Statement by Wildlife Biologist Alfonso Balmori, BSc on the FDA Review of Cell Phone Radiation and Cancer 

The FDA review omits an evaluation of the science on wireless radiation impacts to trees and wildlife. Electromagnetic radiation is a form of environmental pollution which may hurt wildlife.  I am providing examples of my published research below as examples of this scientific evidence. 

I have co-published research entitled “Radiofrequency radiation injures trees around mobile phone base stations” finding harm to trees near base stations (cell antennas) in a long term field monitoring study in two cities. We measured the radiofrequency radiation levels and found significant differences between the damaged side facing the cell phone mast and the opposite side. Our statistical analysis demonstrated that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone masts was harmful to the trees. The damage usually starts on one side of the tree, then extends to the whole tree over time.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27552133

I have also published an experimental study where we exposed eggs and tadpoles of the common frog (Rana temporaria) to the electromagnetic radiation from mobile (cell) phone antennas located at a distance of 140 meters. The experiment lasted two months, from the egg phase until an advanced phase of tadpole prior to metamorphosis. In this study, we found the exposed group had altered development and a higher mortality rate in comparison to the unexposed frogs.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20560769 

In addition, my research has documented anthropogenic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as an emerging threat to wildlife orientation. For example, exposure at levels that are found in the environment (in urban areas and near base stations) may particularly alter the receptor organs to orient in the magnetic field of the earth. These results could have important implications for migratory birds and insects, especially in urban areas, but could also apply to birds and insects in natural and protected areas where there are powerful base station emitters of radio frequencies. Therefore, more research on the effects of electromagnetic radiation in nature is urgently needed to investigate this emerging threat. At the present time, there are reasonable grounds based on scientific evidence for believing that microwave radiation constitutes an environmental and health hazard. Existing guidelines are not protective. The paper “Anthropogenic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as an emerging threat to wildlife orientation” is online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25747364

Another research study I co-published in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine  is entitled “The urban decline of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus): a possible link with electromagnetic radiation.” Between October 2002 and May 2006, point transect sampling was performed at 30 points during 40 visits in Valladolid, Spain. At each point, we carried out counts of sparrows and measured the mean electric field strength (radio frequencies and microwaves: 1 MHz–3 GHz range). Significant declines (P = 0.0037) were observed in the mean bird density over time, and significantly low bird density was observed in areas with high electric field strength. The logarithmic regression of the mean bird density vs. field strength groups (considering field strength in 0.1 V/m increments) was R = −0.87 (P = 0.0001). The results of this article support the hypothesis that electromagnetic signals are associated with the observed decline in the sparrow population. We conclude that electromagnetic pollution may be responsible, either by itself or in combination with other factors, for the observed decline of the species in European cities during recent years. The apparently strong dependence between bird density and field strength according to this work could be used for a more controlled study to test the hypothesis.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17613041

In another study, monitoring of a white stork population in the vicinity of Cellular Phone Base Stations was carried out, with the objective of detecting possible effects. The total productivity, in the nests located within 200 meters of antennae, was 0_86 ± 0_16. For those located further than 300m, the result was practically doubled, with an average of 1_6 ± 0_14. Very significant differences among the total productivity were found (U = 240_ p = 0_001, Mann-Whitney test). Twelve nests (40%) located within than 200m of antennae never had chicks, while only one (3.3%) located further than 300m had no chicks. The electric field intensity was higher on nests within 200m (2_36 ± 0_82V/m) than on nests further than 300m (0_53 ± 0_82V/m). The study concludes that, “these results are compatible with the possibility that microwaves are interfering with the reproduction of white storks and would corroborate the results of laboratory research by other authors”. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15368370500205472

A review on the impact of radiofrequency radiation from wireless telecommunications on wildlife is presented in “Electromagnetic pollution from phone masts. Effects on wildlife” published in the journal Pathophysiology.  Electromagnetic radiation is a form of environmental pollution which may hurt wildlife. Phone masts located in their living areas are irradiating continuously some species that could suffer long-term effects, like reduction of their natural defenses, deterioration of their health, problems in reproduction and reduction of their useful territory through habitat deterioration. Electromagnetic radiation can exert an aversive behavioral response in rats, bats and birds such as sparrows. Therefore microwave and radiofrequency pollution constitutes a potential cause for the decline of animal populations and deterioration of health of plants living near phone masts. To measure these effects urgent specific studies are necessary. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Electromagnetic+pollution+from+phone+masts.+Effects+on+wildlife

Despite the widespread use of wireless telephone networks around the world, authorities and researchers have paid little attention to the potential harmful effects of mobile phone radiation on wildlife. This paper briefly reviews the available scientific information on this topic and recommends further studies and specific lines of research to confirm or refute the experimental results to date. Controls must be introduced and technology rendered safe for the environment, particularly, threatened species. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25089692

Atmospheric electrical discharges during thunderstorms, and the related electromagnetic fields (EMFs)/waves called sferics, can be sensed by humans at long distances through a variety of symptoms, mainly headache, fatigue, etc. Up to today there is no explanation for this association. Sferics consist of partially polarized electromagnetic pulses with an oscillating carrier signal in the very low frequency (VLF) band and a pulse repetition frequency in the extremely low frequency (ELF) band. Their ELF intensity may reach ~5 mV/m at global ranges, and ~0.5 V/m at ~1000 km from the lightning. The health symptoms associated with sferics are also associated with antennas of mobile telephony base stations and handsets, which emit radio frequency (RF) radiation pulsed on ELF, and expose humans at similar or stronger electric field intensities with sferics. According to the Ion Forced-Oscillation mechanism, polarized ELF EMFs of intensities down to 0.1–1 mV/m are able to disrupt any living cell’s electrochemical balance and function by irregular gating of electro-sensitive ion channels on the cell membranes, and thus initiate a variety of health symptoms, while VLF EMFs need to be thousands of times stronger in order to be able to initiate health effects. We examine EMFs from sferics in terms of their bioactivity on the basis of this mechanism. We introduce the hypothesis that stronger atmospheric discharges may reasonably be considered to be ~70% along a straight line, and thus the associated EMFs (sferics) ~70% polarized. We find that sferics mainly in the ELF band have adequate intensity and polarization to cause biological/health effects. We provide explanation for the effects of sferics on human/animal health on the basis of this mechanism. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28558424

It is documented that a few days or weeks before major Earthquakes (EQs) there are changes in animal behavior within distances up to 500 km from the seismic epicenter. At the same time Seismic Electric Signals (SES), geomagnetic and ionospheric perturbations, are detected within similar distances. SES consist of single unipolar pulses, and/or groups of such pulses called “SES activities” with an average frequency between successive pulses on the order of ~0.01 Hz and electric field intensity on the order of ~10-5-10-4 V/m (Frazer-Smith et al., 1990; Rikitake, 1998; Varotsos et al., 1993, 2011, 2019; Hayakawa et al., 2013; Grant et al., 2015). We show that the SES activities can be sensed by living organisms through the “Ion Forced-Oscillation Mechanism” for the action of Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) on cells, according to which polarized EMFs can cause irregular gating of electro-sensitive ion channels on the cell membranes with consequent disruption of the cell electrochemical balance (Panagopoulos et al., 2000, 2002, 2015). This can be sensed by sensitive animals as discomfort in cases of weak and transient exposures, and may even lead to DNA damage and serious health implications in cases of intense exposure conditions (as in certain cases of man-made EMF exposures). Moreover, we show that the geomagnetic and ionospheric perturbations cannot be sensed through this mechanism. The same mechanism has explained meteoropathy, the sensing of upcoming thunderstorms by sensitive individuals, through the action of the EMFs of lightning discharges (Panagopoulos and Balmori, 2017). The present study shows that centuries-long anecdotal rumors of animals sensing intense upcoming EQs and displaying unusual behavior, lately documented by systematic studies, are now explained for the first time on the basis of the electromagnetic nature of all living organisms, and the electromagnetic signals emitted prior to EQs. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28558424

Alfonso Balmori, BSc Biologist. Spain

 Alfonso Balmori on researchgate.