Is Exposure to Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation, A.K.A. EMF, Harmful?

The short answer is “Yes, electromagnetic radiation exposure is harmful depending on several factors." More than 11,000 peer-reviewed studies* on the biological effects of non-ionizing radiation exist.

The FCC has guidelines for exposure to radio frequencies at three frequency ranges, with six (6) minutes for Occupational Exposure/Controlled and thirty (30) minutes for General Public Exposure/Uncontrolled, assuming the workers are using appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Still, it does not have guidelines for continuous exposure for extended periods beyond 30 minutes.

We believe that such an incomplete health assessment of electromagnetic exposure needs to be looked into since we are receptors of continuous human-engineered electromagnetic field radiation, and there is no single study on long-term exposure risks. One could say we are all a part of this ongoing experiment.

According to the IEEE Std C95.1-2019 IEEE “Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields, 0 Hz to 300 GHz,” the IEEE and the US Government provide a safety guideline for exposure to 0.904 mT (milliTeslas), equivalent to 904 mg of AC Magnetic Field Radiation at 60 Hz—299 kHz. (Note: no time of exposure is set as of today.) The previous 1,000 mg was criticized because it seemed an arbitrary level someone picked out of thin air. I have yet to see the IEEE study on how and why 0.904 mT was determined as the safety threshold.

Since exposure to a much lower level than the IEEE and FCC Exposure Guidelines can cause electronics to malfunction, a little common sense suggests that lower levels of exposure over a prolonged duration could cause harm to humans and animals.

Several epidemiological studies, see below, prove that exposure levels as low as 0.4 µT (microTeslas) or 4.0 mG (milliGauss) can cause harm.

Note: The FCC’s Occupational Safety exposure of 6 minutes and General Public exposure of 30 minutes to Electric Fields (V/m) and Magnetic Fields (A/m) cover the frequencies from 300 kHz to 300 MHz.

Hopefully, our government’s much-welcomed MAHA Initiative, Make America Healthy Again, will finally consider “We the People” and take the lead regarding electromagnetic radiation health and safety concerns. Our safety standards for electromagnetic radiation exposure should certainly not be “dead last,” the lowest standard worldwide, and we should not rank 36th in health care worldwide. As my dad would often rhetorically ask, rest his soul, ”What good is it to have wealth if you do not have your health?”

A good start would be for our government to provide actual safety tolerance threshold limits and not use the non-committal “guidelines” for US citizens’ health and safety. The US Government also needs to conduct an honest survey study on our irresponsible safety exposure levels and set definitive legal safety limits for various time intervals of exposure, such as 6 minutes, 30 minutes, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, one week, one year, and ten years, for all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Unfortunately, the “too much” exposure levels are still controversial. Most of you who have met me know that I may know more about molecular biophysics mechanisms of electromagnetism than most whom you will ever meet. (By the way, understanding the physics of electromagnetism and my inquisitiveness contribute to why I have been so successful as an EMI Consultant, too.)

Other factors besides exposure duration and amplitude cause an electromagnetic field to be disruptive to a “victim”. We will discuss these in person.

Relatively small levels of non-ionic radiation affect the electrons within an atom. Although an electron may not be extricated from the atom via non-ionizing radiation, its spectral lines and quantum orbit can be affected, as can the polarity of a human cell. This is what causes inflammation!

If non-ionic radiation had no disruptive effects, we would not need EMC Compliance Labs to test new products for susceptibility to electromagnetic radiation.

Aesthetic or something else? Photograph Copyright ©2018. All rights reserved.

A rooftop worker can have nausea and vertigo from walking too close to an RF antenna, yet there are no RF safety standards in America, only guidelines. Even China and Russia have safety standards, as do Germany, France, and most of the civilized world. In terms of non-ionizing radiation and public health, America ranks dead last.

Please review the link addresses below and decide whether you should become aware of your exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

Read everything you can find, both pros and cons, but notice the exposure duration times and the magnitude levels with the corresponding measurement units applied for each study.
While reading a study, consider if the subjects were silicon models or living organisms.
Are the scientists only testing for the heating effects and electrical conduction/induction on the skin, or were they monitoring calcium ion motility, Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels, red and white blood cell counts, mitochondrial response, cellular polarity, DNA mutation, EEG patterns, EKG patterns, SpO² blood-oxygen levels, behavioral responses, etc.?
Finally, consider the test subjects' sample size, age, gender, and relative health.

In the meantime, I recommend you take some control over your exposure by reading this website, learning what exposure you can control and what you can’t, and having a professional assessment of your home and workplace so you know if actionable levels of EMF are there, what is fixable, and what remediation steps need to be taken. Use the ALARA Principle for safety target levels: “AS Low AS Reasonably Achievable.”

https://buildingbiologyinstitute.org/free-fact-sheets/

https://bioinitiative.org/table-of-contents/

https://mdsafetech.org/

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/468891

* 11,000+ peer-reviewed studies are part of the ongoing Environmental Health Trust vs. FCC evidence. You can listen to the first day in court here: https://www.courtlistener.com/audio/74208/environmental-health-trust-v-fcc/