YOU ARE NOW CONNECTED TO THE TOXLINE (1981 FORWARD, NON-ROYALTY) FILE. ==MICROWAVE HEALTH EFFECTS== 4 AUTHOR D'Andrea JA TITLE Microwave radiation absorption: behavioral effects. SOURCE Health Phys; VOL 61, ISS 1, 1991, P29-40 (REF: 66) ABSTRACT The literature contains much evidence that absorption of microwave energy will lead to behavioral changes in man and laboratory animals. The changes include simple perturbations or outright stoppage of ongoing behavior. On one extreme, intense microwave absorption can result in seizures followed by death. On the other extreme, man and animals can hear microwave pulses at very low rates of absorption. Under certain conditions of exposure, animals will avoid microwaves, while under other conditions, they will actively work to obtain warmth produced by microwaves. Some research has shown behavioral effects during chronic exposure to low-level microwaves. The specific absorption rates that produce behavioral effects seem to depend on microwave frequency, but controversy exists over thresholds and mechanism of action. In all cases, however, the behavioral disruptions cease when chronic microwave exposure is terminated. Thermal changes in man and animals during microwave exposure appear to account for all reported behavioral effects. 8 AUTHOR Lipman RM AUTHOR Tripathi BJ AUTHOR Tripathi RC TITLE Cataracts induced by microwave and ionizing radiation. SOURCE Surv Ophthalmol; VOL 33, ISS 3, 1988, P200-10 (REF: 74) ABSTRACT Microwaves most commonly cause anterior and/or posterior subcapsular lenticular opacities in experimental animals and, as shown in epidemiologic studies and case reports, in human subjects. The formation of cataracts seems to be related directly to the power of the microwave and the duration of exposure. The mechanism of cataractogenesis includes deformation of heat-labile enzymes, such as glutathione peroxide, that ordinarily protect lens cell proteins and membrane lipids from oxidative damage. Oxidation of protein sulfhydryl groups and the formation of high-molecular-weight aggregates cause local variations in the orderly structure of the lens cells. An alternative mechanism is thermoelastic expansion through which pressure waves in the aqueous humor cause direct physical damage to the lens cells. Cataracts induced by ionizing radiation (e.g., X-rays and gamma rays) usually are observed in the posterior region of the lens, often in the form of a posterior subcapsular cataract. Increasing the dose of ionizing radiation causes increasing opacification of the lens, which appears after a decreasing latency period. Like cataract formation by microwaves, cataractogenesis induced by ionizing radiation is associated with damage to the lens cell membrane. Another possible mechanism is damage to lens cell DNA, with decreases in the production of protective enzymes and in sulfur-sulfur bond formation, and with altered protein concentrations. Until further definitive conclusions about the mechanisms of microwaves and ionizing radiation induced cataracts are reached, and alternative protective measures are found, one can only recommend mechanical shielding from these radiations to minimize the possibility of development of radiation-induced cataracts. 11 AUTHOR Blackwell RP AUTHOR Saunders RD TITLE The effects of low-level radiofrequency and microwave radiation on brain tissue and animal behaviour. SOURCE Int J Radiat Biol Relat Stud Phys Chem Med; VOL 50, ISS 5, 1986, P761-87 (REF: 89) ABSTRACT There has been much public interest and controversy about the effects of exposure to low levels of microwave and radiofrequency radiation. Of particular interest are reports of radiation-induced changes in brain tissue and animal behaviour. This review considers the evidence supporting some of these effects. The main conclusions of the review are: The levels of tracer substances in the brain tissue of conscious or anaesthetized animals can be altered by acute exposure to microwave radiation that is sufficient to raise the brain temperature by several degrees Celsius. However, the results of such experiments are difficult to interpret, being in some cases contradictory or influenced by various confounding factors, and the data cannot be considered sufficient to recommend a threshold for human tolerance. The evidence that calcium ion exchange in living nervous tissues is affected by amplitude-modulated radiofrequency and microwave radiation is inconclusive. Exposure sufficient to cause an increase in core temperature of about 1 degree C, corresponding to specific energy absorption rates of about 2-8 W kg-1 may adversely affect animal behaviour.