By Suzanne Stefanac (zorca@aol.com)
Technology scares ripple through our media fabric, feeding on fear and iffy facts. Some turn out to be bogus; others contain a seed of truth that blooms with time and research. The recent brouhaha over the potential link between cellular phones and brain tumors could well turn out to be one of the latter.
Any one of the recent studies suggesting that low-level exposure to electromagnetic fields promotes cancer or fetal abnormalities can be criticized, but the preponderance of data indicating a link has many worried.
Louis Slesin, editor of two well-respected newsletters covering these debates - Microwave News and VDT News - anticipates yet another electromagnetic threat: the wireless office. "It's really quite amazing," says Slesin, "that the computer and communications industries are pushing for wireless at a time when they are reeling from related problems. We don't learn from history, but one would hope that we could remember ten minutes ago."
Individuals who work in close proximity to radio-frequency emitters in a wireless setting may be at the greatest risk. "As in all cases of electromagnetic fields," says Slesin, "distance is your friend."
Research focusing on the specific electromagnetic frequencies employed by the new technologies is urgently needed, Slesin says, but throwing money at labs won't be enough. "What we really need," he concludes, "is a paradigm shift in our view of non-ionizing radiation.... The fact is, with a little forethought, we could embrace the wireless world without fear."
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