-Caveat Lector- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=165654 Tuesday, 6 March 2001 20:49 (ET) Scientists dispute military "raygun" claims By KELLY HEARN UPI Technology Writer WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- Claims by U.S. military officials that a new skin-heating weapon causes no permanent health problems are exaggerated and highly suspect, experts told United Press International on Tuesday. Possible long-term side-effects could include cancer and cataracts, they said. "Their claims are a bunch of crap," said Professor W. Ross Adey, professor of physiology at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif. "We've known that many forms of microwaves at levels below heating can cause significant health effects in the long term." Military officials hope the technology, known as active denial technology, will lead to a new class of non-lethal weapons that use millimeter waves, which are near microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum, to heat but not permanently burn human skin. Pentagon officials and Congressional leaders will examine the device in the coming weeks before deciding whether to approve its use as a weapons system. The weapons are designed to help soldiers control civilian crowds and guard sensitive areas without using deadly force. Military officials say the device sends brief pulses of electromagnetic energy 1/64 inch deep into skin, agitating water molecules in the skin and causing thermal agitation, or a feeling of heat. The pain is similar to touching a hot light bulb but stops once the waves stop. The idea is to generate enough heat on the skin that the individual retreats from the beam. The officials claim to have exposed 72 human civilian and military volunteers to 6,500 exposures from the weapon in laboratory conditions. "Other than minor skin tenderness due to repeated exposure to the beam, there are no lasting effects," stated a military document. Medical experts, however, said that while it is possible to test for effects such as acute eye damage and skin burns, it is impossible, given that some repercussions could take years to surface, to definitively exclude long-term effects such as cancer. Adey, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a distinguished visiting professor of the Royal Society of Medicine, said Russian studies conducted some thirty years ago show that microwaves can effect white blood cells before the subject feels heat. "The question is whether this weapon could include a bundle of non-thermal effects that are not related to heating," he said. Years ago, Soviet researchers used millimeter waves in experiments designed to treat diseases including skin disorders, heart disease and cancer. Experts said the fact that the waves could have therapeutic benefits raises the specter of potential hazards if a human is overexposed. Adey said his own research, in parallel with similar studies in Russia in the early 1980s, showed that radio frequency and the lower microwave range effected enzyme systems that regulate growth and division of white blood cells. He said that while the weapon does not use those specific wavelengths, no scientific evidence exists to prove that millimeter waves could not cause similar damage. Military officials have said the weapon does not harm human eyes because their intense sensitivity to heat cause victims to immediately close their eyes or turn away, supposedly avoiding damaging levels of exposure. But Adey said that while brief exposure to millimeter waves may not cause acute damage, studies suggest that even short exposures may cause cataracts over time. Officials have also said the weapon does not mutate human cells. But Adey said research suggests that millimeter waves can serve as a kind of catalyst or promoter that causes any of the millions of mutated cells that occur naturally in healthy humans to become cancerous over time. "The principles set forth in international law say that you can't use weapons that cause irreparable damage or irreversible injury and we think there just hasn't been enough testing here," said Joost Hiltermann, arms division director for Human Rights Watch in Washington. "They've tested on volunteers who are probably healthy, but what happens when they aim it at pregnant women or children or people who already have a disease that could be worsened by exposure?" "The literature on the biological impact of millimeter waves effects is murky," Kenneth R. Foster, professor at the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, told UPI. "You can't truthfully claim that there is scientific proof of no adverse long-term effects from these kinds of exposures. On the other hand, I don't know of any good reason to expect such effects." Foster said most of the Soviet experiments using millimeter waves were scientifically suspect. American studies on the biological effects of millimeter waves are rare because few commercial devices have used them, experts said. No military officials or civilian contractors working on the active denial project would comment for this story. -- ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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