Electrosmog: What Is It? What Are the Effects?

Electrosmog: What Is It? What Are the Effects? Michelle Gutierrez Harris, MHS, San Diego; Email – michelleann.gutierrez@gmail.com Robert A. Bitonte, MD, MA, JD, LLM, LLM, SJD candidate, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH; Email – rbitonte@aol.com Electrosmog is an umbrella term used to describe the exposure of combinations of high and low frequency electric fields, magnetic fields, and electromagnetic exposure in varying patterns, intensities, and environments at differing amounts of time. The desire for faster speeds and bandwidth has spurred continual technological improvements with its increased widespread use and exposure of the population to cellphones, cellphone LTE/5G towers, computers, laptops, notebooks, wireless networks/LANs, and other similarly daily used devices. Research has shown that exposure to electrosmog radiation has an effect on the blood, heart and the autonomic nervous system in humans in which heart palpitations induce pain or pressure in the chest accompanied by anxiety can cause autoimmune diseases and electromagnetic hypersensitivity in mice; and also has been shown to trigger sleep problems, headaches, nervousness, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating in humans. There are a multitude of other health issues such as leukemia, brain tumors, breast cancer that some investigators suspect a correlational link between these underlying health conditions and electrosmog. Conducting research in trying to prove detrimental effects of electrosmog can be difficult in a controlled setting, especially when it is so abundant in our environment. Very little is actually publicized about the known potential harmful effects of electromagnetic field radiation on human health. This can be a major issue for physicians confronting health conditions without an identifiable cause. In fact, there is considerable debate about the severity and consequences on human health caused by electrosmog. The effects of electrosmog are largely unknown and, if detrimental, need to be considered like any other hazardous toxin, such as asbestos and lead, in our environment. This necessitates more governmental research, particularly by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission regarding electrosmog indoors and outdoors, particularly with the set up of 5G cell phone towers in certain areas, and the effect of wireless networks. In order to enact federal, state, and local legislation, as well as regulations, that sensibly 2020 American College of Legal Medicine JOURNAL OF LEGAL MEDICINE 2020, VOL. 40, NO. S1, 12–13 https://doi.org/10.1080/01947648.2020.1715738 control electrosmog and its health effects, much research needs to be done to find the effect of electrosmog and its health consequences, if any. It is also vital to disseminate public health material and knowledge about the possible adverse affects of electrosmog in order to garner awareness and safety of our citizens. (References will be on the poster.) JOURNAL OF LEGAL MEDICINE 13