The Dangers of Electromagnetic Smog

Weak electromagnetic radiation removes structurally important calcium (and possibly magnesium) ions from cell membranes, making them weaker and more prone to transient pore formation. This makes them leaky to even large molecules. Prolonged exposure to mobile phone radiation causes serious damage to the DNA in living cells, probably because of digestive enzymes leaking from lysosomes. This may be responsible for the reduction in sperm quantity and quality found in recent studies of people using mobile phones for more than a few hours a day. We might also expect it lead to an increase in the incidence of cancer, but this may not become apparent for many years. Electromagnetic exposure also increases the permeability of the blood‐brain barrier to large molecules and allows potentially damaging substances to enter the brain from the bloodstream. The blood‐brain barrier is characterised by having cells joined by ‘tight junctions’, where the gaps between the cells are sealed by impermeable materials. Equivalent layers of cells with tight junctions cover all of our body surfaces and a similar increase in their permeability could allow the entry of a wide range of potential toxins, allergens and carcinogens from the environment. There is evidence that this increase in permeability is mediated by the loss of calcium from cell membranes and should also be enhanced by electromagnetic exposure. This effect can link the current rise in the incidence of multiple chemical sensitivities, various allergy‐related diseases and skin cancer to the electromagnetic environment. Electrosensitive individuals can be thought of as people who have abnormally weak permeability barriers that are more easily compromised by electromagnetically‐induced calcium or magnesium loss. In general, the symptoms resemble those of hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia, which suggests a common aetiology based on a reduction in membrane stability. Low concentrations of either calcium or magnesium ions in the blood may be predisposing factors, but once the condition is established, it can be progressive with increasing exposure to radiation. It then appears to be irreversible.