity. Large groups of nerve cells firing together (changing their electrical state) give rise to the voltages used to form the EEG image. Normally the EEG consists of waves of various frequencies (3-30Hz), rather like an electrocardiogram (ECG) of the heart. If that 'squiggly line' goes flat, then you either have an organ unlike anyone else, or you have a serious problem! Of course, some of us feel like this most mornings...

Anaesthesia can be induced in animals by supplying a reversed current to cancel the brain's internal current, as another scientist, Robert Becker discovered. Later he complimented this experiment by studying the inverse: he was able to partially revive a drugged subject by artificially supplying the animal's usual brain electrical activity via electrodes. Do anaesthetics work by blocking the brain's currents? Of even greater interest is Becker's work on tissue regeneration - exploring limb regrowth in amphibians. He was certain that we would someday be able to grow back a lost limb or re-knit a broken back. Science fiction to science fact? I live to see this day!

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners can be used to distinguish the structures of the brain. Placed in a strong magnetic field, protons in the brain line up and are bombarded with radio frequency waves. This distorts the orderly arrangement of particles. When the radio waves are stopped, the particles return to their ordered state and emit energy. The information obtained from this can be used to construct an image of the brain. Roger Coghill refers to a sufferer of Alzheimer's disease who underwent this procedure to then miraculously recover his memory and clarity of thought, just a scant two hours later.

This sort of incidence is met with much scepticism (as it should be) but we should not be so confident in our assumption that this is pure fantasy. We have only the vaguest of glimmerings as to how and why the brain functions the way it does. So who knows for certain? Little understood electromagnetic phenomena surround us - from the wires in the house, the telephones, the whirring motor in the fan, and from the PC that I am staring at! This must change.

Problems arise from the fact that the technology used in mobile phones generates frequencies in the 3-30Hz range mentioned above. Two similar frequencies being broadcast together will interfere with one another's reception. This is why radio frequency bandwidths are carefully allocated. If not, then hypothetically Radio Four might block out Radio One. Clearly there are positive possibilities for this technology as well as the more worrying ones.

From the hairy hunters and the first farmers, to the thoughtless technocrats we have grown into, humankind has prospered with awesome success. Now however, the fruit of our triumph could lead to our fall from grace, as some would suggest, faster than ever. Although throughout our history we have been exposed to natural sources of electromagnetic radiation, never before have we encountered so much so fast.

Often, mainstream science has ignored the possibility that non-ionising radiation could be particularly harmful at levels low enough not to cause significant heating of matter. I.e. if it does not fry you then it probably will not harm you... Hmmm - big assumption! To be fair, studies have been carried out, but as many genuinely concerned scientists have pointed out, the research has often been flawed or inadequate. There are too many vested interests (often the bodies funding the research), and too big a jump for many biologists and physicists.

Physicists have been puzzled about how energies too weak to break chemical bonds, could have biological effects. Nature, although both beautiful and diverse, is ultimately quite simple, as chaos mathematicians are eager to point out. One of its simplicities is that energy is conserved, and following this principle 'we' tend to get the most out of everything we do. Thus, throughout evolution organisms have developed uses for electrons, charges, and magnetic fields in a variety of ways.

Whales are extremely sensitive to magnetic fields and use Earth's geomagnetic field to navigate their way through dark and featureless oceans. Sharks - almost unchanged for millions of years, are extremely electrosensitive. They will scent you a mile away and circle in - able to locate you 'electrically' even in the inky blackness of the night. A chilling thought...

Many animals demonstrate electromagnetic sensitivity: fish, birds, insects and mammals. Their application in navigation, predation and mating has been long known, if not entirely understood. Of course, being more sensitive to electromagnetism is great when you have evolved it over millions of years to catch fish, but a real let down when you bite into that Transatlantic-Atlantic power cable expecting a nice, juicy cod... How long will it take sharks to learn NOT to bite power cables? What about birds getting lost whilst flying South and dying because they cannot tough out the winter?

Should we shoulder the responsibility or just reap the rewards and to hell with the little birds? What goes around, comes around. Most of the energy produced by a human body is achieved via the bacteria-like mitochondria, synthesising a high-energy molecule (ATP). Judging by oxygen consumption, some 40% of ATP is made in the brain. The process is dependent on electron transport, and imposing an external electric field depolarises the mitochondrial membrane thus lowering ATP production. Subjects exposed to microwaves commonly report weakened states of health and this could be a link. A more outlandish idea is that microwaves disrupt the structure of the proteins found in meat leading to the generation of prions (intriguingly, many sheep and cattle graze under pylons). So don't stand in front of the microwave oven whilst heating your tepid tea!

Evidence now exists that exposure to cell phone frequencies lowers daytime melatonin production (a hormone linked to sexual activity) in human subjects. You may already be aware that male fertility is on the decline and the jury is still out as to why this is the case. This should be no surprise when compared to the recently published paper in Nature, where scientists have shown that 'normal' visible light can affect our circadian rhythms when 'shone on the back of the knee!' The prevalent explanation is that blood is somehow sensitive to electromagnetism and is communicating this to the rest of the body, particularly secretory glands and hence hormone secretion. Coghill goes even further, as to propose a link between electropollution and AIDS. At this, some would raise their eyebrows in surprise, but how can we be dismissive when we have not fully explored the links between the two? There are plenty of experienced immunologists who predict hundreds of millions of deaths due to AIDS, so can we really afford to overlook even the slimmest chance of prevention or a path to a cure?

Electropollution is, like many other environmental problems, one born from excess. Much of the problem technology is redundant and must be upgraded. As with industrial pollution ('the Smoke' that London was), electropollution can be cleaned up. However, it would be far better to halt its unnecessary generation and this is achievable. We need to do a lot more research and examine it with an open scientific mind. The benefits to be gained from a better understanding of 'biophysics' are enormous, including: revolutionary medical techniques, sources of energy, and a cleaner environment.

Technology is the way of the world, lighting our path to the future, but it should not be created out of context. You would not let a dentist X-ray your teeth without wearing a lead-lined apron, so why use a mobile phone without adequate shielding? For a few pounds you can cut out most of the radiation that you would be otherwise exposed to. This should be standard issue! And remember:
'Did you hear about the yuppie accused of using two mobiles at once? '
'No? '
'One was a phone and the other was a growth...'

© Kris Kingsland 1998

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