Microwave sickness: a reappraisal.
Hocking B · 2001
View Original AbstractWestern medical review confirms 'microwave sickness' is real, validating decades of Eastern European research on RF radiation's neurological effects.
Plain English Summary
Researchers examined 'microwave sickness' (MWS), a disputed condition affecting workers exposed to radiofrequency radiation, characterized by fatigue, headaches, and nervous system problems. The study concluded that MWS is a legitimate medical condition that should be recognized as a potential occupational health risk for RF radiation workers. This challenges decades of Western skepticism about reports from Eastern European researchers.
Why This Matters
This 2001 analysis represents a significant shift in Western medical thinking about electromagnetic hypersensitivity and occupational RF exposure. For decades, reports of 'microwave sickness' from Soviet-bloc countries were dismissed in the West as politically motivated or methodologically flawed. Yet this comprehensive review by a Western specialist validates what Eastern European researchers documented for years: that chronic RF exposure can produce a recognizable pattern of neurological symptoms in workers.
What this means for you extends beyond occupational settings. The RF levels that caused these effects in workers may not be dramatically different from what we encounter today through cell phones, WiFi, and other wireless devices used for hours daily. The science demonstrates that our nervous systems can be measurably affected by RF radiation, and dismissing these effects as psychosomatic ignores mounting evidence of biological mechanisms.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
This paper describes the early reports of the syndrome from Eastern Europe and notes the scepticism expressed about them in the West, before considering comprehensive recent reports by Western specialists and a possible neurological basis for the condition.
It is concluded that MWS is a medical entity which should be recognized as a possible risk for radiofrequency radiation workers.
Show BibTeX
@article{b_2001_microwave_sickness_a_reappraisal_2197,
author = {Hocking B},
title = {Microwave sickness: a reappraisal.},
year = {2001},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11235831/},
}