3G Waves Causes Headaches, Sharpens Memory 277
jonknee writes "MobileTracker noted that an interesting study on 3G cellular networks has been released out of Amsterdam. The findings were that exposure to 3G waves can cause headaches and nausea (conventional cellular service doesn't have these effects). It also found that those same subjects had better memory and reaction times (conventional cellular networks have the same effect)!"
Link to the report (in Dutch) (Score:5, Informative)
TNO is the Dutch equivalent of the German TUV if I'm not mistaken. A very respected institute in the Netherlands
3G vs. 2G (Score:3, Informative)
Re:So, where's the study? (Score:4, Informative)
The complete study can be found on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, here [www.ez.nl]. This one's in English; don't be fooled by the Dutch management summary that is included at the start of the document.
Re:So, where's the study? (Score:2, Informative)
click on 'Onderzoek'
Not giving the direct link to prevent their server from going down (it's a 1.8 MB file)
Ruud
Re:alertness (Score:3, Informative)
Great.. More junk science.. (Score:3, Informative)
What everyone seems to forget is the fact we live in an ocean of pretty powerful RF energy that ranges from VLF (very low frequency) up to the microwave region (SHF). Every time you turn on an appliance you are exposing yourself to magnetic and RF fields magnitudes greater than that of a cell phone handset. Drive past a broadcast station and you're exposed to a field density measured in volts per meter, not millivolts. To put it perspective, your common FM broadcast station operates between 5 and 100 kilowatts ERP (effective radiated power). A television transmitter can operate up to 2-4 Megawatts of ERP. Where is the uproar over that?
Your common cellphone operates at a modest 3 watts (for car-mounted 800 mhz units) to a puny
Remember these facts: You live in an ocean of electromagnetic energy. A bolt of lightning radiates tremendous RF energy. Mother earth gives off VLF emissions herself. The sun bathes you in RF in the microwave region. And have you cleaned those gaskets around the door of your microwave oven? It operates at 800 to 1000 watts of power at 2.4 GHz. All it takes is a grungy gasket or a bent door and your taking on watts of very effective heating.
I am the holder of a First Class FCC license, an Extra Class amateur license, and have worked with broadcast, land mobile, fixed service, radar, and amateur radio for decades. I have never experienced, nor have I ever encountered anyone who has experienced a health related problems for working in a high RF field. People are more likely to be injured from high voltage, burns, and mechanical means.
Please stop trying to get funding by spreading this faux academic nonsense. Quit manipulating data to make yourselves look right and then run out and cry the sky is falling. We're all tired of this and have heard quite enough.
Re:So, where's the study? (Score:3, Informative)
Not yet published. This is the kind of short-circuiting of peer review that starts to get silly after a while.
Re:I, for one... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Link to the report (in Dutch) (Score:3, Informative)
-Two groups of people: 36 who had previously complained about GSM base stations and 36 who didn't.
-Persons where tested with cognitive tests while being subjected to EM field of GSM/UMTS base-station. Fields where relatively low, comparable to a normal daily exposure (I guess in case you live near a base-station, not like when you stick your head in the antenna).
-Statistical relevant relations were found between precense of field and 'experienced well-being' and 'results of mental tasks'.
-Calculated thermal effects are probably to small to be significant.
-Results are not well understood, more research needed.
Complot theory:
They probably measured nothing and just want money for a follow up experiment.
That old argument is/has always been wrong. (Score:3, Informative)
If only this were true!
There is a mountain of science which has recognized the following. .
Here's an article [protectingourhealth.org] with some photos of slices of brain tissue taken from rats exposed to cell phone EM. The effects are real.
-FL