Kmu and K-Band Irradiation of Giant Algal Cells: The Absence of Detected Bioeffects at 100 W/m2

Single cells of characean algae were exposed at 100 W/m2, and for periods of 100 ms to 1 h, to CW microwave radiation at 17 discrete frequencies over the range 12.4-26.5 GHz. In an attempt to detect resonances or other interactions between this radiation and membrane ion transport processes of the cells, the vacuolar potentials of the cells were monitored before, during, and after exposure and analyzed for radiation-correlated shifts. No unequivocal evidence of such interactions was observed, despite the fact that the most sensitive measurements were capable of resolving shifts of one part in 10 000.     

Formaldehyde levels in FEMA‐supplied travel trailers,park models,and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi

In 2006, area physicians reported increases in upper respiratory symptoms in patients living in U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)‐supplied trailers following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One potential etiology to explain their symptoms included formaldehyde; however, formaldehyde levels in these occupied trailers were unknown. The objectives of our study were to identify formaldehyde levels in occupied trailers and to determine factors or characteristics of occupied trailers that could affect formaldehyde levels. A disproportionate random sample of 519 FEMA‐supplied trailers was identified in Louisiana and Mississippi in November 2007. We collected and tested an air sample from each trailer for formaldehyde levels and administered a survey. Formaldehyde levels among all trailers in this study ranged from 3 parts per billion (ppb) to 590 ppb, with a geometric mean (GM) of 77 ppb [95% confidence interval (CI): 70–85; range: 3–590 ppb]. There were statistically significant differences in formaldehyde levels between trailer types (P < 0.01). The GM formaldehyde level was 81 ppb (95% CI: 72–92) among travel trailers (N = 360), 57 ppb (95% CI: 49–65) among mobile homes (N = 57), and 44 ppb (95% CI: 38–53) among park models (N = 44). Among travel trailers, formaldehyde levels varied significantly by brand. While formaldehyde levels varied by trailer type, all types tested had some levels ≥100 ppb.     

Low-power 2.45-GHz microwave radiation affects neither the vacuolar potential nor the low frequency excess noise in single cells of characean algae

Single, giant cells of the eukaryotic green algae Chara braunii and Nitella flexilis were subjected to short-, intermediate-, and long-term irradiations with 2.45-GHz microwaves. A search was carried out for radiation-correlated shifts (i) in both the dc level and the rms low-frequency excess noise of the vacuolar potential and (ii) in the membrane resistivity. No reliable shifts were observed, either in normal cells or in cells subjected to reduced temperatures or the poison ethacrynic acid.