For more than half a century, Andrew Marino, PhD, JD has been one of the leading scientific voices investigating electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Over five decades and trained as both a biophysicist and an attorney, Dr. Marino has published research extensively on bioelectromagnetics, served as an expert witness in landmark legal cases and testified before regulatory agencies. His research with Dr. Robert Becker demonstrated that EMF at levels well below those which caused nerve stimulation and electrical shock, could alter normal biological function. His studies reported biological responses to electromagnetic fields at levels people would be exposed to from high-voltage power lines.
In laboratory studies on animals, Marino and co-workers showed that exposure to man-made electromagnetic energy present in the human environment caused changes in the neurological, endocrinological, and immunological systems of the animals, and affected growth and survival.
“Anthropogenic electromagnetic energy is a stressor. Every stressor can have adverse effects on any human being.”
In the interview with Theodora Scarato, Director of the EMF program at Environmental Health Sciences, Marino explained how his research revealed that artificial EMFs act as a stressor to the body and why he believes scientific institutions and governments took the wrong path decades ago.
Dr. Andrew Marino has a website compiling his published research as well as his legal testimony and scientific writings. As he states:
“In laboratory studies on animals, Marino and co-workers showed that exposure to man-made electromagnetic energy present in the human environment caused changes in the neurological, endocrinological, and immunological systems of the animals, and affected growth and survival.
Their proposed biological explanation for the broad range of observed effects was that the applied electromagnetic energy activated the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axes in the exposed animal, a process known to cause diverse consequences in the body. Marino reasoned that because animal and human physiology were similar, the occurrence of the biological effects in animals indicated that uncontrolled human exposure to man-made electromagnetic energy in the environment was a health risk, and that uncontrolled and unvetted exposure contributed to the occurrence of disease.”
How Dr. Andrew Marino Began Research Investigating EMF, Biology and Implications for Human Health
Andrew Marino earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Syracuse University and later his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law. Then Dr. Marino served as a Research Biophysicist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Syracuse, New York, and later as a Professor in the Departments of Neurology, Cellular Biology and Anatomy, and Orthopaedic Surgery at Louisiana State University.
While at the VA, Dr. Marino worked closely with the late Dr. Robert O. Becker on pioneering research investigating electricity. Becker began this research while serving as Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Syracuse, New York, where he sought to understand how salamanders regenerate lost limbs in the hope of one day applying those principles to human limb regeneration. This work ultimately led Becker to understand that electrical signals play a fundamental role in regulating fundamental biological processes, including bone healing, tissue regeneration, and bone growth. All living things are electrical beings.
Becker coined the term “electrical pollution” to describe the rapidly increasing presence of artificial manmade electromagnetic fields in the environment which he warned was a novel environmental stressor. However, the decision by Becker and Marino to speak publicly about the health risk came at a steep cost. As Marino describes in the interview, Becker lost all his research funding and the laboratory was forced to close.
Andrew A. Marino has authored and edited numerous influential books on bioelectromagnetics and environmental health, including Electromagnetism & Life (with Robert O. Becker, 1982; updated edition, 2010), Electric Wilderness (with J. Ray, 1986; updated edition, 2011), Modern Bioelectricity (editor, 1988), and the memoir Going Somewhere: Truth About a Life in Science (2010).
Decades of Research Investigating EMF Biological Impacts
Dr. Marino recounts how he spent several years testifying in New York’s landmark 765-kV transmission line proceedings, presenting scientific evidence that EMF can produce adverse biological effects. His testimony was ultimately downplayed but it did force New York State to embark on a years long research program which ultimately concluded EMF was linked to childhood leukemia.
His work with Dr. Robert Becker received national attention through two CBS 60 Minutes investigations from 1977, both of which have excerpts featured in this webinar. The first examined the controversy surrounding 765-kV high-voltage transmission lines, while the second focused on Project Seafarer, the U.S. Navy’s proposed EMF communication system for submarines. During the interview, Dr. Marino explains that the Navy-funded studies reviewed by Becker reported biological effects at ELF exposure levels that were approximately one million times lower than the field strengths associated with the proposed 765-kV transmission lines.
As an example of his laboratory studies, in 1980 Marino, Becker, and Ullrich conducted one of the first multigenerational studies of power-frequency electric fields, continuously exposing mice to 60 Hz electric fields of field strengths that Marino later noted are comparable to those found within approximately the first 100 feet of a typical 765-kV transmission line. The study, published in Experientia, found that across three successive generations, exposed mice exhibited reduced body weight and increased mortality, particularly in the vertically exposed group. In 1990 Marino’s peer-reviewed meta-analysis published in the Journal of Bioelectricity, reviewed eight multigenerational mouse experiments conducted over a 15-year period involving continuous exposure to 60-Hz electric fields. Across these studies, he found that the exposure consistently altered development and developmental variability, with statistically significant effects observed in all eight experiments. Although these effects did not follow a simple linear dose-response relationship, Marino concludes that the exposure elicited different physiological responses depending on the organism’s internal regulatory systems.
The Influence of the Electric Companies
Dr. Marino also reflected on the role of industry-funded experts and consultants in various high voltage line proceedings, arguing that financial conflicts of interest have shaped how scientific evidence on EMFs has been interpreted. For example, Dr. Marino shared how replication studies were initiated after his animal studies found effects. He obtained internal government records through Freedom of Information Act requests showing how the researchers initially observed biological effects, but the study designs were changed and the findings were buried.
“Controversy, or at least the appearance of controversy, regarding the health risks associated with environmental electromagnetic fields has developed because the emerging scientific picture runs markedly counter to the long-standing interests of some industries and government agencies in unbridled use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The existence of a link between electromagnetic fields in the environment and disease has been established despite the fact that many important details regarding it remain undiscovered.” – Andrew Marino
Communities across the country in numerous states are fighting 765 kV high-voltage transmission lines with EMF exposure as one of the numerous issues. The health issues raised more than fifty years ago continue to resonate today.
For more information about Dr. Marino and his work, and to read his scientific research visit:
https://andrewamarino.com