Paul Brodeur: historian and crusader - crusader-investigative reporter-historian who specializes in chronicling risk of microwave radiation

Nutrition Health Review, Spring, 1993

When the tragedy of man-made nuclear radiation is finally rectified, one of the heroes of the war will be crusader-investigate reporter-historian Paul Brodeur. His monumental works exposing and chronicling the deadly risk of microwave radiation and subsequent scandalous coverups ensure him a place in the Hall of Twentieth Century Fame.

Brodeur is no newcomer to battling to preserve the environment and human health. In 1968, he alerted the nation to the massive public health hazard posed by asbestos and has written four books on the subject. His pioneering articles on the destruction of the ozone layer by man-made chemicals won an award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"Microwave radiation can blind you, alter your behavior, cause genetic damage, even kill you," he warned the world several decades ago. Although the war against an elusive foe would vanquish a lesser spirit, Brodeur continues to say: "The risks have been hidden from you by the Pentagon, the State Department, and the electronics industry."

In "The Zapping of America" (W.W. Norton Company) he defines the enemy: Nature has not prepared us for this invisible assault. Radar technicians and electronics workers exposed to microwaves are developing cataracts, blood disorders, and cardiovascular problems. Animal fetuses irradiated with microwaves develop birth defects. Microwaves may cause human genetic damage, possibly altering behavior, and causing dizziness, headaches, irritability, loss of judgment, and other disorders of the central nervous system.

In his later book, "Currents of Death," the author updates the crisis (with little regulatory progress twelve years later). Although millions of people are now aware of the real dangers posed by radiation, the electric power industry, the military, and much of the electronics industry are continuing their maneuvers to avoid radical changes. "Minimize the impact of scientific facts," is the key to their evasive tactics.

"Calamity on Meadow Street," a masterful documentary, depicts the tragedy of living close to a power station. Brodeur presents case histories of a multitude of families who coincidentally suffered through destructive and fatal variations of cancer. Published in The New Yorker magazine (7-9-90), the Brodeur investigation has not lost its prophetic litany of horrors to come. More than ever, illnesses in various disguises show up in neighborhood clusters -- by coincidence where power stations are inadequately maintained. Too many power companies still do not modify the high levels of radiation emanating from their equipment.