Reprinted from Caduceus, Issue 98, Spring 2018.
Almost 30 years ago, back in 1989 when I was running the electromagnetic hazard group of Electronics and Computing for Peace, Dr. Cyril Smith and Simon Best published the ground-breaking book, Electromagnetic Man: Health and Hazard in the Electrical Environment. It was the first comprehensive overview, pulling together a vast number of threads of different information about a wide range of natural phenomena, citing source references where possible. The main premise of the book was that the human body relies on internal electromagnetic systems and it would be surprising if people were not affected by electromagnetic fields.
In recent years there has been a plethora of books about EMF effects on health of very variable quality and usefulness. Some of the practical guides to reduce personal exposure are helpful, but none I have read came close to Electromagnetic Man as a ‘foundation primer’. With the publication of The Invisible Rainbow, that has now changed.
I am in awe of this new, 560-page, comprehensively referenced book by Arthur Firstenberg – it is a veritable mine of information about the history of the interactions of people and electricity (both natural and man-made) and the effects on their health and well-being right up to our current time. The author holds degrees in mathematics and medicine and is electrosensitive; thus, the text is written with knowledge and understanding.
Over the past 60 years I have been fascinated by electricity, electronics and radio. I already knew a great deal about the early history from Faraday onward. However, this book has been a mind-opening experience for me regarding human health and exposure to electromagnetic fields over time. It amazes me just how determinedly blind society has been about the already-known effects on life of electromagnetic field exposures. Commerce, trade and profit motives always seem to dominate decisions.
The book starts in Leyden around 1745 when it first found that electricity could be stored. That led to simple ‘electrotherapy’ machines that generally delivered an electric shock to the patient. The chapter contains a list of positive and negative effects of electricity as reported in the 18th century. Over 30 negative effects are reported and completely match agreed modern electrical hypersensitivity symptoms.
Electricity was also used, as a party trick, to charge up a woman standing on an insulating pad so that when she kissed someone on the ground, both people would receive pleasurable tingling sensations! Many doctors and ‘quacks’ started to use electric shocks to treat a wide range of conditions including pain relief, poor muscle tone, ‘female problems’, urination problems, etc.
They also started to report many adverse non-therapeutic effects such as fatigue, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, muscle and joint pains, nosebleeds, ringing in the ears, etc. In the late 1780s one experimenter, Sigaud de la Fond, declared: ‘There are people for whom electricity can be unfortunate and very harmful.’
Part One (“From the Beginning”) comprises the first 10 chapters and sets the effects of electromagnetic fields on people, animals, birds and plants into a very helpful, historical context and takes us up to about the 1920s. It includes a very challenging and controversial section that suggests that influenza outbreaks re triggered by solar storms (hence the original ‘influenza’ name) and now also by environmental, RF exposure changes. This accounts for outbreaks occurring almost simultaneously around the world. The claim is that apparently almost all of us have dormant influenza virus inside us and it is triggered by external environmental signals. The work done to test infection and contagion routes of transferring the disease to others has not shown how it spreads. Indeed, in a household of four people often only one or two will succumb to ‘flu’ during an outbreak.
The final seven chapters constitute Part Two (‘To the Present’). These include covering heart conditions, diabetes, cancer, longevity and ageing, hearing effects and recent developments in technology from vast satellite arrays, Internet of Things in our homes and workplaces, wireless chargers and induction hobs.
He concludes: ‘As awareness spreads, it will become acceptable to turn to your neighbor and ask them to turn off their cell phone or unplug their WiFi. And that will be the beginning of recognition that we have a problem.’
This is an important book. It is a well written, interestingly informative and enjoyable read.
Alasdair Philips is an engineer and scientist who has studies the effects of electromagnetic fields on life and health for over 40 years. He is Director of Powerwatch, Technical Director of EMFields Solutions Ltd and a Trustee of Children with Cancer UK (national charity).