nanog mailing list archives

Re: Technology risk without safeguards


From: Sabri Berisha <sabri () cluecentral net>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2020 21:56:38 -0800 (PST)

Hi Suresh, 

I'm not disputing anything you or Tom wrote. The current scientific consensus is that most RF exposures are sage. We 
agree on that. 

My point is simply that, as Tom wrote in his citation, the biological effects of RF are still an area of research. 

And for that reason, it's unfair to dismiss a physician's suggestion to look into a case as an "internet conspiracy". 
That's all. 

Thanks, 

Sabri 

----- On Nov 4, 2020, at 7:23 PM, Suresh Kalkunte <sskalkunte () gmail com> wrote: 

Existing research on health effects from RF signals dwell on emissions from
regulated sources, (mobile handset, base of a tower etc), my overriding concern
is, unrestricted/chronic exposure for extended duration of time for which there
are very rare research efforts devoted.

Chronic exposure to RF is found to induce DNA instability^1^. Even if RF at
chronic exposure levels are not found to cause DNA strands to break, it creates
upstream conditions such as excess Calcium influx^2,3^ into the cell's
cytoplasm with implications on cardiac arrhythmia^4^, invoke and/or worsen
neurodegenerative^5^ diseases to name a few.
Labeling any discussion on adverse health from OVEREXPOSURE to RF is a cop-out
from doing a threadbare analysis.

Suresh S.

^1^ Mashevich M, Folkman D, Kesar A, et. al. Exposure of human peripheral blood
lymphocytes to electromagnetic fields associated with cellular phones leads to
chromosomal instability. Bioelectromagnetics. 2003;24:82–90.

^2^ Arber SL, Lin JC. Extracellular calcium and microwave enhancement of
membrane conductance in snail neurons. Radiat Environ Biophys. Jun
1985;24(2):149–156.

^3^ Rao VS, Titushkin IA, Moros EG et al. Nonthermal effects of
radiofrequency-field exposure on calcium dynamics in stem cell-derived neuronal
cells: elucidation of calcium pathways.
Radiat Res. 2008 March. 169(3):319-29.

^4^ Grace AA , Camm AJ. Voltage-gated calcium -channels and antiarrhythmic drug
action.
Cardiovasc Res. Jan 2000;45(1):43–51.

^5^ Leal SS, Gomes CM. Calcium dysregulation links ALS defective proteins and
motor neuron
selective vulnerability. Front Cell Neurosci. 2015;9:225.

On Thursday, November 5, 2020, Tom Beecher <beecher () beecher cc> wrote:

The hypothesis that RF may cause damage to human DNA is not at all conspiracy.
The
fact that we haven't been able to identify a factual relationship, does not mean
that there isn't any. For example:

If you are going to cite that American Cancer Society article, you should cite
all the relevant parts. The parts you skipped are bolded.

RF waves don’t have enough energy to damage DNA directly. Because of this, it’s
not clear how RF radiation might be able to cause cancer. Some studies have
found possible increased rates of certain types of tumors in lab animals
exposed to RF radiation, but overall, the results of these types of studies
have not provided clear answers so far.

A few studies have reported evidence of biological effects that could be linked
to cancer, but this is still an area of research.

In large studies published in 2018 by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP)
and by the Ramazzini Institute in Italy, researchers exposed groups of lab rats
(as well as mice, in the case of the NTP study) to RF waves over their entire
bodies for many hours a day, starting before birth and continuing for at least
most of their natural lives. Both studies found an increased risk of uncommon
heart tumors called malignant schwannomas in male rats, but not in female rats
(nor in male or female mice, in the NTP study). The NTP study also reported
possible increased risks of certain types of tumors in the brain and in the
adrenal glands.

While both of these studies had strengths, they also had limitations that make
it hard to know how they might apply to humans being exposed to RF radiation. A
2019 review of these two studies by the International Commission on
Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) determined that the limitations of
the studies didn’t allow conclusions to be drawn regarding the ability of RF
energy to cause cancer.

Still, the results of these studies do not rule out the possibility that RF
radiation might somehow be able to impact human health.
The majority of science to date finds no causal relationship between EM
radiation and cancerous mutations. If someone wants to claim otherwise,
scientific proof is required.

On Wed, Nov 4, 2020 at 7:56 PM Sabri Berisha < [ mailto:sabri () cluecentral net |
sabri () cluecentral net ] > wrote:

Hi,

Not that I'm into conspiracy theories, or believe at this point that RF
emissions
are in any way related to cancer, but Suresh' statement is not very scientific:

This is an internet conspiracy theory with no basis in reality or science.

RF emissions are absorbed by the human body. Your kitchen microwave works at
the same frequency as your 2.4Ghz wifi. We all know it's a bad idea to put your
head in a microwave oven.

The hypothesis that RF may cause damage to human DNA is not at all conspiracy.
The
fact that we haven't been able to identify a factual relationship, does not mean
that there isn't any. For example:

In large studies published in 2018 by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP)
and by the Ramazzini Institute in Italy, researchers exposed groups of lab rats
(as well as mice, in the case of the NTP study) to RF waves over their entire
bodies for many hours a day, starting before birth and continuing for at least
most of their natural lives. Both studies found an increased risk of uncommon
heart tumors called malignant schwannomas in male rats, but not in female rats
(nor in male or female mice, in the NTP study). The NTP study also reported
possible increased risks of certain types of tumors in the brain and in the
adrenal
glands.

Source: [
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/radiofrequency-radiation.html
|
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/radiofrequency-radiation.html
]

If your doctor suspected that you had cancer caused by something related to
microwave band communications equipment, you need to find a new doctor.

On the contrary. Few people are more exposed to higher-powered RF radiation
than a MW techie. That would make them an excellent subject for scientific
research. Dismissing a medical professional's opinion based in your own
firm beliefs is counterproductive to the advance of scientific knowledge.

Thanks,

Sabri, M.Sc

----- On Nov 4, 2020, at 2:01 PM, Matt Harris [ mailto:matt () netfire net |
matt () netfire net ] wrote:

My first instinct is to let this be because the level of conspiracy theory
nuttiness seems to be very high and the level of knowledge of basic physics
seems to be very low, but since this list is archived in a way that lay-people
may reference it at some point in the future, I'm going to go ahead and reply
just this once more and just one point here so that a lack of response here
won't be used as fodder by conspiracy theorists.

Matt Harris | Infrastructure Lead Engineer
816‑256‑5446 | Direct
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On Wed, Nov 4, 2020 at 2:48 PM Suresh Kalkunte < [ mailto: [
mailto:sskalkunte () gmail com | sskalkunte () gmail com ] |
[ mailto:sskalkunte () gmail com | sskalkunte () gmail com ] ] > wrote:

At an employer where I developed Wi-Fi based SOHO device, an adjacent group was
testing Line of Sight transceivers. Nobody warned me of the inclement health (a
general physician in 2007 suspected cancer looking at a blood test) from close
quarters exposure to the side lobes emanating from the microwave radio.

There is no scientific evidence that RF emissions in the bands used for
communications have any causal relationship with cancer in humans. This is an
internet conspiracy theory with no basis in reality or science. If your doctor
suspected that you had cancer caused by something related to microwave band
communications equipment, you need to find a new doctor.

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