Cows in major dairy states decrease milk production in relation to the number of transient and harmonic events recorded as earth currents from the barn floor.

Human cancer cells proliferate upon exposure of ELF-EMF and have been classified as carcinogens  by a renowned Biophysicist, supporting other evidence of higher leukemia of children and utility employees with higher exposure.

Suicide among linemen and electricians of utility companies suggesting brain disorders associated with secretion of hormones, disruption of sleep patterns, and depression with symptoms similar to chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Gulf war syndrome, as well as other functions typical of autonomic nervous system responses to stress.

Congress must insist that Utilities adhere to National Electrical Safety Code guidelines for mitigation of transient and harmonic pol-lution of environment in homes, farms, and workplaces by electrical power and communi-cation utilities.
 

"ELF- EMF RELATIONSHIP TO HEALTH" RESEARCH REVIEWERS HAVE BEEN EVADING THE FACTS and deceiving the public, by: (1) Including only sinusoidal 50-60 Hertz studies which they assumed to be normal on power supplies, (2) Excluding all data implicating ELF-EMF transient and harmonic impulses found consistently on primary and secondary electrical services in homes, on farms, and in workplaces, (3) Adopting minimum electromagnetic wave levels which are too high to protect the chronically exposed public from higher risks of cancer. [ELF = Extremely Low Frequency, and EMF = ElectroMagnetic Fields].

Australian authors of EMFacts [www.tassie.net.au/emfacts/3studies.html] cited the U. S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) 1997 Linet study press release as an example of incomplete and misleading reporting--(Also reported in the New England Journal of Medicine).

The NCI release said, " A comprehensive study by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Children’s Cancer Group (CCG) found no evidence that magnetic fields (EMFs) in the home increase the risk for the most common form of childhood cancer. . . . the reseachers found that in general, children who lived in homes with high measured magnetic fields were not significantly more likely to be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) than children living in homes with lower magnetic field levels. . ."

EMFacts observes: "The researchers actually acknowledge, in no less than four places, a statistically significant increase in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children exposed to power line magnetic fields in excess of 3 milliGauss (mG). This is a CONFIRMATION of many previous studies which have shown a similar level association between 

childhood leukemia and magnetic fields from electricity. The article in The Australian mentions that the researchers dismissed as a "statistical fluke" a 24% increase in leukemia risk for children exposed to what is termed "especially high magnetic fields." The NCI researchers were able to dismiss this fact by arbitrarily setting a 2 mG level as a cut off limit. The fact is that if they had used the 3 mG level as a cut off point in their calculations, the conclusions would have been the exact opposite -- that there is a statistically significant connection between powerline magnetic fields and childhood leukemia at levels over three mG . . . says EMFacts. 

In an Overview of Three Recent Studies, D. Maisch and B. Rapley reported in EMFacts, in addition to the NCI, reports by Royal Adelaid Hospital ELF Mice study (1998) failed to mention their admission "Perhaps the increased incidence of cancer, that in some epidemiological studies has been associated with residential proximity to high-current power distribution wiring, results from exposure to high-frequency transients rather than the primary [power company] 50-60 Hz magnetic fields. Transients originate from the operation of devices such as light switches, electronic controllers, and motors during start up. They are of short duration (<1 s) and have frequencies peaking in the megahertz range and intensities up to several microtesla. . . In our study, the magnetic fields to which the mice were exposed were switched on and off in a manner that minimized the production of transients. Thus the possible carcinogenic consequences of exposure to transients have yet to be tested."

Similar criticism was directed at the National Academy of Science/National Research Council (NAS/NRC), October 31, 1996, review of the EMF literature: Possible Health Effects of Exposure to Residential Electric and Magnetic Fields. The con-clusion of this report is that "there is no conclusive and consistent evidence showing that exposure to residential electric and magnetic fields produce cancer, adverse neurobehaviorial effects, or repro-ductive and developmental defects." Of significant importance are the words, "conclusive and consist-ent." Like the more familiar phrase in law, "beyond reasonable doubt," "conclusive and consistent" implies a standard of evidence that warrants more serious action. Using that type of reasoning, the NRC Committee concluded that research results do not show that EMF exposure at a residential environment level causes adverse health effects, says EMFacts. 

In fact, NAS/NRC only considered approxi-mately half of the evidence available to them. Dr. Kjell Hansson Mild of the National Institute for Working Life in Sweden, asked Dr. Stevens, chair of the NRC Committee, "how the report turned out to be so biased in its selection of papers." Mild, past president of the Bioelectro-magnetics Society, noted that the report mainly included papers that showed no effect and omitted those that found a biological response, according to EMFacts. Excluded from the NAS/NRC findings was the extensive body of occupational studies, such as the Ontario Hydro worker study, which found that workers exposed to high levels of magnetic and electric fields had leukemia rates that were up to 11 times greater than expected (Ref cited). Excluded was the entire body of research into the effects of environmental low level EMF exposure on melatonin, known as the melatonin hypothesis (Low level magnetic field exposures may reduce the pineal gland’s production of cancer inhibiting melatonin and the ability of melatonin to suppress breast cancer cells). This hypothesis is supported by five in vitro studies, from three major laboratories, as well as some exposure studies finding a reduction in melatonin levels in workers exposed to EMFs. The body of this research implicates prolonged powerline frequency magnetic field exposure in the order of 12 mG with possible hormone disruption. Besides melatonin being affected, levels of the stress hormone ACTH may be increased as a consequence, says EMFacts.

New in 2000- 2001

East Lansing, Michigan--MSU College of Human Medicine Report

"Exposure of Friend Erythroleukemia cells in vitro to 60 Hz ELF-EMF resulted in a dose dependent inhibition of differentiation, with maximal inhibition peaking at 40% and 40 mG (4 µT). ELF-EMF at 10 mG (1.0 µT) and 25 mG (2.5 µT) inhibited differ-entiation at 0 and 20%, respectively. In summary, ELF-EMF can partially block the differentiation of Friend Erythrolekeumia cells, and this results in a larger population of cells remaining in the undif-ferentiated, proliferative state, which is similar to the published results of Friend erythroleukemia cells treated with chemical-tumor promoters." "Thus, it does not cause cancer but it proliferates the growth of cancer cells; therefore ELF-EMF is placed in the same class of carcinogens as certain chlorinated hydrocarbons, or TPA a tumor-promoter," according to the authors.Environmental Health Perspectives. Gang Chen, Brad I. Upham, Wei Sun, Chia-Cheng Chang, Edward J. Rothwell, Kun-Mu Chen, Hiroshi Yamasaki, and James E. Trosko. Michigan State University, East Lansing. 

Texas Cancer Therapy and Research Center, San Antonio, 1986

Exposure of two human cancer cell lines to EMF magnetic fields and to electric fields plus magnetic fields resulted in increased colony formation and increased expression of tumor associated antigens after exposure as compared to unexposed controls, in vitro. (J. L. Phillips, et al., Radiation Biology, 49:3, (p 463-469).

East Lansing, Michigan

Milk production of cows decreased as the number of transient electrical events increased and as the number of harmonic impulses increased daily in ten dairy herds located in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Transients are distortions of the normal 60 Hz power. Harmonics are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, 60 Hz. Thus, the 2nd harmonic is 120 Hz, 3rd harmonic is 180 Hz ± 30, etc. up to the 42nd (2540 Hz) which was the limit for the oscilloscope used. In one herd milk production was affected less severely by electrical impulses when the cows were treated with bST, (bovine somatotropin) a stimulator of growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland. The health and reproduction of these cattle were adversely affected by the electrical pollution. Transients (voltage spikes) on the powerline averaged 25 events but ranged up to 100 per day. Cattle were exposed to harmonic impul-ses up to 61,377 times per day, or 71% of the time over 115 days. Small voltages and harmonics were measured from electrodes imbedded in the floor where the cattle were standing. The sums of voltages during events, and the cumulative daily total of harmonic exposures to earth currents were highly correlated with changes in behavior and milk production of cattle. Relationship of Transient and Harmonic Electrical Events to Milk Production of Dairy Herds in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Donald Hillman, Ph.D., Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Animal Science, MSU; Martin Graham, DEE, Prof. Emeritus, U. California, Berkeley, CA; Dave Stetzer, Industrial Electrician, Blair WI; Charles L. Goeke, M.S., Statistical and Economic Analyst, Mason, MI, and Kurt Mathson, Electrical Engineering Student, U. Wisconsin, Madison. (In press).

In laboratory studies at Cornell U., NY, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD. Cows shocked with 60 Hz currents had higher blood levels of adrenal hormones: cortisol, epine-phrine, and norepinephrine which inhibit milk ejection and blood flow through the mammary gland. Heart rate of cows increased while being shocked. Neither of the above studies measured effects on the health and performance of cattle of non-sinusoidal transients (> 60 Hz) and harmonics, as they appear on rural and local power lines.

East Lansing, Michigan

Voltages of frequencies greater than 10,000 Hz from wall outlets in local residences range from 10 to 200 mVolts. Recorded voltages (Fluke 79 III volt-meter) increase notably about 9:00 a.m. and again between 10:00 p.m. to midnight but drop suddenly at midnight. In one room EMF has been measured by magnometer to range from 70 to 100 mG next to the service entrance wall. 

University of North Carolina (2000)

Suicide mortality was increased relative to work in exposed jobs and with indices of exposure to magnetic fields reported in a study of workers from five power utilities. Increased odds ratios (ORs) were found for years of employment as an electrician to be 2.18 OR, or for linemen OR 1.59, whereas a decreased OR 0.67 was found for power plant operators. A dose response gradient with exposure to magnetic fields was found for exposure in the previous year, with a mortality OR 1.70 in the highest exposure category. D. Savitz, et al., Depart. Of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Occup Environ Med 2000; 57:258-263.

Symptoms of autonomic nervous system disorders found in patients suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and perhaps Gulf-War Syndrome are nearly identical to symptoms of Electrical Sensitivity described by authors Karel Marha, Jan Musil, and Hana Tuha of the Institute of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Disease, Prague, Czechoslovakia. Their review of research findings was published in Electromagnetic Fields and the Life Environment, 1969, for the purpose of helping electrical workers to avoid over-exposure to electrical waves. It was translated into English and published by San Francisco Press, Inc., 1971. 

Electrical Sensitivity appears on page 30 as follows:

"Subjective Complaints of Persons Working in RF Field"

"Workers complain of headaches and eyestrain, together with a flow of tears, of fatigue derived from over-all weakness and dizziness after prolonged standing. At night their sleep is disturbed and superficial and they are sleepy in daytime. Such persons are moody, frequently irritated, even unsociable. They manifest hypochondriac reactions and a feeling of fear. Sometimes they perceive nervous tension or, on the contrary, mental depression combined with deterioration of intellectual functions (notably memory impairment). Over a longer period, definite sluggishness and inability to make decisions result. Those affected complain of a pulling sensation in the scalp and on the brow, loss of hair, pain in the muscles and in the heart region (together with a pounding in the heart) and breathing difficulties. Not infrequently, they complain of difficulties in their sex life. It is moreover possible to observe slight trembling of the eyelids, the tongue, and the fingers, increased perspiration of the extremities, dermographism, and brittleness of fingernails. A single irradiation may cause a drop in the resistance of the organism (References cited). With regard to the dependence of the effect of rf field on sex, women are generally more sensitive to this factor than men (Ref cited). Reference has been made to a decrease of lactation in nursing mothers (Ref cited). At a certain time after exposure had ended (sometimes as long as several weeks or more), the organism usually returns to its original physiological state and all subjective and objective complaints vanish. 

The U. S. Medical Profession seems to have been deprived of any organized knowedge of electrical sensitivity or diagnosis of ELF-EMF symptoms.

Congressional "Oversight Committees" Public Utility Commissions, and Legislatures Must Hold Utilities Responsible for Electrical Pollution they create, or allow, on their lines :

• Failure to Comply with the National Electric Safety Code Sec.519 which prohibits utilities from using the earth as any part of a regular circuit, except as a safety ground for faults such as burning out motors and lightning strikes. Our WYE distribution configuration uses the earth for some 50-70% of returns.

• Breach of Contracts: Bringing "Harmful" Electricity onto Customer’s Premises.

• Deception: Causing customers to believe they have no problem, improper testing, and reporting of the quality of their power supply.

• Conspiring to Avoid the Truth: Lobbying to prevent information regarding human health from becoming public knowledge, protecting themselves from damages.

Capacitor Switching to balance loads between lines at power company substations. If the return circuit is not adequate to handle charges elicited, voltages follow the path of least resistence and are dumped into the earth via the neutral ground thus saturating the earth environment with electrical charges. Some power utilities, including most REAs, use the neutral to earth as the only return circuit to the substation, thus violating recommended practices of Section 519 of the NESC by IEEE.

Large motors starting at some (usually other) location on the distribution line, variable-speed drives, and computer controlled equipment also contribute transients and harmonics to the secondary via common primary ground at the transformer.

Electronic inverters which change 60 Hz to other frequencies and AC to DC in electronic equipment, via solid-state controlled rectifiers such as Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (SCR) and Thyristers which supply intermittent conduction, highly distort the normal current sinewave and may produce large numbers of the odd numbered harmonics; which reduced milk production on farms.

Mitigation Procedures are described in publications and seminars provided by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) , Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and electrical equipment supply companies. 

Utilities have chosen to spend millions of dollars litigating complaints from customers instead of mitigating the pollution. Settlements of 10 to 30% of damages are held secret, so utilities are not required to fix the problems. Utilities are now screaming for legislative immunity after having deceived the public for 30 years or more.

Contact sources:
donag1@aol.com
dave@stetzerelectric.com
chuck@goeke.net 
or 
M. Graham, FAX 510-848-1611