Change your thinking, change your life!

Microwave Radiation

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

[ Also: Wave 2: Microwave Hell Is Coming ]

YouTube [27min] | MP3 [27min]

by Floyd Maxwell, BASc
Principal, Just-Think-It.com

Microwave Radiation

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Radiation. For some, just hearing the word is disturbing. So let's try to bring some calmness and clarity to the subject. And encourage action, if action is indicated.

Radiation comes in many forms. One major division is between ionizing and non-ionizing.

Ionizing radiation is the more harmful form, but is also something humans rarely encounter, so it will not be discussed further here.

There are several types of non-ionizing radiation. The lowest energy forms are found in sunlight. The next step up is microwave radiation. This is the level we will be focusing on here, in part because microwaves come only from man-made sources.

Wikipedia says that microwave radiation can "heat tissue and [is] possibly carcinogenic".

Microwave irradiated cells struggle to protect themselves by hardening their membranes. They cease to receive nourishment, stop releasing toxins, die prematurely and spill micronuclei fragments into a sort of "tumor bank account." This is precisely how microwave radiation prematurely ages living tissues.
- Rense

And that is where the controversy begins.

The Dose Makes The Poison

First expressed by Paracelsus, Wiki says this phrase is a "principle of toxicology".

In different words, the statement could be "Things are bad for you, or harmless, depending on how much of it you are hit with."

So it is with microwave radiation.

Given that there are no natural sources of microwave radiation, it is safe to say that humans, and most probably all living creatures, have not evolved special defenses against microwaves.

But they have done tests and know exactly how much microwave radiation we can handle.

Right?

Well, no they haven't.

All they have studied is how much microwave radiation it takes to heat us up. From a half inch away from the side of an adult thickness "head". A simulated head based on the average of 20,000 members of the military. Heh, who doesn't like being treated like they are in the military!

Such as this is, there is at least a rule. And cell phone makers follow it. To the decimal point.

Users don't, however. For starters, non-adults (with thinner skulls) use cell phones. And none of us hold a cell phone half an inch away from our heads while using it.

Yet in the world of microwave energy sources, cell phones are a medium, and at times, just a minor player (depending on the particular phone).

Since there are a number of sources, let's briefly discuss each of them.
 



Sources Of Microwaves We Will Encounter

Microwaves are one of the few things
we receive less of at work than at home.

Work computers are usually wired to the network. Work telephones are usually corded. Microwave ovens, if in the workplace, are in the break room only. And there is probably no "Smart" meter just feet away.

This is not to minimize workplace threats, as every workplace is different. Instead it should help us to realize that in our homes we are in a unique situation with regard to microwave radiation. If we don't perform measurements in our own homes, each of us will truly have no idea what our dose is.

So let's look at the numbers. These will be "ballpark" numbers to give you a sense of what is worse than what.

Microwave Ovens

No surprise here. It is right in the name of the appliance. Microwave ovens are used to heat food after all.

There are strict standards regulating microwaves but if you stick a meter right in front of the shielded front door of the oven, you will measure 60,000 to 80,000 microwatts per meter squared. When I tried putting a very large piece of aluminum mesh in front of the microwave, thinking I would effectively be blocking the radiation, there was no change in the reading.

We'll shorten "microwatts per meter squared" to µw/m2 from now on.

Cordless "DECT" Phones

DECT is the new digital standard for cordless home phones. It is a better cordless phone in that it can provide better coverage throughout your house. This convenience does have a cost.

With my home's former DECT system, I measured levels up to 8,000 µw/m2 at the base station. Individual handsets in our system (a fairly new Panasonic setup) sent out little or no radiation until a call came in or I placed a call with one of the phones. Then levels were in the 1,000 to 6,000 µw/m2 range and they remained high throughout the call.

"Smart" Meters

"Smart" meters are found on many homes these days. They have been sold to consumers as a way to lower your energy costs. The name certainly suggests we would be dumb to not have one.

In reality, a "Smart" meter saves you just one thing: meter reading trips. So one trip per house per month is not needed -- my "back of the envelope" calculation of the savings is in the realm of $20 per house per year. Let's make that five times bigger and call it a $100 annual savings.

The cost is that a "Smart" meter is a cell phone tower. Attached to your house. Readings from "Smart" meters are a bit elusive to obtain -- it can take several minutes before it "calls the office". When it does, it broadcasts microwave radiation.

In Vermont, the maximum radiation a "Smart" meter can radiate is 3,050 µw/m2.

Some of the problems with "Smart" meters are: (1) they can and are used to track exactly what you are doing inside your home, (2) you never signed up for this level of privacy invasion, (3) utility companies do not have the authority/mandate to spy on you, (4) they broadcast up to 1,400 times in an 8 hour period -- that is 1,400 cell "phone" conversations broadcast from the side of YOUR home, (5) it is close to impossible to rid yourself of a "Smart" meter once you have had one force-installed on your property, (6) they talk to other "Smart" meters...constantly.

If your resident techie isn't getting
a Skynet vibe at this point, ask
them to turn in their geek card.

Cell Phones

Cell phones vary a lot but the most guaranteed way to get a reading, especially a high reading, is to simply turn your phone on. My cell phone shines with a thousand points of light, and 2,000 to 4,000 µw/m2, on start up.

At this point, with the three types of phones I've tested, things start to vary.

With my phone, when I start a call I will be holding a device putting out up to 10,000 µw/m2 as my phone hooks up to the cellular network. Once the call connection is made, the levels drop -- 50 to 500 was the range I measured then.

Tip: Hold your phone at arm's length until the connection has been made.

Results were similar with a second cell phone but with the third cell phone brand, I was not able to notice any significant radiation while calls were dialed, connections were made and extensive conversations carried on. That is, levels were 50 µw/m2 or less at all times. If I was trying to determine, by the readings on my Acoustimeter, if or when a cell phone call was being made, I would not have had a clue. Nice, for that particular cell phone owner.

So, it is quite possible that your cell phone is a very low, almost zero, radiation source. Or it could be a substantial source, as mine is. Do you feel lucky?

Baby Monitors, Computer Routers, Police/Firefighter Radios, etc.

Baby monitors, most new ones anyway, are DECT phones in disguise. The big difference is they are "making a call" continuously. With readings in the 1,000 µw/m2 range, measured at the recommended six feet away. That converts to 2,000 µw/m2 at three feet, and 4,000 µw/m2 at 18 inches. Your child's first DECT phone...how cute!

I've long since disabled my computer router's wireless ability, due to the hackability of wireless communication. Similarly, my mice and keyboards are all corded. But I can tell you that computer routers are the most "bursty" (i.e. continuously spikey) microwave broadcasters I have measured. They are also extremely high energy microwave transmitters. My quite new NetGEAR router measured spikes up to 22,000 in the few seconds I enabled it. Salford et all (1997) found that a level of 25,000 µw/m2 caused "damage to the blood-brain barrier". By the way, Volts per meter were continuously off the scale -- greater than 6 V/m2 -- on a brand new, top-of-the-line meter designed to measure exactly this form of radiation. When you go to your local library, you are being dosed continuously with microwave radiation from "free" Wi-Fi. Just another service to the community I suppose.

According to the specification, there are at least 16 different frequencies that police and fire officials are able to broadcast on. In today's Orwellian world it is probably illegal to report police and fire radiation levels, never mind trying to measure them for yourself. It is safe to say that police and fire radios are higher powered than consumer varieties so the threat to police and fire officials is probably significant. For Joe & Jane Citizen this is not much of a concern, unless they live near a firehouse...

Radar guns put out "in most cases less than 20 µw/cm2". Well that "20" should be of no concern. Except the unit is "cm2" instead of "m2". With 100 cm to the m, and 10,000 cm2 to the m2, we have an "in most cases" level of 200,000 µw/m2. In round figures, let's call it "three microwave ovens operating six inches from your head". This could become the new definition of "karma". At least now we know why they have gone to unmanned speed-monitoring vans.

Any other sources?

There are probably other miscellaneous microwave sources and if I run across any new ones in the future I'll update this page to reflect them. But for most of us that is about it.

Except for those unfortunate few living within 3 or 4 blocks of a cell phone tower or one of those remarkably small rooftop "repeater" masts. Or those of us visiting an establishment (typically a restaurant) next to a cell phone tower or repeater mast. Or those school children who have had a cell phone repeater tower erected across the street. Otherwise, you're good to go.

I have measured street levels, within a block or two of a mast, as high as 17,000 µw/m2. Within 3 or 4 blocks of the cell phone tower or repeater mast, levels of at least 600 µw/m2 are guaranteed everywhere. Except basements. You're not afraid of spiders, are you?

Line of sight is a particular problem. Basically, if you can see the mast, you are being irradiated at the highest levels. NOTE: "Seeing" in this case means "your path to the tower is not block by aluminum or copper mesh"...

Walls, windows and even chimneys are essentially transparent to microwaves.

Your castle walls are made of glass
to the microwave cannonball.

Right outside my home I have measured levels up to 5,000 µw/m2, commonly in the 1,000 to 2,000 range and never lower than 700 for line-of-sight, with the masts one city block away (as the radiation flies). On the inside walls of my home, I have measured 1,400 µw/m2 -- and this is a continuous measurement. Cell phone towers and masts never sleep, their calls never stop, their popcorn never finishes popping and their "baby monitoring" is continous.

NOTE:

Despite the multi-paragraph treatment, I would not want you to conclude that cell phone towers/mast are the only, or even the biggest, microwave radiation threat to you. Cell phone towers/masts are just the biggest microwave radiation source you can't easily turn off or avoid.

They are the fluoridated water of the microwave radiation world. Baby monitors are the bubble gum flavored fluoridated toothpaste, cell phones are the fluoride tablets given to your children at school, DECT phones are the fluoridated beverages you unconsciously drink throughout your day and microwave ovens are the unregulated, 20,000 and higher ppm, fluoride paste treatment your dentist thoughtfully gives you as a periodontal preventative (that doesn't work and in fact makes things worse, but luckily you never accidentally swallow any of it).

Microwave radiation and fluoridation should become sister cities.

Let's rename them "Georgeville" and "99%ville".
 



Now The Tricky Bit

So what do all these numbers mean? And if microwave ovens are the worst offenders, but are strictly regulated, do we have anything at all to worry about?

This will depend on who you ask.

If you ask ICNIRP (the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation), "an independent voice in NIR protection", you will find that all is well and you can go back to watching American Gladiators.

ICNIRP says you are fine with 2,000,000 to 10,000,000 µw/m2, depending on the frequency of the microwave radiation. For example, ICNIRP says you are fine if your DECT phone (typically operating at 900mHz) is putting out 4,500,000 µw/m2.

For more about the savage lunacy that is ICNIRP, watch the documentary "Resonance: Beings Of Frequency". It is tube-able.

And Now For More Realistic Numbers

My Acoustimeter came with a small manual, and in the back of it there is a list of guidance levels put out by various bodies and countries, inversely sorted by maximum level.

ICNIRP was at the top, obviously. Russia was next (perhaps not too surprisingly), saying that 100,000 µw/m2 is fine. Italy (in 1999) also said that 100,000 µw/m2 should be the limit. Belgium says 24,000 is the mark to be under, while the U.S. FCC (in 1999) said the maximum level for a "city dweller" should be less than 10,000 µw/m2. Vienna, Austria apparently agrees, setting their maximum at the same 10,000 value.

In 2013, however, Italy dropped their maximum level by 10,000%, to 1,000 µw/m2. The same level as set at Salzburg (in 1998 & 2000) and the 2007 BioInitiative. Canada has this limit as well.

Half way through the list and already your microwave oven, wireless router, cordless phone, DECT phone, "Smart" meter, cell phone, baby monitor and those tiny cell phone masts down the block are all above some of these highest so far, recommended maximum levels.

But Wait, There's Less

In 2012, 5 years after their first recommendation, BioInitiative lowered their maximum level by a factor of 200 (20,000 percent) to 5. Five microwatts per meter squared. Any more and you'll feel it. Negatively.

Similarly Salzburg, just two years after the previous conference, reduced the maximum outdoor level by a factor of one hundred (10,000 percent) to 10 and the maximum indoor level by a factor of one thousand (100,000 percent) to just 1 µw/m2.

The smallest number in the Acoustimeter Appendix is the level that mobile phones will work at:   0.00003 µw/m2. So the most cautious levels recommended are still 30,000 times (3,000,000 percent) higher than the minimum a cell phone needs to operate.

There can be peace in our time!

Wait. How about this for a Smart idea!

Warning: sarcasm zone

#1984: Since microwave radiation decreases as the square of the distance, your cellular phone habit would be much more healthily serviced by a miniature cell phone tower in your home or at your cubicle instead of those big ugly nasty cell phone towers! Click here to order your "I love the New World Order" T-shirt!

First addict them, then enslave them.
If you do it well, they won't even notice.


Ok, Let's Try To Digest This

What should we make of all these suggested maximums?

(1) that ICNIRP is not of this galaxy, let alone this planet. You could be in a room the size of a phone booth, with every available surface composed of the doors of working microwave ovens -- 150 of them -- and you would still be receiving a dose lower than they think you need to worry about. And besides, you could be watching American Gladiators instead.

(2) in three cases, governing bodies lowered their recommended maximum levels, but no one has ever raised them. Think of this as a Philip Morris progression: the "Four out of five doctors smoke Camel cigarettes" marketing slogan becoming "Two out of five doctors smoke Camels". Can you see what the ultimate recommendation will be or are you just going to wait for the trillion dollar lawsuit?

(3) when the maximum levels were lowered, they were lowered by factors of one hundred, two hundred and one thousand, and by the three different organizations. Clearly a new source of concern was found.

(4) current recommended maximum indoor levels are one to ten MILLION times lower than ICNIRP recommendations. As someone said in "Resonance: Beings Of Frequency", ICNIRP is irrelevant. Another put it this way: "If you want to make sure that no one speeds in a school zone, set the speed limit at one thousand miles per hour". In other words, if you want all devices to be compliant -- every DECT phone, wireless router, baby monitor and cell mast to be putting out "safe" levels of energy -- then set the bar ridiculously high. To quote a former president, "Mission accomplished!"

(5) if everyone-but-ICNIRP is right (or at least on the right track), our thinking (and actions) about everything microwave needs to change -- drastically and immediately.

Continuing, From Planet Earth

Betting on (5) above, I have made changes in my life. Come with me now as I (re-)introduce you to the 1960s.

I still use the microwave oven, but leave the room when it is running. Levels one room away are around 300. I can live with that for a couple minutes a day. For now.

CORRECTION: levels one room away were still in the THOUSANDS -- I had measured while standing behind a refrigerator. So the microwave oven is going to be phased out. Microwave popcorn was the only thing that required it anyway...
Cost: Zero. I recently treated the household to a Panasonic toaster oven that uses two forms of infrared heat to cook twice as fast. Works perfectly, food tastes better than from the microwave and the half-the-time claim checks out.

As mentioned above, and for other (security) reasons, I don't have wireless networking in the house. Actually, I have the ability, and when I need it (for one of the laptops I sometimes use), I turn it on for Windows & other updates, then turn it off. Any computers needing a regular Internet connection get it from a cable. By the way, cable connections are much more reliable.
Cost: about $10 per cable, for a total of $40. And no more wireless moochers parked outside!

Two weeks ago I replaced our 5 DECT phone system with a 5 wired phone system. Wired phone systems are incredibly cheap and robust.
DowngradeCost: Upgrade cost: $50.

I turn my cell phone off except when I am on the road or away from home.
Cost: Zero.

I'm not a fireman or member of law enforcement, so their radar and radio concerns are not mine.
Cost: Zero.

No babies to be monitored means no baby monitor.
Cost: Zero.

That leaves the "Smart" meter, and those pesky cell phone masts a radiative block away.
Cost: Substantial. And worth it.

Existing safety guidelines for cell phone towers
are completely inadequate.
- Dr. Gerard Hyland,
Nobel Prize Nominee for Medicine

Mr. Sandman, Bring Me No Dreams

If you try an Internet search for EMF (the industry term) shielding, you may get zapped -- with sticker shock. EMF absorbing materials are very expensive -- I saw one site asking $2,600 for five gallons of microwave-absorbing interior house paint. [Spoiler alert: it has particles of copper in it...I imagine a handful of those can be found for less than $2,580 dollars.]

There are all manner of EMF absorbing devices. There are sleeves for your cell phone (that are quite pointless).

There are $1,100 "Faraday canopies" (i.e. tents) for the person who has everything. And don't forget to shield under your bed. Unless you don't need to.

There are headband and balaclava shields, and shielded gloves. Blouses and "belly bands". Silverell boxer shorts & Esmog pants. There is even a brain coat. Priced at $50, this one might have a value -- microwaves are sleep-robbers because they send out a continuous "It's daytime!" signal, no matter the hour.

Navigating The Minefield

I first purchased an Acoustimer (Model AM-10). When I made the purchase, I was doing it to protect myself when venturing out into the hostile world at large. I truly had no idea. After a day of measuring, I knew better.

A good EMF meter is your new best friend because you simply do not know what threats there are, nor how the threat level is changing as you make changes.

Part of the problem was that levels varied all over the house. The only "quiet" area was the basement, and even then I only got green lights on one side. Another part of the problem was mutliple occupants. People and creatures in every room. So tents and most specialty products were out.

So my second and also very significant move was to find out what the cheapest shielding material is. Aluminum "mosquito" netting mesh is the answer.

I applied the aluminum mesh to the most irradiated windows, and got a three fold improvement. I would do a window, and then measure the result. But when I had covered every window on two sides of the house, I still had a problem.

You Must Never Hesistate

Third, in for an inch, in for a mile, I started covering the entirety of the two worst walls. Tip: Covering non-source walls is a bad idea as you end up trapping the microwaves that have already entered your "shelter". [Yes, you can make things worse without knowing it. Your EMF meter is your friend. Your EMF meter is your friend.]

I covered 95% of one wall and 33% of the other wall. Microwave radiation levels in the most affected room went down by a factor of two but were still higher than even the recommended outdoor level.

Fourth, before finishing the 33% wall, I made twenty measurements throughout the house, writing down "B: xxx" (the "before" readings) on pieces of masking tape and sticking right where the measurment had been taken. I turned the 33% wall into an 85% wall and took fresh "A: yyy" after readings. Wow. Very glad I did that. I consistently got ten time reductions on the other side of newly shielded wall areas. Some wall area microwave radiation levels drop by a factor of one hundred. Literally. 1200 Before, 12 After. Multiple examples of this. Nice.

Some areas were less improved, indicating other sources needed to be protected against. One of the most interesting and "graphic" illustrations was the fireplace and chimney. A chimney is a wide open barn door to a microwave. Brick seems to be one of the worst shields from microwave radiation. Looks can be deceiving.

Today

This brings me to today. I've "safed" our environment to the point where I can at least sleep better at night and, as importantly, my body can once again heal itself as it is more than capable of doing.

Before the shielding I slept poorly and felt poorly in the morning. After the shielding I sleep better and feel noticeably better each day. The cool thing about genuine gains is that when they come, they are surprising, and unique. "Who'd have thunk it" kinds of stuff. Suffice it to say I am pleasantly and calmly pleased with the changes I've made.

The pets were calmer the first afternoon. Like they had just had their weekly shampoo. Only that came the next day.

Fifth: Today is the day to document my adventures in microwave land. To give back, as too few have been taught to do.

The Future

This world is going to be de-populated. They are far along that path. "Save yourself" is now the most selfless perspective you can have because your voice, your thoughts and your actions are greatly diminished in value if you are no longer here to express them.

Personally I am not eager to be part of the 500 million. But then it is unlikely in my remaining years that the population will drop below, say, 5 billion by 2030. Still.

Some who care should try to survive.

Could the last caring person please turn out the lights? Thank you.

We live in fantastically unenlightened times. The most selfish age ever! Yay us!

But it is never too late. Where there is a will, there is always a way.

How do you plan on surviving and thriving? Drop me an email if it will make either of us feel better.

Good luck with your life, and take care.

- Floyd

 



Here is the follow-up article (and video):

Wave 2: Microwave Hell Is Coming


 
Other writings   Site Map