Summary of Oral Evidence presented to IEGMP by Dr G J Hyland, University of Warwick, on Friday 10 December 1999

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In his introductory remarks Dr Hyland alleged that Dr Repacholi had unjustifiably criticised the conclusions of his work. He also said that the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) had questioned some of his research work at Warwick University. He had been instructed by the University not to give his views on University headed notepaper. The Group agreed that both Dr Repacholi and NRPB should be allowed to respond at the next meeting of the Group.

Dr Hyland circulated a new version of his written evidence and noted that there were no substantive changes. Dr Hyland summarised the content of his written evidence. Essentially, while he accepts that existing guidelines are necessary, he believes that they are totally inadequate and that the underlying philosophy is flawed. This is because they only address adverse effects resulting from heating, and circulating currents at extremely low frequencies (ELF), and therefore only place restrictions on intensity. Dr Hyland believes that the aliveness of the body is a key issue, and suggested that current guidelines are inadequate because they fail to protect against information transmission to alive humans. He indicated that endogenous microwave activity within living organisms is a general prediction of modern biophysics reflecting the 'self organisation' of open dissipative systems far from equilibrium. This low-power microwave activity underpins the organisation and control of processes at cellular and sub-cellular levels and makes living organisms particularly sensitive to mobile phone carrier frequencies, which can affect a number of cellular endpoints. He noted that the concept of a dose-response relationship is one inherited from toxicology, and as such not necessarily relevant to electromagnetic fields, which are not alien to the alive body.

Dr Hyland noted that although thermal effects are always predictable using simple linear physics, any health consequences might not be so as they depend on the state of the system. In contrast, non-thermal effects are non-linear in nature, and as a result, both the likelihood of the primary interaction and the severity of any effect are unpredictable. This two-fold uncertainty undermines reproducibility and is a hallmark of aliveness. Dr Hyland suggested that when considered together, theoretical biophysics, laboratory evidence, and anecdotal evidence of adverse health effects, form an interconsistent picture in which the latter are provoked by non-thermal influences of the radiation on living systems. He suggested additional experimental work at the level of the primary physical interaction of ultra low intensity microwaves with living organisms in order to define windows of frequency, intensity, and duration. He also suggested additional physiological studies to ascertain the nature and severity of any induced adverse health effects including possible synergies between microwave exposure and drugs. Dr Hyland suggested a number of interim measures that should be undertaken whilst awaiting the results of further studies. With respect to base stations, he suggested that public exposures should be of intensities well below 10 milliwatts per square metre (mW/m²) and ideally below 10 µW/m². Masts should be taller, and there should be greater sensitivity in site selection, in relation not only to schools and hospitals, but also residential areas. He claimed to have evidence that Orange have introduced lamp post type devices with an output of 500 W at sites in Bedford and Sidcup, and would provide written evidence to the Group on these sites. Dr Hyland expressed particular concern about the Terrestrial Enhanced Trunk Radio (TETRA) system that would be introduced into the London Underground, because it has a fundamental pulsed repetition frequency of 17 hertz (Hz), which lies in the range of beta brain waves. With respect to handsets he suggested that it was necessary to consider not only the microwave emissions, but also the highly penetrating ELF magnetic fields resulting from the current surges that power the microwave pulses. He recommends that handsets should carry warning labels, should not be kept on the body and that their use should be minimised where possible. He is particularly concerned that pre-adolescent children could be particularly vulnerable and should be discouraged from using handsets.

During his presentation Dr Hyland highlighted his concerns about possible effects on neurological function in general and epilepsy in particular. He noted that flashing lights caninduce seizures in those suffering from epilepsy, primarily as a result of information content, not energy absorption (brightness). It is therefore necessary to distinguish two important elements of the interaction, the ability to absorb energy and the ability to extract information. He suggested that as microwaves and visible light are simply different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, the former can be just as effective in the induction of seizures as the latter. He noted that mobile phone emissions are pulsed at 217 Hz and are 'punctuated' by slower pulses in the range of alpha brain activity. The Group expressed particular concern about this analogy with photo-induced epilepsy for which the mechanism is well understood. It depends not on a highly non-linear system, but instead on the intensity of light and a novel photoreceptor in the eye. To extend the analogy to mobile phone emissions it would be necessary to identify a site at which microwave pulses could be transduced into nerve impulses. Dr Hyland could not identify such a site, but suggested that work by John Tattersall at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency could be relevant. Although Dr Hyland believes that frequency was the key factor, the Group noted that it is necessary to be able to detect the signal and that invisible light has no effect. The Group felt that whilst this was an interesting hypothesis it was important to test it experimentally in human volunteer studies. They noted with interest Professor Lyskov's proposal to expose people with epilepsy to pulsed microwave fields.

The Group felt that given the number of people suffering from epilepsy, the number of seizures triggered by mobile phone signals could be quite high; if thresholds are low, they would not need to live near base stations. It is therefore surprising that Dr Hyland was only able to cite two cases in support of his hypotheses. In reply, Dr Hyland noted the thresholds are not known because the mechanisms are not understood. He believes that the number of cases is small, simply because the connection with base stations emissions has not been made. This was felt to be unlikely given the widespread media coverage for his hypotheses.

In response to questions from the Group, Dr Hyland elaborated on the Fröhlich model, which predicts that living organisms themselves support a kind of endogenous microwave activity although he believes that it is not necessary to understand this in detail. The model continues to be developed and there is some considerable experimental support for it, for example, from work in solid state physics. Dr Hyland believes, however, that other factors could be important and suggested that with respect to mobile phones ELF pulses could be a key element. He would like to see additional experiments to distinguish the effects of carrier frequencies and pulses.

The Group expressed concern that if non-thermal effects are not readily reproducible it would be difficult to confidently predict thresholds. Dr Hyland reminded the Group that reproducibility requires the realisation of identical conditions, a requirement that is undermined by the large number of parameters that are necessary to specify the condition of a living system. He suggested that it is useful to distinguish between threshold and non-threshold effects and indicated that the basis of thresholds is experimental; it is possible to obtain consistent evidence of no effect below the threshold value, typically of the order (10 nW/m²) of that realised near base stations and well below that obtained from handsets. Non-threshold, resonant effects could occur at power densities as low as 10 nW/m².

When asked if he had experienced difficulty in obtaining research funding, Dr Hyland replied that he does not have any funding for his work, which is purely theoretical.

First issued 5 April 2000