How to Approach the Challenge of Minimizing Non-Thermal Health Effects of Microwave Radiation from Electrical Devices

Dozens of reviews and thousands of primary literature studies have shown the existence of many different non-thermal health effects of microwave and lower frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs); however current safety guidelines and standards only recognize thermal effects. This leaves both individuals and companies unprotected, particularly with the very large increases in microwave frequency exposures that are occurring over time. It has recently been shown that many, perhaps even all non-thermal health effects are produced by activation of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in the plasma membranes of cells, with EMFs activating these channels, producing large increases in intracellular calcium levels [Ca2+]i. The voltage sensor controlling the VGCCs is thought to be extremely sensitive to activation by weak EMFs. Diverse health effects are thought to be produced by downstream effects of increased [Ca2+]i produced by VGCC activation. It is difficult if not impossible to currently predict the biological effects of different EMFs because pulsation patterns, frequencies and EMF polarization each have strong influences on biological effects; there are also windows of exposure producing maximum biological effects within the exposure window. While decreasing exposures on the order of 100 to 1000-fold will no doubt be useful, we also need to have genuine biological measures of damage to allow optimization of both the type of EMF exposures as well as intensities. Biological optimization should be done by studying cells in culture that have high densities of various types of VGCCs, measuring such effects as increases in [Ca2+]i and increases in nitric oxide (NO) production following EMF exposures. Such cell culture-based assessment of biological damage should allow progressive improvement of wireless communication devices and various other electronic devices by choosing designs that lower biological responses.