Electromagnetic Fields. The INVADER to our brain. New edition.
Resent News
Power lines are running right over the homes in Japan.
Three times more childhood leukemia near power lines
Research in the field was pioneered by Dr. Nancy Wertheimer of the University of Colorado, who published her findings in the "American Journal of Epidemiology" in 1979. Wertheimer caused a stir when she reported that overall cancer incidence in children in the vicinity of the Denver substation was 2.25 times higher than average, while childhood leukemia was 2.98 times higher. Of those children covered by the survey, all six children in homes close to power lines fed by the substation had died of cancer.
Then, in the New York State Power Lines Project, which spanned five years starting in 1981 and was partially funded by the state power company, David A. Savitz found that exposure to 2.5 milligauss (a unit of electromagnetic induction) doubled the likelihood of childhood leukemia, confirming Wertheimer's conclusions.
The issue of electromagnetic fields was once again brought to the fore in autumn 1992 by the Swedish Royal Carolinska (Caroline) Institute of Environmental Medicine. The institute, known for selecting Nobel Prize winners in the fields of medicine and biology, is one of the top research labs worldwide. The institute surveyed 500,000 subjects residing within a radius of 300 m from high-voltage power lines and compared children living in an environment with electromagnetic fields of 1 milligauss or less with children living in stronger magnetic fields.
The astonishing conclusion was that childhood leukemia was 2.7 times more likely to occur in areas with electromagnetic fields of at least 2 milligauss, and 3.8 times more likely in fields of 3 milligauss or stronger. The fact that this respected institute announced that "there is a link between the occurrence of leukemia and the strength of electromagnetic fields" shocked the world. (For some reason, not a single Japanese paper reported on the story at the time.)
Power lines over roofs, close to school and daycarecenter are very common in Japan.
A giant million-volt killer grid: the danger in Japan
The astonishing conclusion was that childhood leukemia was 2.7 times more likely to occur in areas with electromagnetic fields of at least 2 milligauss, and 3.8 times more likely in fields of 3 milligauss or stronger. The fact that this respected institute announced that "there is a link between the occurrence of leukemia and the strength of electromagnetic fields" shocked the world. (For some reason, not a single Japanese paper reported on the story at the time.)
However, M.H. Repacholi, head of the WHO, has told the Japanese media that "the 1987 report was based on research carried out prior to 1985. In the decade since, 50-60 epidemiological studies have been published, and some investigate the causes of leukemia or brain tumors. The WHO is planning to go through these studies, conduct a review, and reissue the report. ["Criteria 69"] Fifty gauss is not a definite standard."
In any case, since new studies are being published one after the other, it is clear that there is an urgent need to analyze these reports and consider possible precautionary measures. However, Japan is currently moving against the tide. While the world is reevaluating electricity supply strategies, ultra-high-voltage power lines are being thrown up across the country, and substations are being built in residential areas. There are even plans for a million-volt electricity supply network, which would have the highest voltage of any grid constructed in Japan to date. As long as there is a risk that electromagnetic fields are a source of harm, such a plan could be said to be tantamount to mass suicide on a national scale.
Mr. Ohnishi claims many people in Kadoma-city died by cancer cauzed by EMF's.
The media say there is nothing to fear
Still, there are many who deny outright the potential danger of electromagnetic fields.
It is true that in a report published in December 1993 by MITI's Agency of National Resources and Energy, in a report published in March 1996 by the Agency of the Environment, and by a report on the use of cellular phones published also in March 1996 by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the conclusions were that electromagnetic fields "cannot be said to be harmful at this point in time" or "the risk is low" or "the current policy is satisfactory." The conclusions seem to be aimed at calming public fears. Yet none of the reports actually say that electromagnetic waves are safe. All say that "further research and study is required."
Despite this, the national dailies' reporting on the studies implies the findings are outright declarations of safety, e.g., "Cellular Phones Study: No Harm to Human Body" ("Asahi Shimbun"). Someone reading this headline would, propelled by a psychological desire to be free of worry, likely think, "Oh, good, if there is no harm they must be safe."
"The cause may not be magnetic fields"
In November 1996, drawing on a report by the US Academy of Sciences, the media reported that "magnetic fields cannot be confirmed as cancer-inducing." But let us examine the original wording of the report closely. All it says is: "The weak link shown between proximity to power lines and childhood leukemia may be the result of factors other than magnetic fields that are common to houses with the types of external wiring identified with the disease," and "Most compelling is the need to pinpoint the unexplained factor or factors causing a small increase in childhood leukemia in houses close to power lines. The precise factors that are related to an increased number of childhood leukemia cases need to be identified." Naturally, the report doesn't say a word about electromagnetic fields being safe.
The US report concedes that electromagnetic waves or other factors cause "a small increase in childhood leukemia" and changes in "the levels of the hormone melatonin." Moreover, the report expressly points out that "the committee did not study in detail occupational exposures, such as those experienced by electrical workers close to higher-frequency power lines," showing that there is a clear need for further study. For some strange reason such findings resulted in the said headlines in Japanese newspapers, giving readers the impression that "electromagnetic fields are safe."
Is it safe if not proved to harm?
Thereafter, in December 1996, in the city assembly of Kadoma in Osaka Prefecture, the mayor was questioned on the effect of electromagnetic fields on human health. There had been some claims that a large number of fatal incidents of cancer, caused by magnetic fields from power lines, were occurring in Kadoma. Newspapers and magazines had taken the matter up sporadically, and concern was quietly spreading among residents. Assembly member Gomi Seiji asked: "Amid rumors of children contracting cancer [due to electromagnetic fields], if there is a risk of harm to children in nurseries, kindergartens, and schools in the city, should not precautionary measures be taken, even if [the magnetic field level] is only 1 milligauss?"
The answers to this earnest question were an evasive reply from the power company: "[The magnetic field level] is not in excess of the WHO threshold [of 50 gauss, below which harm to living beings is not confirmed]," and "The US Academy of Sciences has said that no causal relationship can be confirmed between magnetic fields and harm to human health, such as cancer." It is unclear whether or not the official from the mayor's office who replied had read the original report from the academy, but surely it is evident that the safety of residents cannot be protected by shrugging the matter off as was done in the Kadoma city assembly.
Nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Long distance from Tokyo requires high voltage.
Arguments to the effect that something "not proven to cause harm" is "probably safe" are frequent in Japan. I need not even mention Minamata, Monju, or AIDS caused by untreated blood products. The national newspapers' style of reporting, reminiscent of "Announcements from the Supreme Command," only reinforces this trend. This is, in fact, the root cause of a pervasive logic far removed from the citizen's perspective. This is why a pressing need for a domestic epidemiological study on the effect of electromagnetic fields on human health, and the danger and need to remove power lines and substations from residential areas or evacuate residents in areas of danger, becomes not "probably" but "doubtlessly."
This translation is provided by courtesy of