The development of radiation protection in the 20th century
The fact that radiation can have major health consequences has only been known for around 100 years. Knowledge of this and awareness of radiation protection has only gradually grown. When radioactivity was discovered at the end of the 19th century, when radioactivity was discovered, people were fascinated by its properties without realizing the dangers. People wore uranium and other radioactive materials as jewelry and even added them to toothpaste and medicines. The damage to health was immense. The dangers of X-rays were also not recognized at first and they were also used as a party attraction. When science investigated these phenomena in more detail and finally recognized the dangers, such dangerous behaviours died down or were banned altogether. In the course of the 20th century, more and more radiation protection measures came into force. More precise measuring methods were developed, limit values were set and regulations were laid down as to who was allowed to use dangerous radiation and what safety precautions had to be observed.
Technological developments vs. health consequences
Of course, the radiation from cell phones, WLAN and the like cannot be compared 1:1 with radioactivity or X-rays. In the case of radioactive processes and X-rays, we are dealing with so-called ionizing radiation. This means that the energy of the radiation is high enough to electrically charge atoms and molecules and thus destroy them. Effective radiation protection is virtually impossible here. Electrosmog and cell phone radiation are nowhere near as intense. They are non-ionizing radiation. Nevertheless, it can pose health risks. That is why there are safety regulations, rules and limit values to protect people.
The problem, however, is that in some areas technical development is progressing much faster than the investigation of health consequences and radiation protection. Possible long-term damage – as the name suggests – only becomes visible after years or decades. By then, however, the devices have already been used on a gigantic scale. Many scientists and experts are therefore calling for greater caution when dealing with electrosmog, cell phone radiation and WLAN.
