Investigation of the Biological Effects of Microwave Irradiation
Robert T. Nieset, Rene Baus Jr., Julius J. Friedman, Alvin S. Hyde · 1957
Military researchers in 1957 were already documenting biological effects and pathological changes from microwave radiation exposure.
Plain English Summary
This 1957 technical report investigated biological effects and pathological changes from microwave irradiation, focusing on human tolerance levels. The research represents early military and scientific interest in understanding how microwave radiation affects living systems. This work laid groundwork for later EMF safety standards and exposure guidelines.
Why This Matters
This 1957 report represents a pivotal moment in EMF research history, when military and scientific institutions first began systematically investigating microwave radiation's biological effects. The timing is significant - this was the dawn of the microwave age, years before consumer microwave ovens or widespread wireless communications. The focus on 'human tolerance' and 'pathological changes' suggests researchers already recognized that microwave radiation could cause measurable biological harm, not just heating effects.
What makes this particularly relevant today is how it demonstrates that concerns about microwave radiation's biological effects aren't new or fringe - they've been documented by government researchers for over 65 years. Yet many of today's wireless devices operate at similar or higher power levels than what these early researchers were studying. The reality is that while our exposure to microwave radiation has increased exponentially since 1957, our safety standards still largely ignore the non-thermal biological effects that early researchers like these were documenting.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. Duration: 4 minutes for high dose, 5 minutes for low dose
Study Details
The determination of the nature of pathological and pathophysiological changes induced by microwave irradiation. The utilization of this information as a step to the establishment of human tolerance levels in microwave exposure.
The program carried on under the Biophysics Program of Tulane University, to determine the biologica...
1) Histological changes occurred in the form of subcapsular engorgements in the kidney, pulmonary in...
The alterations in plasma volume following acute 3 cm. microwave irradiation at both high and low intensities resulted in marked alterations in the distribution of plasma among the tissues of the mouse. The changes in tissue plasma volume are plotted as the percent deviation from control tissue plasma volume per gram of tissue expressed as percent of body weight. The alterations in circulating plasma volume following high dose irradiation did not differ significantly from those observed with low dose exposure. Both conditions of radiation produced a slow progressive rise in circulating plasma volume reaching a level about 40 percent above control at 20 days post-irradiation. The data presented reveal marked alterations in circulating and tissue plasma volume following acute low, as well as high, dose 3 cm. microwave irradiation. The relatively slight degree of change during the early period post-exposure followed by marked changes during the late period post-irradiation suggests slowly developing progressive alteration in tissue activity. The changes noted in tissue plasma volume may reflect alterations in either systemic or specific local metabolism, thereby altering the concentration of vasoactive metabolites in circulation, or it may be the result of a modification or humoral and/or neural mechanisms.
Show BibTeX
@article{investigation_of_the_biological_effects_of_microwave_irradiation_g3697,
author = {Robert T. Nieset and Rene Baus Jr. and Julius J. Friedman and Alvin S. Hyde},
title = {Investigation of the Biological Effects of Microwave Irradiation},
year = {1957},
}