An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Regulatory Agency Responses to a Situation Involving Perceived Health Effects from Microwave Radiation

Abstract

The issue of whether exposure to electromagnetic radiation can have deliterious effects on human health has received widespread attention in both the popular and scientific press. Recent studies have shown that such effects can be derived even from fields of very small strengths. Given this concern, it might prove useful to examine the capacity of federal and state agencies concerned with the maintenance of public health to cope with this problem. Using the case of the Vernon Township, New Jersey as a primary example, we find that their effectiveness is apparently compromised by a variety of factors, raising questions concerning their capacity to deal with this particular case, and with their past and future performance on this issue as a whole.