EMR-Updates
December 13th – December 19th, 2010
The Newsletter of the
International Coalition for an Electromagnetic Safe Planet (IC-ESP)
Education! Awareness! Support! Action!
(From denial to acceptance, from ignorance to awareness, from apathy to action, from selfishness to compassion.)
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Education, Awareness, Best Solution in Avoiding Electrohypersensitivity
EMF-Omega-News
Devra Davis on iPad Hazards
Australia Goes Crazy Over iPads
Research on Occupational Microwave Exposure
Hardel Group Reanalyzes Interphone Study
Plans for New Cell Tower Have AF Neighbors Boiling
Danger is Beckoning
Virginia Court Supports Right to Oppose Tower
Full Signal Accused of Being Anti-Israel Propaganda Film
Schools Study Wireless Networks: Radio Waves Cause for Concern
Windham Woman Decries "Smart Meter" Installation
Ivey Seeks Ban on Cell Phone Towers at Schools
WiFi in the Classroom
Inside TSA Scanners: How Terahertz Waves Tear Apart DNA
Next News Dossier ERDF: Le Compteur Mouchard Linky - Smart Meter
Sam Milham: An Appreciation
Monsanto is Climate Criminal
Busted: This Popular "Independent" Health Website Is Deceiving You
San Rafael Group Protests PG&E Smart Meters
WiFi Concerns in British Columbia Schools
How Those Gizmo Gifts Could Warp Your Child's Mind
Essay About EMR
Increases in Cancer Rates Near Radar Facilities in Taiwan (In Japanese and Chinese)
Excellent WiFi Letter to School Principle
Dr. Oz on Airport Scanners and CT Scans
Dear Dr. McDiarmid:
WiFi Rapport: Next Up
Take Action: Submit Comment to the Department of Justice re. Veterans Injured by EMR
Public Health and the Impact of EM Microwave Radiation: Standing Committee for Health
Calls into Question Canada's Safety Code 6
Big Pharma inside the WHO: confidential analysis of unreleased WHO Expert Working
Group draft reports, 8 Dec 2009
Mobile Phones Harm Blood Cells: BBC News
Council Seeks Radiation Advice
The Real Risks of Cell Phone Radiation
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields Induce Genotoxic Effects
Pre-registration Training: Electromagnetic Fields - March 2011 – Montreal
Holistic Primary Care
Lakehead is Wild for WiFi
Canada: Children Pulled from School Over WiFi Concerns
______________________________
Education, awareness best solution in avoiding
electrical hypersensitivity
Published: December 18, 2010 10:00 AM
To the Editor,
Re: Wireless worries, Dec. 11.
As the subject of your story, I’d like to tell your readers why I spoke out about my electrical
hypersensitivity and subjected myself to potential ridicule.
Judging by the responses I’ve had – phone calls, people recognizing me from your article and
stopping to chat – there are many more people in my EHS boat.
Radio frequencies from Wi-Fi, cellphones, DECT cordless phones and satellite antennas hit me
hardest and fastest, but dirty electricity from electronics and fluorescent lights and electromagnetic
radiation from baseboard heaters, computer monitors, electric stove elements compound the
problem. My vision blurs to double or triple, and if exposure continues, my eyes feel dry and tired, I
develop insomnia and chronic fatigue with fibromyalgia, mood swings, memory loss and brain fog.
I know what caused my symptoms: I have mercury poisoning from 40 years of low-level exposure
to dental amalgams, and a 1997 acute industrial strength exposure from a professional pesticide
application – mercuric chloride.
Because there were no regulations forcing the exterminator to disclose what he’d used, my doctors
had no clue. At 46, I was regularly expelled from medical practices because no antidepressant, anti inflammatory or analgesic worked.
I’d been locked into a hell that few people escape sane or alive. Thanks to Dr. Cline, I’m st ill here to
talk about it.
My high body burden of mercury has turned me into an antenna. Radio frequencies mobilize
mercury causing symptoms of acute mercury poisoning.
To avoid exposure, I could probably move to a cave in outer Mongolia.
Ultimately, I must detoxify my body.
Detoxification requires chelation. Chelation is the only recognized treatment for heavy metal
poisoning, and if I had been poisoned in an industrial setting, MSP would have paid for my in hospital treatment and I’d have WCB for life.
Neither MSP nor private health insurance will pay for chelation because I wasn’t diagnosed correctly
and immediately. I’ve looked into suing the exterminator, but there were no regulations, hence no
records. Medical records have been shredded.
My MPs, MLAs and several lawyers’ best advice was, “Write a book.”
I’ve made it my mission to educate people. We are unknowing and unwilling guinea pigs in a
massive experiment: how much pollution can our bodies take before we collapse in chronic disease?
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We can’t fight it if we don’t know about it, and we can’t cure ourselves if our doctors don’t support
us – and they don’t.
One neurologist told me that privately he agreed with me, but if he agreed publicly, he’d lose his
medical licence for thinking outside the BCMA-endorsed box. Think of the Alberta doctors who’ve
lost their licences for whistle-blowing and you’ll realize he’s right.
That leaves us – patients, clients, guinea pigs – to educate ourselves. I urge everyone to do that,
immediately. Your very lives depend upon it.
Christel Martin
Nanaimo
http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/letters/112095074.html
______________________________
EMF-Omega-News
Dear Sir, Madam, Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
for your information.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You!
Klaus Rudolph
Citizens' Initiative Omega
http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/OmegaNews.php
http://www.mastsanity.org/health.html
http://mast-victims.org/index.php?content=news&action=view&type=newsitem&id=2569
http://weepnews.blogspot.com/search/label/Omega%20News
Member of the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society)
Protectorate Union of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog
http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/57/70/
Critique of Interphone is reinforced
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1970/
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Research on occupational microwave exposure
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1973/
Cordless Phone EMFs Trigger Heart Rhythm Abnormalities
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1950/
Mobile phones 'harm blood cells'
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1955/
Sick from Smart Meters
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1947/
Invisible dangers from cell phones and electronics may cause cancer
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1953/
Morality is modified in the lab
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1946/
Wi-Fi Letter to School Principal
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1958/
Camilla Rees on Living Dialogues with Duncan Campbell
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1952/
Outrage at new utility lines for E. Vineland
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1944/
Cedar Lake flag tower debate heats up
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1948/
Planning application dropped for radio mast at Bray Garda station
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1949/
Permission denied for mobile phone masts
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1956/
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Windham woman decries 'smart meter' installation
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1966/
Danger is beckoning
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1972/
Report favors CMP lines in Saco
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1967/
HOW THOSE GIZMO GIFTS COULD WARP YOUR CHILD’S MIND
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/1962/
Next-up news Nr 1529
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3752/
Next-up News Nr 1530
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3770/
Next-up news Nr 1532
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3780/
Next-up News Nr 1533
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3781/
Next-up News Nr 1534
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3794/
Next-up News Nr 1535
http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3809/
News from Mast Sanity
http://tinyurl.com/2vhcbl6
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3
Omega-News Collection 18. December 2010
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http://www.sharenews-blog.com:8090/helma/twoday/sharenews/stories/3820/
______________________________
Ho Ho. No!! Why You Shouldn't Buy An iPad for
Your Six-Year-Old
8:30 pm December 15, 2010
By admin · Leave a Comment
So should you really get your six-year-old that chillin’ shiny iPad (or her own cell phone)? After all,
celebrity offspring such as Suri Cruise have been photographed using one. Dr. Devra Davis from the
Environmental Health Trust says no!
So should you really get your six-year-old that chillin’ shiny iPad (or her own cell phone)? After all,
celebrity offspring such as Suri Cruise have been photographed using one. Some schools are handing
them out to their students. What harm could it do to a kindergartener to have such a cool, hot gadget
— especially one where you can have hundreds of neat applications geared toward children?
According to the Environmental Health Trust, these devices come with safety warnings that few ever
read. The kicker is this, the public interest charity warns: All safety warnings for cell phones (e.g.,
“keep 5/8 inch from the body”) are based on a large fellow with a big head who talks less than half an
hour a day. The average toddler’s head weighs about half as much as the one for whom standards
have been set. Not surprisingly, a child’s head absorbs twice the radiation through his thinner skull
and more fluid brain.
Bone marrow in the child’s skull absorbs 10 times more microwave radiation than does an adult. “That
in mind, it’s scary that any parent would allow the use of a cell phone near their child’s head. “That in
mind, it’s scary that any parent would allow the use of a cell phone near their child’s head,” he
agency’s founder, Dr. Devra Davis, who has detailed cell phone safety in her latest book, “Disconnect:
The Truth about Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your
Family”(Penguin Group).
Read the Fine Print
As for the iPad, it needs to be handled carefully since the device is made of breakable glass-a detail
that might escape small children tapping away on it. Also, an increasing number of youngsters have
cardiac health issues that have yet to be diagnosed, and a growing number of them actually have high
blood pressure and cholesterol. “So what’s the safe distance to keep microwave radiation for those
with growing heart, brain, ovaries or gonads who seem to be healthy? Nobody knows, because all of
the models that are used apply just to the big guy’s brain and body,” warns Dr. Davis.
Another iPad warning says, “a small percentage of people may be susceptible to blackouts or seizures
(even if they have never had one before) when exposed to flashing lights or light patterns such as
when playing games or watching videos… Discontinue use of iPad and consult a physician if you
experience headaches, blackouts, seizures, convulsion, eye or muscle twitching, loss of awareness,
involuntary movement, or disorientation. To reduce risk of headaches, blackouts, seizures and
eyestrain, avoid prolonged use, hold iPad some distance from your eyes, use iPad in a well-lit room,
and take frequent breaks.”
Consumers can find this and more yourself on the iPad safety pamphlet. Dr. Davis believes whoever
wrote this probably had in mind the adult who can fork over $400-$500 for the iPad. Yet nowadays
even babies and toddlers are learning to read from wired devices and falling asleep to white noise
6|Page
played from phones placed under their pillows. A child’s brain, healthy or otherwise, is cased in a
thinner skull; that’s why they absorb more microwave radiation. The brains of children with
neurological disorders may be more vulnerable to damage than their healthy friends and family
members.
The iPad safety advice doesn’t consider these issues, but does include information about exposure to
radio-frequency energy. The pamphlet notes, “If you are…concerned about exposure to RF energy,
you can further limit your exposure by limiting the amount of time using iPad WiFi +3G in wireless
mode…and by placing more distance between your body and iPad Wi-Fi +3G.” Children cannot keep
“more distance” between themselves and these devices; their arms are too short. Few realize that the
iPhone comes with such directions and advice.
“Those clamoring to have their kids’ holiday stockings stuffed with the latest electronic gadgets would
do well to look into these warnings before buying one,” advises Dr. Davis.
The Environmental Health Trust is making available information for parents to print and distribute to
their local schools, day care centers, mommy-and-me-groups, stroller groups and Parent-Teacher
Association (PTA) meetings.
For a free brochure, please click here. You can also access more information on volunteering and
donations at www.ehtrust.org.
http://atomic5.com/ho-ho-no-why-you-shouldnt-buy-an-ipad-for-your-six-year-old
______________________________
AUSTRALIA GOES CRAZY OVER IPADS.
Saturday December 18th 2010, 7:43 pm
From the Age Newspaper, Melbourne.
Link: http://www.theage.com.au/business/ipad-invasion-proves-bittersweet20100918-15h7a.html
iPad invasion proves bitter-sweet
Stephen Cauchi
September 19, 2010
THEY call it a tablet, but four months after the Australian release of Apple’s iPad revolutionary touchscreen computer, the device’s popularity is proving a bitter pill for laptop sellers.
While it has been swiftly embraced by businesses as diverse as airlines and hospitals, the iPad is
opening up new markets while cannibalising the cheaper end of the established computer market.
Qantas subsidiary Jetstar is the latest organisation to be considering a bulk order.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Students, lawyers, sales reps and sporting clubs have embraced the device and 500 doctors in
Victorian hospitals will be testing it next year.
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Global iPad sales have topped 3 million. Brian Dunn, chief executive of US retailer Best Buy, said this
week that the iPad ”had cannibalised sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50 per cent”. Netbooks, the
ultra-small laptop-like devices, were hit particularly hard.
Apple refused to release Australian sales figures for the iPad, which observers estimate at about
200,000 so far. Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin said that ”customers from every walk of life” had
embraced the device.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the airline had successfully tested the iPad as an
entertainment device on medium to long-haul flights and was negotiating with Apple for ”thousands”
of the devices for its fleet after a month-long trial on the Melbourne-Gold Coast and Melbourne-Cairns
routes in June.
Mr Westaway said the airline would buy thousands of iPads but they would not be offered on shorter
routes such as Melbourne-Sydney because the short flight time did not make it worthwhile.
”For a domestic traveller it works, for an international traveller we think it’ll work too.” Mr Westaway
said the iPad was an ideal choice to replace the airline’s portable video devices, which show movies,
television, music videos and destination guides.
”We want a 2010 and beyond solution to portable inflight entertainment … We think it’ll be our most
popular decision yet in terms of inflight entertainment.”
Jim Valle, managing director of Carlton-based Apple retailer Connecting Point, said Visy and Multiplex
were among the other corporations he’d seen take orders for the iPad, but the education sector
remained its biggest customer.
”Education’s really embraced the iPad in a very, very large way … the uptake’s mostly been in
government schools,” he said.
Mr Valle said the Department of Education was considering purchasing thousands more iPads following
the successful trial of 500 devices at seven high schools and the Royal Children’s Hospital education
institute.
Ludi Servadei, year seven co-ordinator at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, said the
free iPads provided as part of the state government’s trial had been an ”instant success”.
”It’s light, it’s portable, they can put it in their bags and no one can see that they’ve got it. Whereas
with a [portable] computer it’s heavy.”
Ms Servadei said the iPad’s applications, in particular, were extremely popular. ”Keynote is a far easier
program and a far friendlier program to use than Powerpoint,” she said.
Adam Blacklock, group sales manager with South Melbourne-based Computers Now, said sporting
clubs had been among his customers, using the device for player reviews.
Melbourne-based barrister Tom Pikusa said barristers and solicitors, if not judges, had taken to the
iPad far more quickly than smartphones or laptops.
”They have taken it up in large numbers, yes,” he said. ”A lot of people use it because it’s a great size
and a nice screen - you can see the documents on there pretty well.”
Mr Pikusa said it was also a useful as a discreet communication device.
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Mr Pikusa, who deals mostly with planning cases at VCAT in William Street, said the device’s size was
its best feature.
”The portability of the iPad is the best thing. Rather than lugging folders and folders of stuff to court
you can have it all on the iPad and readily available,” he said.
Mr Pikusa said about one barrister in 10 had an iPad, which he said was ”pretty quick” given the
device had only been out four months.
In late July, the state government also announced 500 iPads would be given to graduate doctors and
nurse practitioners for use in the state’s hospitals. The $500,000 program begins on January 1.
Already, as part of the state government iPad trial for schools, 20 iPads are being provided for the
children at the Children’s Neuroscience Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
The portable devices will facilitate the use of HealthSmart, the Victorian government’s health
information technology programs, said Australian Medical Association Victoria Branch president Harry
Hemley.
“iPads in hospitals will begin to solve computer access problems and allow doctors transportable
access to clinical journals, online information and email,” he said.
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/?p=1384
______________________________
Research on occupational microwave exposure
Epidemiological studies:
Baste, V., Riise, T., & Moen, B. E. (2008). Radiofrequency
electromagnetic fields; male infertility and sex ratio of
offspring. European Journal of Epidemiology, 23(5), 369-77.
"The authors performed a cross-sectional study among military men
employed in the Royal Norwegian Navy, including information about
work close to equipment emitting radiofrequency electromagnetic
fields, one-year infertility, children and sex of the offspring. ...In a
logistic regression, odds ratio (OR) for infertility among those who had worked closer than 10 m from
high-frequency aerials to a "very high" degree relative to those who reported no work near highfrequency aerials was 1.86 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46-2.37), adjusted for age, smoking
habits, alcohol consumption and exposure to organic solvents, welding and lead. Similar adjusted OR
for those exposed to a "high", "some" and "low" degree were 1.93 (95% CI: 1.55-2.40), 1.52 (95% CI:
1.25-1.84), and 1.39 (95% CI: 1.15-1.68), respectively. In all age groups there were significant linear
trends with higher prevalence of involuntary childlessness with higher self-reported exposure to
radiofrequency fields."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18415687
Comment: Mostly radar exposure, fertility problems. The comparison group was also exposed to
radar.
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Bortkiewicz, A., Zmyslony, M., Palczynski, C., Gadzicka, E. and Szmigielski, S. (1995).
Dysregulation of autonomic control of cardiac function in workers at AM broadcasting
stations (0.738-1.503 MHz). Electro- and Magnetobiology 14(3), 177-191.
"The results suggest that exposure of workers to EM fields can cause slight disturbances in autonomic
cardiac regulation and slight dysregulation of circadian rhythms in workers exposed to EM fields
exceeding 100-150 V/m."
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a785647700~db=all~order=page
Bortkiewicz, A., Gadzicka. E. & Zmyslony, M. (1996). Heart rate variability in workers
exposed to medium-frequency electromagnetic fields. (1996). Journal of the Autonomic
Nervous System, 59(3), 91-97.
"This study was undertaken to evaluate the neurovegetative regulation of the heart in workers
occupationally exposed to medium frequency (MF) electromagnetic (EM) fields. The subjects were 71
workers of MF broadcast stations, aged 20-68 (mean 47.1) with the duration of work under exposure
ranging from 2-40 years and 22 workers of radio link stations, aged 21-65 (mean 46.9) who were not
exposed to MF EM fields ...Thus it was concluded that occupational exposure to EM fields brings about
impairments in the neurovegetative regulation of the cardiovascular function.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T05-3W0NBTY1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_v
ersion=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=5092b3f24908fc119b34ed553692a1a5
Daily, L.E. (1943). A clinical study of the results of exposure of laboratory personnel to
radar and high frequency radio. US Navy Med. Bull. 41, 1052-1056. Comment: Increase in
immature red blood cells among workers exposed to radar
Dasdag, S., Balci, K., Kaya, H. & Celik, M.S. (1999). Hormone levels of people occupationally
exposed to radiofrequencies. Biochem. Arch. 15, 255-260.
Davis, R. L. & Mostofi, F. K. (1993). Cluster of testicular cancer in police officers exposed to
hand-held radar. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 24(2), 231-233.
"Within a cohort of 340 police officers, six incident cases of testicular cancer occurred between 1979
and 1991 (O/E 6.9; p < 0.001, Poisson distribution). Occupational use of hand-held radar was the
only shared risk factor among all six officers, and all routinely held the radar gun directly in close
proximity to their testicles."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8213849
Dmoch, A. & Moszczynski, P. (1998). Levels of immunoglobulin and subpopulations of T
lymphocytes and NK cells in men occupationally exposed to microwave radiation in
frequencies of 6-12 GHz. Medycyna Pracy 49, 45-49 (in Polish).
Drogitschina, E. A. & Sadtschikowa, M. N. (1964). Klinische Syndrome bei der Wirkung von
unterschiedlichen Radiofrequenzbereichen. O biologitscheskom wosdejstwii
biologitscheskich polej radiotschastot 2, S. 105
Comment: Sample size: 160 workers. Dominant symptoms: Neurasthenia, vegetative syndrome,
cardiovascular problems, hypotony, hypoglycaemia.
Finkelstein, M. M. (1998). Cancer incidence among Ontario police officers. American Journal
of Industrial Medicine, 34(2), 157-162
WThis report presents the results of a retrospective cohort cancer incidence study among 22,197
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officers employed by 83 Ontario police departments. The standardized incidence ration (SIR) for all
tumors sites was 0.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.83-0.98). There was an increased incidence
of testicular cancer (SIR = 1.3, 90% CI = 0.9-1.8) and melanoma skin cancer (SIR = 1.45, 90% CI =
1.1-1.9)."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9651625
Forman, S. A., Holmes, C. K., McManamon, T. V., & Wedding, W. R. (1982). Psychological
symptoms and intermittent hypertension following acute microwave exposure. Journal of
Occupational Medicine.: Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association, 24(11),
932-934.
"Two men who were accidentally, acutely irradiated with X-band microwave radiation have been
followed up clinically for 12 months. Both men developed similar psychological symptoms, which
included emotional lability, irritability, headaches, and insomnia. Several months after the incidents,
hypertension was diagnosed in both patients. No organic basis for the psychological problems could be
found nor could any secondary cause for the hypertension. A similar syndrome following microwave
exposure has been described by the East Europeans. The two cases we report, with comparable
subjective symptoms and hypertension following a common exposure, provide further strong,
circumstantial evidence of cause and effect. A greater knowledge of the mechanisms involved in
bioeffects which may be induced by radiofrequency and microwave radiation is definitely needed."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7175588
Garaj-Vrhovac, V. (1999). Micronucleus assay and lymphocyte mitotic activity in risk
assessment of occupational exposure to microwave radiation. Chemosphere, 39(13), 230112.
"The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RFR) on the cell kinetics and genome
damages in peripheral blood lymphocytes were determined in lymphocytes of 12 subjects
occupationally exposed to microwave radiation. Results showed an increase in frequency of
micronuclei (MN) as well as disturbances in the distribution of cells over the first, second and third
mitotic division in exposed subjects compared to controls. According to previous reports micronucleus
assay can serve as a suitable indicator for the assessment of exposure to genotoxic agents (such as
RFR) and the analysis of mitotic activity as an additional parameter for the efficient biomonitoring."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10576101
Comment: Radar exposure, micronuclei development.
Grajewski, B., Cox, C., Schrader, S. M., Murray, W. E., Edwards, R. M., Turner, T. W., et al.
(2000). Semen quality and hormone levels among radiofrequency heater operators. Journal
of Occupational and Environmental Medicine / American College of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, 42(10), 993-1005.
"For 12 male heater operators and a comparison group of 34 RF-unexposed men, we measured 33
parameters of semen quality and four serum hormones. ...We observed minor semen quality and
hormonal differences between the groups, including a slightly higher mean follicle-stimulating
hormone level for exposed operators (7.6 vs 5.8 mIU/mL)".
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11039163
Grayson, J. K. (1996). Radiation exposure, socioeconomic status, and brain tumor risk in
the US Air Force: a nested case-control study. American Journal of Epidemiology Mar
1;143(5):480-6.
"A nested case-control study was used to investigate the relation between a range of electromagnetic
field exposures and brain tumor risk in the US Air Force. Cumulative extremely low frequency and
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radiofrequency/microwave electromagnetic field potential exposures were estimated from a jobexposure matrix developed for this study. Ionizing radiation exposures were obtained from personal
dosimetry records. Men who were exposed to nonionizing electromagnetic fields had a small excess
risk for developing brain tumors, with the extremely low frequency and radiofrequency/microwave
age-race-senior military rank-adjusted odds ratios being 1.28 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.95-1.74)
and 1.39 (95% Cl 1.01-1.90), respectively. By contrast, men who were exposed to ionizing radiation
had an age-race-senior military rank-adjusted odds ratio of 0.58 (95% Cl 0.22-1.52). These results
support a small association between extremely low frequency and radiofrequency/microwave
electromagnetic field exposure and no association between ionizing radiation exposure and brain
tumors in the US Air Force population. Military rank was consistently associated with brain tumor risk.
Officers were more likely than enlisted men to develop brain tumors (age-race-adjusted odds ratio
(OR) = 2.11, 95% Cl 1.48-3.01), and senior officers were at increased risk compared with all other US
Air Force members (age-race-adjusted OR = 3.30, 95% Cl 1.99-5.45).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8610663
Goldoni, J. (1990). Hematological changes in peripheral blood of workers occupationally
exposed to microwave radiation. Health Physics, 58 , 205-207.
"The estimated exposures ranged from 10 PW to 20 mW in a frequency range of 1250-1350 MHz. The
numbers of leukocytes and erythrocytes was significantly lower in the radar-exposed technicians."
Comment: Flight traffic controllers and radar exposure.
Groves, F. D., Page, W. F., Gridley, G., Lisimaque, L., Stewart, P. A., Tarone, R. E., et al.
(2002). Cancer in Korean War Navy Technicians: Mortality Survey after 40 Years. Am. J.
Epidemiol., 155(9), 810-818.
"There was no evidence of increased brain cancer in the entire cohort (standardized mortality ratio
(SMR) = 0.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7, 1.1) or in high-exposure occupations (SMR = 0.7, 95%
CI: 0.5, 1.0). Testicular cancer deaths also occurred less frequently than expected in the entire cohort
and high-exposure occupations. Death rates for several smoking-related diseases were significantly
lower in the high-exposure occupations. Nonlymphocytic leukemia was significantly elevated among
men in high-exposure occupations but in only one of the three high-exposure occupations, namely,
electronics technicians in aviation squadrons (SMR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.7). Radar exposure had little
effect on mortality in this cohort of US Navy veterans."
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/155/9/810
Hocking, B. (2003). RE: " Cancer in Korean War Navy Technicians: Mortality Survey after 40
Years ". Am. J. Epidemiol., 157(3), 279.
"However, in the original article, Robinette et al. stated that "actual exposure to members of each
cohort could not be established" (2, p. 39). Even the high-exposure group was said to have exposures
probably below 1 mW/cm² during duty hours, although it was also stated that "their exposure
pattern... infrequently includes exposures larger than 100 mW/cm²" (2, p. 42). However, there was
no interpretation of "infrequently," be it daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. This is a crucial weakness,
because the distinction between the maximum and minimum exposure-opportunity groups largely
rests on the occurrence of these undefined infrequent high exposures. Because of the ill-defined
nature of these exposures, misclassification is likely, and therefore comparisons between the
maximum/high and minimum/low exposure groups are tenuous at best. Results should be reported
tentatively rather than as if they were part of an established gradient of exposure, as Groves et al.
implied in their table 4. ...The main conclusion that can be drawn from the data as presented by
Groves et al. is that US Navy veterans of the Korean War who were exposed to radar at undetermined
average exposure levels of less than 1 mW/cm² for unspecified durations of less than 5 years do not
have increased mortality."
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/157/3/279
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Israel, M., Vangelova, K., & Tschobanoff, P. (2006). Study of the secretion of melatonin and
stress hormones in operators from broadcasting and TV stations exposed to radiofrequency
(RF) electromagnetic radiation (EMR). In Biolectromagnetics, Current Concepts (pp. 271280).
"Exposure to low level radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from GSM was not found to rise
changes in melatonin secretion, but there are no data on the effect of higher radiofrequency
intensities, as they usually occur in the occupational environment. The excretion of 6sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), the main melatonin metabolite, is considered a good indicator of
rhythmic melatonin production. The aim of the investigation was to study the effect of radiofrequency
EMR on aMT6s and stress hormones excretion rates in communication operators during fast-rotating
extended shifts. The study comprised 36 male operators as follows: 12 broadcasting station (BC)
operators (6-25 MHz), 12 TV station operators (66.5 - 900 MHz) and 12 satellite (SAT) station
operators (5.850 - 6.425 GHz)."
http://www.springerlink.com/content/f20360477444m180/
Johnson Liakouris, A. G. (1997). Radiofrequency (RF) sickness in the Lilienfeld Study: an
effect of modulated microwaves? Archives of environmental health, 53(3), 236-238.
"It should be noted, however, that in the Liliefeld Study, other higher and statistically significant effect
relative to controls were not accounted for. Four the effects are clinical manifestations that Soviets
have attributed to RF sickness: (1) dermographism (i.e., psoriasis, eczema, and inflammatory and
allergic skin problems); (2) neurological (i.e., diseases of the peripheral nerves and ganlia among
males); (3) reproductive (i.e., problems during pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium); and (4)
tumors (benign among men, malignant among women). Other reviews of the Lilienfed Study have
contained information about additional hermatological changes that occurred among the embassy
personnel. Three of the effects are mood alterations attributed to the syndrome: (1) irritability; (2)
depression; and (3) loss of appetite. ...The frequency range was between 0.6 and 9.5 GHz. Exposures
occurred 6-8 h/d, 5 d/wk. Each modulation (e.e., phase, amplitude, and pulse) was transmitted for
only 48 h (or less) at a time. The average exposure per individual was 2-4 y. The intensity range was
between 0,002 and 0,028 mW/cm². Intensities were 1000 times below the safety guidelines proposed
in the United States, but the range met Soviet Safety standards for the public - a fact that shifts
attention to the properties of the exposure parameters."
Comment: US embassy radar exposure in Moscow 1958-1988. The radio sickness ala microwave
syndrome symptoms are listed.
Lilienfeld, A.M., Tonascia, J., and Tonascia S., Libauer, C.A., and Cauthen, G.M., 1978:
"Foreign Service health status study - evaluation of health status of foreign service and
other employees from selected eastern European posts". Final Report (Contract number
6025-619073) to the U.S. Dept of State, July 31, 1978.
"Significant neurological effects from chronic low level radar exposure, including Depression (p=0.004),
Irritability (p=0.009), Memory Loss (p=0.008) and Difficulty in Concentrating (p=0.001)."
Comment: The US embassy in Moscow, chronic irradiation by Soviet radar 1958-1988. Several
leukaemia cases and above mentioned symptoms. See Becker & Selden (1984). Chromosomal
abnormality tests show that there were substantially increased frequencies of mutation in 18 out of 36
individuals exposed at the Moscow Embassy tested (including two with growth failure for the cultured
cells (Goldsmith, 1996).
McLaughlin, J. T. (1953). A Survey of Possible Health Hazards from Exposure to Microwave
Radiation. Hughes Aircraft Corp., Culver City, CA, 1953, p. 84.
Comment: Various forms of leukaemia among men (30-40 years old) who had repaired radar
equipment. Reported in 1953. In 1952 Dr. Frederic G. Hirsch of the Sandia Corporation, a maker of
missile guidance systems, reported the first known case of cataracts in a microwave technician. The
13 | P a g e
following year Bell Laboratories, alarmed by reports of sterility and baldness among its own workers
as well as military radar personnel, suggested a safety level of 100 microwatts, a hundred times less
than Schwan's limit (see Becker & Selden, 1984).
McLaughlin, J. T. (1957). Tissue destruction and death from microwave radiation (radar).
California Medicine, 86(5), 336-339.
McLaughlin, J. T. (1962). Health hazards from microwave radiation. Western Medicine, 3(4),
126-132.
Milham, S. (1988). Increased mortality in amateur radio operators due to lymphatic and
hematopoietic malignancies. Am. J. Epidemiol., 127(1), 50-54.
"Ascertainment of Washington State and California amateur radio operators (67,829 persons) was
done through the 1984 US Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio Station and/or
Operator License file. A total of 2,485 deaths were located for the period from January 1,1979 through
December 31, 1984, in a population of amateur radio operators which accumulated 232,499 personyears at risk. The all-cause standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 71, but a statistically significant
increased mortality was seen for cancers of the other lymphatic tissues (SMR = 162), a rubric which
includes multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The all-leukemia standardized mortality
ratio was slightly, but nonsignificantly, elevated (SMR = 124). However, mortality due to acute
myeloid leukemia was significantly elevated (SMR = 176)."
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/127/1/50
Comment: Some of these amateur radio operators worked also in radio/communication occupation.
The role of combined chemical and microwave exposure is interesting.
Oktay, M. F., Dasdag, S., Akdere, M., Cureoglu, S., Cebe, M., Yazicioglu, M., et al. (2004).
Occupational safety: effects of workplace radiofrequencies on hearing function. Archives of
Medical Research, 35(6), 517-521.
"The results of traditional audiometer indicated that RF promotes sensorineural hearing loss and
affects cochlea parts related to 4000 Hz and 8000 Hz. These findings may have immediate
implications and considerations for workplace safety in order to provide an occupationally safe
environment to employees working in such settings."
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VNM-4F4WYVF8&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_url
Version=0&_userid=10&md5=ae10b97dcb3be2c266f8dfc195ece0e6
Comment: Hearing related health problems after microwave exposure.
Panow, A. G. & Tjagin, N. W. (1966): Klassifizierung und Expertise zu Folgen der Wirkung
eines SHFFeldes auf den Organismus eines Menschen. Wojenno-medizinskij shumal 9, S. 13.
Comment: 106 workers inspected in a microwave device factory.
Ouellet-Hellstrom, R., & Stewart, W. F. (1993). Miscarriages among Female Physical
Therapists Who Report Using Radio- and Microwave-frequency Electromagnetic Radiation.
Am. J. Epidemiol., 138(10), 775-786.
"Physical therapists are exposed to radio- and microwave-frequency electromagnetic radiation by
operating shortwave and microwave diathermy units ... Pregnancies of mothers reporting microwave
use 6 months prior to the pregnancy or during the first trimester were more likely to result in
miscarriage (odds ratio (OR) = 1.28, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.02-1 59) The odds ratio increased
with increasing level of exposure (x2 = 7 25, p < 0.005). The odds ratio in the highest exposure group
14 | P a g e
(20 or more exposures/ month) was 1.59. The overall odds ratio was slightly lower after it was
controlled for prior fetal loss (OR = 1.26, 95% Cl 1.00-1.59), but the exposure-response effect
remained (x2 = 5.17, p < 0.01). The risk of miscarriage was not associated with reported use of
shortwave diathermy equipment (OR = 1.07, 95% Cl 0.91-1.24). The odds ratio in the highest
exposure group was 0.87."
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/10/775
Richter E, Berman T, Ben-Michael E, Laster R, Westin JB. (2000). Cancer in radar
technicians exposed to radiofrequency/microwave radiation: sentinel episodes. Int J Occup
Environ Health. 6(3):187-93.
"Index patients with melanoma of the eye, testicular cancer, nasopharyngioma, non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, and breast cancer were in the 20-37-year age group. ...The findings suggest that young
persons exposed to high levels of RF/MW radiation for long periods in settings where preventive
measures were lax were at increased risk for cancer. Very short latency periods suggest high risks
from high-level exposures."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10926722
Robinette, C.D., Silverman, C. & Jablon, S. (1980). Effects upon health of occupational
exposure to microwave radiation (radar). American Journal of Epidemiology 112(1), 39-53.
"The effects of occupational experience with microwave radiation (radar) on the health of US enlisted
Naval personnel were studied in cohorts of approximately 20,000 men with maximum opportunity for
exposure (electronic equipment repair) and 20,000 with minimum potential for exposure (equipment
operation) who served during the Korean War period. Potential exposure was assessed in terms of
occupational duties, length of time in occupation and power of equipment at the time of exposure.
Actual exposure to members of each cohort could not be established. Mortality by cause of death,
hospitalization during military service, later hospitalization in Veterans Administration (VA) facilities,
and VA disability compensation were the health indexes studied, largely through the use of automated
record systems. No adverse effects were detected in these indexes that could be attributed to
potential microwave radiation exposures during the period 1950-1954. Functional and behavioral
changes and ill-defined conditions, such as have been reported as microwave effects, could not be
investigated in this study but subgroups of the living study population can be identified for expanded
follow-up."
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/112/1/39
Comment: Study of the health effects of radar on naval technical personnel who had served on ships
during the Korean War. When naval occupations were grouped by exposure category, this showed a
dose response increase in mortality in all diseases, especially in lymphoma and leukaemia, see Cherry
(2002). Almost two times as much lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer in the high exposed compared
to the low exposed group, see Goldsmith (1996).
Sadcikova. M. (1974). Clinical manifestations of reactions to microwave irradiation in
various occupational groups, Biological Effects and Health Hazards of Microwave Radiation.
WHO symposium, Polish Medical Publishers. pp. 261-267.
Schilling, C. J. (1997). Effects of acute exposure to ultrahigh radiofrequency radiation on
three antenna engineers. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 54(4), 281-284.
Retrieved August 6, 2009.
"Three men were accidentally exposed to high levels of ultrahigh frequency radiofrequency radiation
(785 MHz mean frequency) while working on a television mast. They experienced an immediate
sensation of intense heating of the parts of the body in the electromagnetic field followed by a variety
of symptoms and signs which included pain, headache, numbness, and parasthesiae, malaise,
diarrhoea, and skin erythema. The most notable problem was that of acute then chronic headache
15 | P a g e
involving the part of the head which was most exposed."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9166136
Schliephake, E. (1932). Arbeitsgebiete auf dem Kurzwellengebiet. Deutsche Medizinische
Wochenschrift 32, 1235-1240.
"Der Gesamtorganismus wird schon im Strahlungsfeld von starken Kurzwellendendern durch die freie
Hetzsche Welle deutlich beeinflusst. ...Starke mattigkeit am Tag, dafür in der Nacht unruhiger Schlaf,
zunächst ein eigenartig ziehendes Gefühl in der Stirn und Kopfhaut, dann Kopfschmerzen, die sich
immer mehr steigern, bis zur Unerträglichkeit. Dazu Neigung zu depressiver Stimmung und
Aufgeregtheit. Auch hier hat nach unseren Erfahrungen die Wellenlänge einen deutlichen Einfluss."
Comment: Dr Scliephake described already in 1932 the symptoms of people working close to a shortwave radio station / mast. Symptoms were: first tiredness in day time and restless sleep in night time.
Thereafter a feeling of "pull/pressure" on forehead and on top of head, developing to headaches, even
intolerable ones. Eventually, depression and unnormal excitability/nervousness. Schliephake reported
that the symptoms were dependent on the used wave length in the transmitter.
Szmigielski, S. (1996). Cancer morbidity in subjects occupationally exposed to high
frequency (radiofrequency and microwave) electromagnetic radiation. Sci. Total Environ,
180(1), 9-17.
"The cancer morbidity rate for RF/MW-exposed personnel for all age groups (20-59 years) reached
119.1 per 100000 annually (57.6 in non-exposed) with an OER of 2.07, significant at P < 0.05. The
difference between observed and expected values results from higher morbidity rates due to
neoplasms of the alimentary tract (OER = 3.19-3.241, brain tumours (OER = 1.91) and malignancies
of the haemopoietic system and lymphatic organs (OER = 6.31). Among malignancies of the
haemopoietic/lymphatic systems, the largest differences in morbidity rates between exposed and nonexposed personnel were found for chronic myelocytic leukaemia (OER = 13.91, acute myeloblastic
leukaemia (OER = 8.62) and non-Hodgkin lymphomas (OER =5.82)."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8717316
Szmigielski, S., Bortkiewicz, A., Gadzicka, E., Zmyslony, M., & Kubacki, R. (1998). Alteration
of diurnal rhythms of blood pressure and heart rate to workers exposed to radiofrequency
electromagnetic fields. Blood Pressure Monitoring, 3(6), 323-30.
"METHODS: In the study we used 61 healthy workers (aged 30-50 years) who had been exposed to
radiofrequency EMF of 0.738-1.503 Mhz and 42 healthy workers at radio-line stations (aged 28-49
years), who had not been exposed to EMF occupationally. ...For workers exposed to radiofrequency
EMF we noted a significant lowering of the amplitudes of rhythms of blood pressure and heart rate (P
< 0.01) and a shift of the acrophase to an earlier time (1100-1200 h; P < 0.05). These changes were
more pronounced among workers exposed to high intensities of radiofrequency EMF. CONCLUSIONS:
Occupational exposure to radiofrequency EMF can result in changes of the diurnal rhythms of blood
pressure and heart rate with lowering of their amplitudes and a shift of the acrophase."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10212373
Tikhonova, G.I. (2003). [Epidemiological risk assessment of pathology development in
occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields] Radiats Biol Radioecol.
Sep-Oct;43(5):559-64. [Article in Russian]
Health status of 250 workers was examined. High prevalence rate of cardiovascular diseases (ICD-X
I00-I99) was found in the exposed groups. Odds ratio (OR) was 3.78 (95% CI 1.96-7.27) in group I
and 2.13 (95% CI 1.13-4.03) in group II. High prevalence rate of cardiovascular diseases is explained
by arterial hypertension (ICD-X I10-I15) (OR = 1.96 95% CI 1.04-3.70 in group I and OR = 1.80 95%
CI 0.93-3.50 in group II) and ischemic heart disease (ICD-X I20-I25) (OR = 7.9 95% CI 3.48-18.06 in
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group I; OR = 3.0 95% CI 1.23-7.33--in group II). In the exposed groups cardiovascular diseases
were developed in young age. OR was 7.04 (95% CI 1.64-30.19) in group I and 4.33 (95% CI 0.9619.65) in group II in 30-39 age sub groups. Myocardium infarction was found in 2 out of 16 persons of
this age in the group exposed to EMF.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14658291 Comment: Airport workers, mostly air traffic
controllers. Increased risk for heart problems.
Tonascia, J. A. & Tonascia, S. (1976). Hematology Study October 7, 1976. Report
declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIL).
Comment: Once again, related to the US embassy in Moscow.
Vangelova K, Deyanov C, Israel M. (2006). Cardiovascular risk in operators under
radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation. International Journal of Hygienic Environmental
Health, 209,133-138.
Villaresi, G.; Y.A. Kopytenko; N. G. Pritsyne; M. T. Tyasto; E. A. Kopytenko; N. Iucci; P. M.
Voiony (1994). The influence of geomagnetic storms and man-made magnetic field
disturbances on the incidence of myocardial infarction in St. Petersburg (Russia). Physica
Medica 19, S. 197-117
Wang, S.G. (1989). "5-HT contents change in peripheral blood of workers exposed to
microwave and high frequency radiation". Chung Hua Yu Fang I Hsueh Tsa Chih 23(4): 207210.
Comment: Workers who were more highly exposed to RF/MW had a dose-response increase in
serotonin, and hence indicates a reduction in melatonin.
van Netten, C, Brands, R. H., Hoption Cann, S.A, Spinelli, J.J. & Sheps, S. B. (2003) Cancer
cluster among police detachment personnel. Environment International. Jan;28(7):567-72.
"An apparent cancer cluster at a police detachment in a coastal British Columbia community was
investigated. Police personnel suspected that the detachment building may have been a factor. ...
After all 174 cases were contacted directly, or next of kin in case of death, a total of 16 cases of
cancer or suspected cancers were reported. Of these 16, eight cases of cancer were confirmed through
a cancer registry. Cancers included testicular, cervical, colon, skin (including melanoma), leukemias
and lymphomas with an age range of diagnosis between 22 and 44 years. There was no evidence for
an underlying event, factor or condition in the police building that could be attributed to the observed
cancer cases. A possible association between these cancers and the use of police traffic radar is
discussed." Comment: Radar exposure was just amoung many possible risk factors in this cancer
cluster.
Wilén, J., Hörnsten, R., Sandström, M., Bjerle, P., Wiklund, U., Stensson, O., Lyskov, E. &
Mild, K.H. (2004). Electromagnetic field exposure and health among RF plastic sealer
operators. Bioelectromagnetics 25, 5-15.
Comment: Operators of plastic sealers had significantly lower 24-h heart rate than control subjects
Weyandt, T. B., Schrader, S. M., Turner, T. W., & Simon, S. D. (1996). Semen analysis of
military personnel associated with military duty assignments. Reproductive Toxicology,
10(6), 521-528.
"It became apparent from extensive questionnaire data that many soldiers in the initial control
population had potentially experienced microwave exposure as radar equipment operators. As a result,
a third group of soldiers without potential for lead or microwave exposures, but with similar
environmental conditions, was selected as a comparison population. ...Artillerymen who perceived a
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possible fertility concern demonstrated lower sperm counts/ejaculate (P = 0.067) and lower sperm/mL
(P = 0.014) than the comparison group. The group of men with potential microwave exposures
demonstrated lower sperm counts/mL (P = 0.009) and sperm/ejaculate (P = 0.027) than the
comparison group."
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TC0-3W28MP2C/2/e86c3a790255f1e59e4a03754f5ede1a
Comment: Similar findings to Agarwall (2008), Fejes et al. (2005), who inspected mobile phone use
and fertility.
Zaret, M. (1975). Blindness, deafness and vestibular dysfunction in a microwave worker.
The Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Monthly, Vol. 54, No. 7, S. 49-52
Zaret, M. (1977a). Cataracts and avionic radiations. British Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol.
161, No. 6.
Zaret, M. (1977b). Cataracts in aviation environments. Letter to The Lancet, February 26
http://www.chronicexposure.org/occupational.html
______________________________
Hardel Group Reanalyzes Interphone Study
Swedish Örebro studies on mobile phone use and risk for brain tumour re-analysed using the same
methods as in Interphone:
Increased risk in both studies and the critique of Interphone is reinforced
The international WHO Interphone study was published in May 2010. The results showed an increased
risk for malignant brain tumours (glioma) for the heaviest user of mobile phones, (1,640 hours or
more in total). The studies on brain tumour risk from the Hardell-group at the University Hospital,
Örebro, Sweden have been criticized for seemingly higher risk for mobile phone use than in other
studies.
In a new analysis of the results from Örebro it is found that similar results as in Interphone are
obtained if restriction of the material and methods is made according to the WHO study. The results
are now published in International Journal of Epidemiology on Internet.
The WHO Interphone study included only persons diagnosed with brain tumour at the age of 30-59
years. Use of cordless desktop phones (DECT) was not assessed. Furthermore, the highest exposure
group was restricted to persons who had used a mobile phone for 1,640 hours or more in total. That
corresponds to only 30 minutes per day over a time period of 10 years.
On the contrary, the Örebro studies included patients with brain tumour aged 20-80 years. Use of
cordless phone was surveyed as carefully as use of mobile phone. The group with highest exposure
included persons who had used a mobile phone more than in Interphone; 2,000 hours or more.
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The Örebro group has now in the new paper restricted the analysis to the criteria used in the WHO
study. Only patients and control subjects aged 30-59 years were included, use of cordless phone was
disregarded and highest exposure was limited to 1,640 hours or more. Thereby the risk for glioma was
lowered from odds ratio (OR) 2.31 to OR 1.75 in the most exposed group. The corresponding result in
Interphone was OR 1.41. Similar results were found in both studies for tumours in the most exposed
area of the brain (the temporal lobe), but now it is Interphone that gives a higher risk, OR 1.87,
compared with OR 1.46 in the Örebo study.
Besides similar results in both studies when the same criteria are used, this analysis confirms the
critique of the Interphone study. The risk has been underestimated since persons aged 20-29 years
and more than 60 years of age were excluded, use of cordless phones was not assessed and risk for
the most exposed persons was not analysed.
In conclusion both studies showed a statistically significantly doubled risk for glioma at the same side
as the mobile phone had been used for 1,640 hours or more; Örebro study OR 2.18, Interphone OR
1.96. Simlar results were thus obtained in both studies if the same criteria were used in the analysis,
that is type of phone (only mobile), cumulative number of hours for use, age group, and anatomical
localisation of the brain tumour compared with exposure to microwaves from the mobile phone.
Contact persons:
Lennart Hardell, Professor, Department of Oncology, University Hospital. SE-701 85 Örebro, Sweden
Phone + 46 19 602 10 00, E-mail: lennart.hardell@orebroll.se
Kjell Hansson Mild, Professor, Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, SE-701 87 Umeå,
Sweden
Phone + 46 90 7858487, E-mail: kjell.hansson.mild@radfys.umu.se
References:
The Interphone Study Group. Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the
Interphone international case-control study. Int J Epidemiol 2010;39: 675–694.
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Hansson Mild K. Re-analysis of risk for glioma in relation to mobile telephone
use: comparison with the results of the Interphone international case-control study. Int J Epidemiol
2010; doi:10.1093/ije/dyq246
Iris
______________________________
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Plans for Huge Cell Tower Have AF Neighbors
Boiling
Ari Cohn/AFN The site of a proposed 65-foot cell phone tower designed to look like a church bell tower associated with
Corpus Christi Catholic Church, on whose land the tower would sit, northeast of Knox Road and 36th Street. Neighbors say
the tower would be about three times as tall as the trees it would sit behind, blocking out mountain views.
Posted: Friday, December 17, 2010 9:22 am
By Ari Cohn Ahwatukee Foothills News
Plans to build a 65-foot-tall AT&T cell phone array disguised as a church bell tower in an upscale
central Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood have some longtime residents crying foul.
"Who expected the church to be the one to ruin our property values with this monstrosity?" asked
Jean Davia, who lives immediately across the street from the proposed tower, which would sit
alongside 36th Street north of Knox Road on land owned by the Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
Neither church officials nor AT&T returned calls before press time, but a city zoning adjustment
hearing on the proposed tower has been slated for 9 a.m. Dec. 30 at Phoenix City Hall, 200 W.
Washington St.
Plans call for a 65-foot-tall tower topped by a large cross, concealing a cell phone antenna array, said
Michael Hammett, city Planning and Development Services spokesman. The project would need a city
permit before it could move forward, he said.
Barb Yurka, who has lived just up the road from the proposed cell tower site for 20 years, said putting
a nearly seven-story structure up will have a huge impact on her view of South Mountain.
"It's going to be hideous," she said. "I would never, ever have purchased this house had a tower been
there."
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Both Yurka and Davia said they had been led to believe that the site was in an area protected from
development. Communication with the neighbors has been lacking, Davia said.
"This is just out of the blue," she said. "It totally cuts the view in half. They need to look for a place
where there is already something in existence and put it there."
Karen Young, assistant general manager of the Ahwatukee Board of Management, one of the area's
larger homeowners associations, said the board hurriedly called a meeting Wednesday night to discuss
the tower.
"The board of directors changed their agenda," Young said. "They're in a fact-finding mode right now.
They just wanted to look at the proposals. It's the first anybody's heard of it."
Chris Gentis, a member of the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee and the Ahwatukee
Board of Management, said he believes the local planning committee should have some say.
"I think we should hear it and make an advisory opinion on it," Gentis said. "That's not a utility area.
There's nothing else like that around there."
Davia said she's gone along with all the church's community events that spilled out into the
neighborhood over the last 15 years, and would like the church to be considerate, in turn.
"If they go through with this, they're going to find the neighborhood a much colder place," she said.
http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/article_9bd9a8de-09fe-11e0-9329-001cc4c002e0.html
______________________________
Danger is beckoning
18 December 2010,
India is all abuzz over the 2G-spectrum scam, which is being described as the biggest scam in the
country’s history.
The allocation of licences at throw-away prices to those who are not eligible, the flouting of rules and
regulations while issuing the license is all dismal news. India is the third largest cell phone market
after China and US, adding millions of subscribers every month. While discussing the scam and related
events on TV, cell towers were shown mushrooming in the residential areas and on the rooftops of
residential building without keeping the desired distance according to the safety standards. The
measure of electromagnetic radiation from these towers crosses the limit of permissible level and is
one that is unacceptably high. Though it varied in different places it should not be allowed in densely
populated areas. These days in Mumbai and other part of the country we can see buildings with two to
three towers on the top floor.
The popularity of cell phone and wireless communication devices has resulted in a spread of these
towers across the country. It poses a serious threat to human health as these towers emit deadly
electromagnetic radiation, which directly affects the human brain. Some studies have identified the
adverse effect on people living near the towers. To satisfy the requirement of consumers, cell
companies are installing these towers everywhere, even in small towns and villages in rural areas.
21 | P a g e
Most of the people are not aware of the impact of these towers that are installed near them. Anyone
familiar with this sector knows that cell tower radiation is likely to cause trouble but are belittling the
crisis because their main motivation is about making money. Giant companies are constantly
increasing their network and introducing new plans and aggressively selling them in the market.
Where action should be taken against the violations, money is showered to look the other way, with
little care for the direct impact on the public’s health. In today’s fast paced life, telecommunication is a
very essential element of daily life; this is what the companies are exploiting by mindless installation.
Initially the government showed a lax approach toward the cell operators and did not interfere much
in their operations. This accelerated the proliferation. Warning of lowering the height of tower near the
airport areas is the only limit most of the companies abide by.
In case of storm and heavy rain these can easily fall on adjacent buildings. Illegal towers are also a
case of concern. Despite the facts, approval has been given for thousands of new towers. By not
demolishing these illegal towers the problem has been allowed to aggravate.
Even the paltry fines do not deter those companies from their activities. On the other hand rooftops in
the city are on rent. Owners are happily letting the network providers set up huge towers. In other
areas people are seeing it as a lucrative way of making easy money. Companies bribe shopping malls
and multistoried apartment buildings for this purpose. Unawareness or greed for money are the
reasons the owners allow them to spread their tentacles in the lives of innocent people.
The falling cost of cell phone and talk time has made it possible for anyone to afford mobile phones.
The buying power of Indians has increased and with the number of electronic appliances and mobile
phones, this business is prospering. These factors have contributed to the growth of this industry. For
the companies it means expanding infrastructure.
If we observe the environment and our surroundings closely we can see that flying birds avoid these
towers. They never take a stop over for resting on it and prefer to sit on the electric cables. This
shows the frequency of radiation that is emitted.
It is high time proper legislation is formulated to bring mobile towers under control. The country needs
a comprehensive policy in this matter. All cell towers should be removed from residential areas and
placed where they don’t cause harm, maintaining proper height and distance. Technology invasion has
happened at a rapid pace in India where stringent laws are still to be adopted against the violations.
Shemeem Shafik, Dubai
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=/data/openspace/2010/December/openspace_December18.x
ml&section=openspace
______________________________
Court Supports Fort Hunt Residents' Right To
Oppose Cell Phone Tower
Cingular appeals the Virginia Court decision
By Nancy Malir | Email the author | December 17, 2010
Local residents have the right to oppose land permit applications for the construction of cell phone
towers, said the Eastern District Court of Virginia in Alexandria last month.
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On November 10th the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria upheld a
decision by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to prevent construction of a cell phone tower at
the Masonic Lodge on Fort Hunt Road. Cingular appealed the decision to the U. S. Court of Appeals for
the Fourth Circuit in Richmond last week.
The Virginia court decision, New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC, d/b/a AT&T Mobility v. Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors, concluded that the Board of Supervisors had reached a "reasonable decision" to
deny Cingular's land use application based on community opposition. Though the court added that the
Board's denial "did not amount to a blanket ban on wireless facilities" in Fort Hunt. The court created
no new law, but reiterated the requirements necessary for landowners to oppose certain commercial
structures.
Though more cell phone tower applications in Fairfax County have been accepted than rejected, the
case reaffirms the power of a vocal minority to put a stop to construction of telecommunications
infrastructure in their neighborhoods.
"The decision is a landmark as far as establishing the right of a residential community to effect the
placement of a cell phone tower. The court recognized the impact a tower has in residential
communities" said Supervisor Gerry Hyland in a statement.
But cell phone carriers say that the Court's ruling does not change the fact that as smart phone usage
grows, Fort Hunt will need more towers to meet the growing demand on broadband coverage.
"Simply put, the infrastructure has to be closer to where people live. Years ago most people didn't
care if they had poor wireless coverage at home because they used the phone to talk while on the
road or away from home," said Leonard Forkas, President of Milestone Communications based in
Reston, one of the leading local providers of wireless infrastructure.
"Today people want to be able to access these wireless devices at home for telephone, e-mail, text
messaging and web browsing."
In 2009 the Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended Cingular's proposal to construct an
88-foot monopole designed to look like a tree near Masonic Lodge to the Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors.
But local residents said that the proposed pole could depress local property values, and that the
facility was not in harmony with local zoning laws. At a Fairfax County Board hearing last February,
Supervisor Gerry Hyland submitted a petition from Fort Hunt residents opposing the facility. The
Board denied Cingular's request by a 6-2 vote. Cingular then filed the federal suit.
As smart phones provide an ever increasing range of options from video streaming and email
capabilities to text messaging and photo sharing, they will require more broadband coverage.
There are about 1200 base station locations in Fairfax County providing wireless
infrastructure. Milestone has constructed 20 towers in the county in the past five years.
Since 2004, Milestone has made most of its revenue by building and maintaining cell phone towers at
Northern Virginia public schools. The Fairfax County school system has received about $4 million since
1995 as a result.
The cell phone tower controversy could only intensify as more towers begin to sprout in residential
districts, where home owners claim it lowers their property values, negatively affects the aesthetics of
their area, and could be dangerous for their health.
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In Vienna, residents opposed two of five antennas planned in the Providence district—claiming the
antenna cluster could pose health threats. In September, Longfellow Middle School parents presented
their concerns about radiation regarding a proposed pole there. And a Flint Hill homeowner claims that
several months ago he lost a sale to a potential buyer after the later realized he property abutted an
approved tower at Madison High School.
To circumvent the aesthetic that now troubles some homeowners, some carriers are putting a special
emphasis on constructing towers that conform to the environment of the neighborhood. Trees and
flagpoles have been popular choices.
"The reality is, where these [poles] go up, people don't pay attention after a while," said James Michal,
Cingular's attorney. Like waters towers and other utility facilities, they eventually fade into the
background of citizens' psyches.
Last week in Springfield residents supported the construction of a 90-foot flagpole designed to cover
wireless antennas in their neighborhood. "There were several people there who spoke up about how
they would be glad to get better service in their homes," said Michal who has been involved in the
infrastructure business for more than 25 years. "The key is community sentiment. Some residents
complain about poor reception and welcome the poles."
The court noted in the Fairfax case that Cingular has at least five wireless facilities in Fairfax County—
including one on the Mount Vernon Estate, and another along Hunter Mill Road. T-Mobile has several
existing telecommunications sites in the general area of Cingular's proposed site.
"Look at this way," Michal said, "how many people would turn over their phones" if given the choice
between their hand-helds and new towers.
http://forthunt.patch.com/articles/court-supports-fort-hunt-residents-right-to-oppose-cell-phonetower
______________________________
Is Full Signal really a political propaganda film?
When making a controversial film like Full Signal, one that not only challenges one of the richest
industries in the world, but also challenges each and every one of us to make decisions based on
health rather than convenience and trends, you inevitably encounter resistance to the science in the
film.
Of course this is compounded by the fact that there is no absolutely conclusive evidence to tie all
wireless technologies with the array of illnesses with which they are associated. But there is absolutely
no conclusive evidence to say that it is completely safe either, a fact many people choose to ignore.
I am happy to say that the more screenings we have the more positive feedback we have, and for that
I thank you all. One example I would like to share with you all happened during my trip to Paris last
month. After the screening, a young lady came up to me and told me she was early for the film she
had originally intended watching. With temperature below freezing outside, she thought she would kill
some time by watching whatever was playing at that moment, which happened to be Full Signal. She
felt it was so informative that not only did she stay for the whole film (skipping the film she had
24 | P a g e
originally intended to see), but she left with a mission to tell her friends about the science she had just
learned about.
However, not all of our reviews have been positive. A person who goes by the handle “Biron” has been
attacking Full Signal and myself in various places on the web with comments like:
“the real purpose of this repugnant documentary is to vilify Israel”
“Anti-Israel Propaganda disguised as Junk Science”
“anti-science professionals blabbering unsubstantiated health hazards associated with cellular
towers.”
“This is the technology version of the blood libel”
My main concern here is not the attacks on my journalistic integrity (everyone has the right to their
own opinion), but rather that this is a blatant effort to discredit the science in this film by turning it
into an Israeli/Palestinian issue.
IF you have seen Full Signal and would like to respond to Biron’s comments or just add some of your
own, please visit (http://www.amazon.com/Full-Signal-Documentary-AmericasVersion/dp/B00427VBVO/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1) and click “Create Your Own Review” (Amazon requires
that you have purchased something from them in the past-regardless of what it is, in order to post a
review).
As always many thanks for your continued support.
Talal Jabari
______________________________
Schools study wireless networks Radio waves used
in internet connections are a cause for concern for
some parents
FRIDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2010 02:00 AMANDA STEPHENSON
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Amanda Stephenson
astephenson@medicinehatnew
s.com
Medicine Hat's Catholic School
Division has commissioned a
consultant to investigate
concerns over WiFi in schools.
The study was conducted last
month and involved measuring
radio frequency levels inside
and outside of the division's
schools, when wireless
networks were engaged and
when they were not.
"It also measured radio
frequency levels at McCoy in
the school when students were
out of class and turning on
their cell phones," said division
superintendent David Leahy.
McCoy High School students Samantha Frelick, front, and
Mackenzie Klassen use laptops to complete a class project
on Thursday. Medicine HatÕs Catholic School Division has
commissioned a consultant to investigate concerns over
WiFi in schools. -- NEWS PHOTO IAN SORENSEN
Leahy says the investigation was launched after two parents expressed concerns about possible
negative health impacts of WiFi in school.
Wi-Fi is a particular type of wireless local area network that uses radio frequency signals to allow users
to connect to the Internet.
The results of the report will be made public in January, when the report is presented to the school
board.
In August, the issue hit the news when a group of Ontario parents put pressure on the Simcoe County
District School Board to unplug Wi-Fi networks in its schools, saying they believed the radio frequency
signals were causing headaches and nausea in their children.
That school board did not give in to the parents' request, citing a lack of scientific evidence that
wireless networks pose a health risk.
Medicine Hat's School District No. 76 has also heard from a concerned parent on the topic as a result
of the Ontario debate.
"We did have a question about it, so we reviewed all the documents that Health Canada has
concerning WiFi networks and their safety," says superintendent Grant Henderson. "We did follow up
checking with our equipment manufacturers to make sure they met the standards set out by Health
Canada, and all our devices met that standard."
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Both the World Health Organization and Health Canada say that WiFi networks do not pose a health
risk, as radio frequency exposure levels from WiFi are far below recommended limits.
However, some scientists say that little is known about the potential effects of wireless radiation on
the bodies of children, which may be more susceptible because they are still developing.
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-news/schools-study-wireless-networks-radio-waves-used-ininternet-connections-are-a-cause-for-concern-for-some-parents-12172010.html
______________________________
Windham woman decries 'smart meter' installation
Posted: Thursday, December 16, 2010
Betty McLeod, who said suffers from electro- and chemical sensitivity, has installed a sign on her electricity meter near the
entrance to her Carriage Hill Drive home in Windham telling Central Maine Power smart meter installers to stay away. “Do
NOT install a smart meter,” the sign says. (Staff photo by John Balentine)
Posted: Thursday, December 16, 2010 2:41 pm
By John Balentine jbalentine@keepmecurrent.com
WINDHAM - As Central Maine Power begins installing its "smart meters" in Windham, resident Betty
McLeod doesn't think the introduction is such a smart idea, not when there are still unanswered
questions regarding the health effects of the devices.
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The company is in the process of installing the devices, which send information regarding power usage
over a wireless system, negating the need for manual meter readers, in more than 600,000
residences across the state.
The installation has drawn criticism from some residents and doctors who believe the frequency
emitted by the smart meters could be harmful. CMP maintains that the meters are safe, and the
frequency no more dangerous than that emitted by cellular or cordless phones. The matter is now
before the state Public Utilities Commission, which is reviewing a complaint from a group of
Scarborough residents.
Because she's worried about the health effects, McLeod, who said she became severely chemical- and
electro-sensitive after teaching in a mold-infested classroom at Lyseth Elementary School in Portland
in the early 1990s, won't let CMP install the smart meter on her home, although the rest of the homes
on Carriage Hill Drive in Windham Center had them put in last week.
McLeod said she has been dealing with health issues for a while. For several months starting in
October 1991, McLeod couldn't work. For several years afterward, she could only work part time due
to lack of energy and feeling sick. Then, she was moved to a new classroom in a different school that
had new carpeting affixed with glue. That was the final straw. She had to quit.
"I got so sick, I couldn't breathe deeply without coughing," McLeod said. "My throat feels like it's
closing up. My eyes get all red and my nose burns, I had serious fatigue, serious stomach issues, and
the cognitive issues started with the mold. All that stuff goes right to your brain. I'd be driving home
from school and I wasn't sure if red meant stop when I got to a stoplight. It was terrifying. So
obviously, I had to get the heck out there."
While that was more than 15 years ago, her symptoms continue to this day, especially when she's
around cell phones or wireless Internet. CMP's installation of smart meters, which are connected to
each other and CMP headquarters by a vast network of radio waves, has her worried to the point of
opting out of the program.
Opt out
According to CMP spokesman John Carroll, the company is allowing residents to opt out of the
installation, but only until the Maine Public Utilities Commission decides on whether CMP has the
authority to force customers like McLeod to install the meters. CMP has only recently capitulated in
this regard, and did so on the heels of public outrage from customers in South Portland and
Scarborough who protested the forced switchover.
"We've agreed we would not install for those customers who have health or privacy concerns pending
some decision by the commission," Carroll said earlier this week.
It's a welcome reaction by Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham, who has talked to McLeod about her
concerns.
28 | P a g e
"I think these questions need to be raised. It deserves public questioning and public answers,"
Diamond said. "If citizens have concerns, the entity should provide answers and a forum for those
questions and answers to be shared. It's no different from any other consumer concern."
Overreaction
Carroll believes the reaction by skeptics is blowing the meters' health effects out of proportion. He
cites government studies and a recent endorsement of smart meters by Dr. Dora Ann Mills, Maine's
top government health official, as evidence that health concerns are being hyped.
Carroll is referring to a November statement regarding smart meters issued by Mills, who is director of
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention: "Maine CDC's review did not indicate any consistent
or convincing evidence to support a concern for health effects related to the use of radiofrequency in
the range of frequencies and power used by smart meters. They also do not indicate an association of
EMF (electromagnetic frequency) exposure and symptoms that have been described as
electromagnetic sensitivity."
As caveats, in that same report, the Maine CDC admitted to using data prepared by government
organizations and that they have no expertise in the field of radio frequency's health effects.
"It should be noted, however, that our review is subject to several limitations related to the complaint
filed with PUC," the report stated. "First, our review focused primarily on assessments and studies
conducted by agencies we typically rely on for such work, such as government (U.S. and international
governments) or government affiliated institutions. We were unable to review the entire body of
literature on the subject of non-ionizing radiation and health because this would be a massive
undertaking for a small public health agency. We therefore are making the assumption that these
agency reviews have considered all credible published findings."
Carroll also sites other studies that compare the frequency emitting from a smart meter. He says
those studies conclude that the non-ionizing frequency from smart meters (as opposed to ionized
radiation which emits from a microwave oven or X-ray machine and are known causes of cell mutation)
are non-toxic to the body.
At 1 foot away from a smart meter, Carroll said, government studies have found the power of the
frequency is 7,000 times weaker than the federal safety standard. At 3 feet away, it's one-millionth
the safety standard.
Consumer benefits
Carroll said the Maine PUC has already spent three years reviewing CMP's plan to switch over to smart
meters, a $200 million program that is using $99 million in federal America's Recovery and
Reinvestment Act stimulus dollars. He said the U.S. Congress has issued its support of "smart grid
technology," saying it will lower consumption and costs associated with electricity.
"It will be an enormous financial benefit to consumers, and help to reduce peak loads and the
environmental impact associated with that," Carroll said.
29 | P a g e
Carroll explained that once the grid is in place, consumers will be able to log onto a website to find out
when electrical usage is lowest. He also said CMP would create new pricing structures which would
allow consumers to either opt for the standard offer, as is now the only choice for CMP consumers, or
a different pricing structure in which the cost of electricity would vary throughout the day.
Also, Carroll said smart meters would allow consumers to operate appliances remotely or to tell their
household appliances to shut down at certain times of the day, and to know when appliances are using
phantom power (the power a unit can consume when turned off but still plugged in).
While the health effects of smart meters are taking precedence currently, Carroll doesn't want the
public to lose sight of the big picture: that smart meters will revolutionize the delivery of electricity
and possibly cut peak power demands since consumers would know when CMP's load is nearing
maximum. And, he said, the system will only work properly if everyone is on board.
"This system works by meters talking to each other. If people opt out, it creates voids in the
communications system," Carroll said.
The other, dollars-and-cents-based issue is that CMP doesn't want to maintain two systems, one in
which meter readers must drive to all homes with old-style meters and another for customers
employing the new smart meters.
"This is supposed to be a cost-saving tool. We don't want one foot in the past and one foot in the
future. We want to be more efficient, not less," Carroll said.
Hoping for the best
Even if she isn't forced to install a smart meter, Betty McLeod is worried about the neighbors' smart
meters signals whizzing by and through her house. She's also worried that CMP would install a
repeater antenna near her home, which acts as a central clearinghouse for all neighborhood meters
and relays the information en masse to CMP's headquarters via a system of antennas.
"These smart meters are going to cause more problems, especially if you have a smart meter box
near your house so that all those signals are coming from all over the neighborhood," she said. "If
that happens, I might have to move. But where would I move? It's either you have electricity or you
don't. All I know is that this house has been my safe zone."
http://www.keepmecurrent.com/lakes_region_weekly/news/article_2c5601d0-094d-11e0-ab1e001cc4c002e0.html
______________________________
Ivey seeks ban on cell phone towers at schools
Contract with communication company expected to yield $2.5M over 5 years
Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010
by Daniel Valentine | Staff Writer
30 | P a g e
Citing fears from concerned parents over possible health risks, a Prince George's County delegate is
trying to block plans to allow cell phone towers to be placed at county schools.
The school board last year approved a policy allowing schools to place the cell phone towers on their
properties in exchange for annual fees from telecommunication companies.
"That's why we have to act now," said Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly, the bill's sponsor.
The new bill, which had a public hearing Dec. 9, would ban county education officials from allowing the
towers at school sites.
In Fairfax and Montgomery counties, companies pay between $23,000 and $30,000 per year for each
school that hosts a tower, as well as a share of revenues. According to Montgomery County officials,
the county made about $694,000 last fiscal year from cell phone towers.
Last month, Prince George's board members approved an agreement with Reston, Va.-based
Milestone Communication Management to handle placing towers at county schools, which could bring
in an estimated $2.5 million over a five-year period.
School Board Member Donna Hathaway Beck (D-Dist. 9) of Upper Marlboro said the board was looking
for ways to raise revenues for the school system and approved the new policy after two years of
review.
"We're needing money," she said. "It's not a lot. But wouldn't we want it on our property and collect
$24,000 a year in rent instead of 10 feet away?"
Ivey said she introduced the ban after county parents voiced concerns about possible health risks.
Though government agencies say cell phones and the towers that carry their signals are safe and do
not cause health issues, others worry that the new technology may have unforeseen harm, citing
studies that call for more research.
Two years ago, administrators at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda called off plans to place a
tower at the school after more than 200 parents objected, some citing health worries.
"Young children, with bodies and brains still developing, would be exposed to a possible increase in
cancer, as well as other effects that are currently unknown," Cheverly resident Kimberli Plummer
wrote in a letter to the delegation calling for the Prince George's bill. "Every day, we hear enough
about the issue to give us pause."
Jim Michal, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who has negotiated cell tower contracts for major carriers for
25 years, said the concerns are "unfounded."
31 | P a g e
"We have to explain this all the time. It's a natural reaction. Typically, the emissions that come from
these facilities are 500 times below the levels that are allowed," said Michal, who said the county
already hosts hundreds of towers, many near schools.
Because they have large tracts of land near homes, are owned by one group and do not require
construction of a new tower, schools make ideal locations for cell transmitters, said Michal, who said
the antennas are easy to place on athletic field lights and other structures.
"You pass by them every day and don't even notice," he said.
No one spoke against the bill at the public hearing at Prince George's Community College; however,
Hathaway Beck (D-Dist. 9) of Upper Marlboro said she was against a ban by lawmakers.
"Montgomery has been doing this for years," said Hathaway-Beck, who said the county school board
has not taken a position on Ivey's bill.
In Prince George's County, carriers have agreed to provide free broadband Internet access in addition
financial fees at schools with the towers.
Ivey said the financial awards should not outweigh possible risks.
"Even meager amounts may seem attractive during tough economic times, but at what cost?" she said.
County delegates are expected to vote on the bill when the General Assembly session begins next
month.
dvalentine@gazette.net
http://www.gazette.net/stories/12162010/prinnew181858_32537.php
______________________________
WIFI in the Classroom
Parents concerned about WIFI in the Classroom
CKNW 980 AM Radio Vancouver BC Canada Dec 16 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSpiFydzoY
Gotemf
______________________________
32 | P a g e
Inside TSA scanners: How terahertz waves tear
apart human DNA
by Terrence Aym
While the application of scientific knowledge creates technology, sometimes the technology is later
redefined by science. Such is the case with terahertz (THz) radiation, the energy waves that drive the
technology of the TSA: back scatter airport scanners.
Emerging THz technological applications
THz waves are found between microwaves and infrared on the electromagnetic spectrum. This type of
radiation was chosen for security devices because it can penetrate matter such as clothing, wood,
paper and other porous material that's non-conducting.
This type of radiation seems less threatening because it doesn't penetrate deeply into the body and is
believed to be harmless to both people and animals.
THz waves may have applications beyond security devices. Research has been done to determine the
feasibility of using the radiation to detect tumors underneath the skin and for analyzing the chemical
properties of various materials and compounds. The potential marketplace for THz driven technological
applications may generate many billions of dollars in revenue.
Because of the potential profits, intense research on THz waves and applications has mushroomed
over the last decade.
Health risks
The past several years the possible health risks from cumulative exposure to THz waves was mostly
dismissed. Experts pointed to THz photons and explained that they are not strong enough to ionize
atoms or molecules; nor are they able to break the chains of chemical bonds. They assert—and it is
true—that while higher energy photons like ultraviolet rays and X-rays are harmful, the lower energy
ones like terahertz waves are basically harmless. [Softpedia.com]
While that is true, there are other biophysics at work. Some studies have shown that THZ can cause
great genetic harm, while other similar studies have shown no such evidence of deleterious affects.
Boian Alexandrov at the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico recently
33 | P a g e
published an abstract with colleagues, "DNA Breathing Dynamics in the Presence of a Terahertz Field" that reveals
very disturbing—even shocking—evidence that the THz waves generated by TSA scanners is
significantly damaging the DNA of the people being directed through the machines, and the TSA
workers that are in close proximity to the scanners throughout their workday.
From the abstracts own synopsis:
"We consider the influence of a terahertz field on the breathing dynamics of double-stranded DNA. We
model the spontaneous formation of spatially localized openings of a damped and driven DNA chain,
and find that linear instabilities lead to dynamic dimerization, while true local strand separations
require a threshold amplitude mechanism. Based on our results we argue that a specific terahertz
radiation exposure may significantly affect the natural dynamics of DNA, and thereby influence
intricate molecular processes involved in gene expression and DNA replication."
In layman's terms what Alexandrov and his team discovered is that the resonant effects of the THz
waves bombarding humans unzips the double-stranded DNA molecule. This ripping apart of the
twisted chain of DNA creates bubbles between the genes that can interfere with the processes of life
itself: normal DNA replication and critical gene expression.
In layman's terms what Alexandrov and his team discovered is that the resonant effects of the THz
waves bombarding humans unzips the double-stranded DNA molecule. This ripping apart of the
twisted chain of DNA creates bubbles between the genes that can interfere with the processes of life
itself: normal DNA replication and critical gene expression.
Other studies have not discovered this deadly effect on the DNA because the research only
investigated ordinary resonant effects.
Nonlinear resonance, however, is capable of such damage and this sheds light on the genotoxic effects
inherent in the utilization of THz waves upon living tissue. The team emphasizes in their abstract that
the effects are probabilistic rather than deterministic.
Unfortunately, DNA damage is not limited only to THz wave exposure. Other research has been done
that reveals lower frequency microwaves used by cell phones and Wi-Fi cause some harm to DNA over
time as well. ["Single- and double-strand DNA breaks in rat brain cells after acute exposure to radiofrequency
electromagnetic radiation."]
http://www.helium.com/items/2037343-tsa-terahertz-scanners-tear-apart-human-dna
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______________________________
Next News Dossier ERDF: Le Compteur Mouchard
Linky - Smart Meter
- Toutes les Next-up News / All Next-up News: www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/2010.php
http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/2010.php#1
______________________________
Sam Milham: An Appreciation
35 | P a g e
Sam Milham, the noted epidemiologist, recently published a short autobiography under the title "Dirty
Electricity."
We use the occasion to celebrate Sam's contributions to public health that span half a century and
investigate why
his ideas have not gained wider acceptance. We encourage you to read "Sam Milham: An
Appreciation" at:
http://www.microwavenews.com/milham.html
Best,
Louis Slesin
Louis Slesin, PhD
Editor, Microwave News
A Report on Non-Ionizing Radiation
Phone: +1 (212) 517-2800; Fax: +1 (212) 734-0316
E-mail: <mwn@pobox.com>
Internet: <http://www.microwavenews.com>
Mail: 155 East 77th Street, Suite 3D
New York, NY 10075, U.S.A.
______________________________
Monsanto Is a Climate Criminal!
Monsanto's model of industrial food production is destroying the planet with waste and pollution that's
poisoning the water, depleting the soil and making weather unpredictable. If we continue on this path,
food production will become impossible, but we can turn things around by going organic.
To learn more, please read Organic Consumers Association director Ronnie Cummins' Huffington Post
blog:
The Road Ahead: Steps Toward a Global Uprising
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-cummins/the-road-ahead-steps-towa_b_795745.html
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______________________________
BUSTED: This Popular "Independent" Health
Website is Deceiving You
Posted By Dr. Mercola | December 14 2010 | 177,771 views
In a shocking report published earlier this year, BNET exposed how WebMD's online test for
depression is rigged for profit:
"Feeling depressed? Cheer yourself up by taking WebMD's comical new depression test.
It's sponsored by Eli Lilly (LLY) — maker of the antidepressant Cymbalta – so they must know what
they're talking about, right?
In fact, no matter which of the 10 answers you choose on the test, the result comes out the same:
You may be at risk for major depression."
But that's just the beginning. A number of questions about just how 'independent' a source WebMD is
have since surfaced, and the answers are not what you'd expect.
Sources:
BNET February 22, 2010
BNET February 26, 2010
Policy and Medicine February 24, 2010
Boston.com March 2, 2010
37 | P a g e
Dr. Mercola's
Comments:
This entire story reminds me of the old adage, "with friends like that, who needs enemies?"
If you didn't already know this, WebMD is the second most visited health web site on the entire web.
The general belief is that it's a first-rate, trustworthy source of "independent and objective"
information about health.
In fact, the only health site more popular than WebMD is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). You
also might not realize that earlier this year Mercola.com, moved up to the third most visited health
site on the internet. Mercola.com has been the most visited natural health site in the world for the last
five years. You can see a complete listing of the top 20 most visited health and natural health sites
38 | P a g e
below.
But as far as being geared for the average person, WebMD is clearly the number one source of health
information for a large number of people, which makes the following information all the more
disturbing.
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If You Weren't Depressed Before, WebMD's Test Guarantees You Will Be
Chances are you've seen WebMD's ad on TV recommending you take their free online depression
screening test.
But did you know the test was rigged so that no matter how you responded, the answer was always
the same: You may be at risk for major depression, and it would probably do you well to discuss
it with your doctor…
As it turns out, the test is sponsored by drug giant Eli Lilly, the maker of Cymbalta, and apparently
there's no room for mentally healthy individuals in this scheme.
This is a sad commentary on the current disease paradigm we live in…
Although the test states that it's sponsored by Eli Lilly, how many people would automatically assume
that this publicized test, offered on one of the most visited health sites on the web, would give them an
entirely false result, perhaps designed to push even the most well-balanced individual into considering
taking an antidepressant?
I'm willing to bet quite a few people have taken WebMD's test, and based on the result started
thinking that perhaps they're a candidate for a 'happy pill' after all…
Senator Charles Grassley believed this was a very real possibility, and demanded the link between WebMD
and Eli Lilly be investigated. As a result, minor changes to the test were implemented. However, the WebMD
depression screening test still offers NO objective information whatsoever. Writing for BNET, Jim
Edwards posted the following update:
"WebMD has changed its Eli Lilly-sponsored depression test so that not every answer results in a
diagnosis of potential major depression. BNET noted on Feb. 22 that if you checked the "no" box to all
10 symptoms in the online quiz, the results page said, "You may be at risk for major depression," and urged
users to call a doctor "right away" if they were feeling suicidal.
Now, the result for someone indicating no symptoms of depression says:
Lower Risk
You replied that you are feeling four or fewer of the common symptoms of depression. In general,
people experiencing depression have five or more common symptoms of the condition. But every
individual is unique. If you are concerned about depression, talk with your doctor.
While "lower risk" is certainly an improvement for someone indicating no symptoms of depression,
WebMD is still gilding the Lilly."
I agree. This "screening" test is just a cleverly disguised form of direct-to-consumer marketing.
Selling, or Selling Out?
Sure, WebMD needs to make money just like any other major web site, including mine. They don't sell
products, so therefore they rely on advertising.
40 | P a g e
In reality WebMD is a marvelous example of the brilliant marketing the drug companies are doing.
They seek to provide you with the illusion of an independent objective third party that just so happens
to confirm their solution is the best choice for your health issues.
But when you draw back the curtains you will find it is the drug companies themselves that are
crafting the message and not an independent entity.
They invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year on WebMD alone, in my opinion to distort reality
so they can convince you that it's perfectly rational to choose their expensive and, in my
opinion, sometimes toxic solutions for your health care challenges.
I've chosen the opposite path – selling a limited number of well-researched and independently tested
products that I personally believe in, in order to remain independent and unbiased; free from the
spoken or unspoken demands of advertisers.
However, WebMD does not appear to be particularly objective in the types of advertisers they allow on
their site. Prescription drugs for every imaginable problem are listed on virtually every page. Along
with plenty of processed foods and snacks.
The revenue generated from this advertising is considerable.
According to a recent WebMD press release, the revenue from advertising and sponsorship for the months
of July through September, 2010, topped $113 million, up from $89 million for the same quarter last
year.
Beware of Subliminal Sales Tactics!
OpEdNews.com also points out the site's habit of offering unmarked product placement to various
pharmaceutical companies, which is an insidious, sneaky, subliminal sales tactic:
"Lilly is not the only pharma company receiving unmarked product placement on WebMD," Martha
Rosenberg writes for OpEdNews.
"Last summer, a video featured a woman patient confessing she was fearful of life while a voice-over
said she needed treatment for "general anxiety disorder" and the camera showed bottles of Forest
Pharmaceuticals' antidepressant Lexapro moving down the manufacturer's assembly line.
Get it? No disclaimer on the video or "sponsored content" appeared.
Another unsponsored WebMD video last summer urged people on antidepressants to remain on their
therapy "despite side effects" and a third suggested women concerned about cancer, heart attack and
stroke risks of postmenopausal hormone therapy should continue their treatment at lowered doses.
'Hang in there, valued customers'..."
The Subsidiaries of WebMD
Furthermore, their partnerships and subsidiaries suggest that WebMD is anything but an independent
consumer website offering accurate and independent health advice. (WebMD owns four of the top ten
most visited health sites on the web, further extending Big Pharma's influence.)
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The WebMD Health empire includes the following subsidiaries:

Drugs.com

Medscape

MedicineNet

eMedicine / eMedicine Health

RxList

theHeart.org
According to Rosenberg, drug giant Eli Lilly was actually one of WebMD's original partners and investors,
along with:

Microsoft

DuPont

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (including his Fox TV networks)

Silicon Graphics

Netscape founder Jim Clark

EDS (computer services company founded by H. Ross Perot)
Just how independent and objective can you be in your health recommendations when one of your
investors is a major drug company?
WebMD and most, if not all, of its subsidiaries claim to be "independent." For example, drugs.com has
the following statement at the bottom of every web page:
"Drugs.com provides free, accurate and independent advice on more than 24,000 prescription drugs,
over-the-counter medicines & natural products."
And yet drugs.com is owned by WebMD, which has close ties to Big Pharma, and recommends drugs
for their advertisers and pharmaceutical partners…
WebMD is Partnered with the US FDA – What Does that Mean for Impartial Health Advice?
Even more interesting: The first-ever partnership between the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
and a private company is with, you guessed it, WebMD!
The two partnered up two years ago.
Why?
Well, according to WebMD's own announcement:
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"The partnership will enhance the FDA's ability to get crucial information to the American public, FDA
Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, said in a news conference.
… "WebMD has been a leader with regard to innovation in the use of the web as a form of
communication and service to the public," von Eschenbach said.
"What we will do by virtue of this partnership ... is to really be able to present online ... content
material we at FDA feel is extremely important for consumers to be aware of as they are making
critically important decisions for themselves and for their families about their health and the products
that they use to ensure their health."
This completes the circle of full-on conflicts of interest.
Never-mind the fact that there might be any number of inexpensive, safe alternatives out there for
each and every ailment WebMD presents, what you will learn is what the FDA has approved for your
condition. And by default, you will be kept in the dark about the strategies that can make a real and
lasting difference, courtesy of WebMD's financial ties to the drug- and processed food industries.
WebMD and its subsidiary sites are disguised as "independent consumer sites," when in truth they're
paid by the pharmaceutical industry and exclusively and uniquely partnered with the FDA.
These sites contain mainly Big Pharma and advertising, they recommend specific drugs created by
their advertisers, and offer questionnaires and medical screening tests created by pharmaceutical
companies to create a false "need" for those drugs…
How can this type of government/big industry conflict of interest lead to "independent and objective"
reporting and advice?
And how can this create fair competition?
Personally, I think it's a pretty deceitful practice to snooker consumers into taking expensive
pharmaceutical drugs for every possible ailment!
According to Boston.com:
"A WebMD spokeswoman… [said] the company believes "our internal process ensures our editorial
independence in our programs."
Sure. That process worked so well when devising that depression screening test, which was apparently
so good they also spent big money to promote it on TV…
Good for Eli Lilly and their antidepressant Cymbalta, that is. Not for you, the health-conscious
consumer. All you got was a sly marketing shtick for the time you invested in answering those
questions.
However, that spokeswoman's statement brings up yet another point to remember when you're
browsing through the content on WebMD, and that is paying close attention to WHO authored the
message.
43 | P a g e
Financial Backers Include Not Just Drug Companies, but Processed Food Industry Too
In various areas you'll find a small link that says: "From our sponsor." If you click on that link, it will
tell you that:
"Content under this heading is from or created on behalf of the named sponsor. This content is not
subject to the WebMD Editorial Policy and is not reviewed by the WebMD Editorial department for
accuracy, objectivity or balance."
The heading I'm looking at right now, at the time of this writing, is for "snacking smarter without the
guilt." So… whatever the sponsor wants to say about "healthful snacking," that's the message you'll
get. Obviously.
In this particular case, the sponsor wants you to know that baked potato chips are indeed healthier for
you than regular potato chips. Isn't that great news!
The sponsor of this message is General Mills' Fiber One cereal – a breakfast cereal that, aside from
being loaded with grain carbohydrates, also contains added sugar, corn syrup, brown sugar, AND
sucralose.
Folks, in my opinion, this is about the worst breakfast you could possibly eat, unless you're hell-bent
on developing diabetes. And don't get me started on the potato chips…
Again, WebMD is the second most visited health site on the web and if you add in all their other sites,
collectively they are easily number one in the world. They attract tens of millions of readers every day
looking for accurate and dependable health advice, but what advice can be trusted?
More Conflict of Interest: Medscape's Continuing Medical Education Courses
But the pharmaceutical industry doesn't just target you, they also target your doctor.
Medscape, which is one of WebMD's subsidiaries, administers highly lucrative continuing medical
education courses (CME's), which doctors must complete to retain their state licenses. And these
courses are, of course, ALSO sponsored by drug companies.
Medical students may have attempted to quench Big Pharma's influence over their medical education, but
pharmaceutical companies could easily be considered the number one educators of doctors, in and out
of school. Their influence is so significant, broad in scope, persistent, and oftentimes 'hidden' from
clear view that many physicians don't even realize where the information is coming from.
And even when they do realize the source, they still oftentimes believe they're getting accurate and
truthful information.
Final Thoughts
The WebMD matrix is a maddening, vicious circle of conflicts of interest that creates all manner of
deceit and deception. But these shenanigans are still easy to identify and avoid.
Just Follow the Money.
44 | P a g e
It is an easy trap to fall in. Over 50 years ago JI Rodale founded Prevention Magazine and it was one
of the top ten most read magazines in the country. Rodale was a leader in promoting natural medicine,
a true pioneer and defender of health truth.
Unfortunately he made the typical mistake of leaving the business to his children. I learned from
someone who was their health editor at one time, that his children actually shifted the ads from
natural medicine to drugs and processed foods because they could earn substantially more profit.
Had JI Rodale left his business to a foundation, natural medicine would be much further ahead today.
Instead Prevention Magazine is now just another mouthpiece for the drug and food industry and
virtually everyone who understands natural medicine ignores it.
Similarly, with WebMD in my opinion, if you follow the money behind much of its advice (and definitely
all of its subliminal marketing messages), it leads right back to the coffers of the processed food
industry and the pharmaceutical cartel, which also, incidentally, pays WebMD's government partner,
the FDA, to hurry up and approve their poorly tested drugs – so they can advertise them on WebMD,
and so on and so forth.
I'm sure by now you can follow the dots and can draw your own circular maps with arrows marking
the many conflicts of interest that exist between this unholy alliance of so-called independent health
advisors, pharmaceutical companies, processed food companies, and the regulatory agency, the FDA.
Remember, You Can Take Control of Your Health
Folks, it's time take control of your health, and that includes being able to discern real health advice
from shadow marketing machines and propaganda that serves no one but the very industries
responsible for much of the ill health in the first place.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/14/webmd-not-the-independent-healthsource-you-expected.aspx
______________________________
San Rafael group protests PG&E SmartMeters
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- A group of women gathered at a PG&E office in San Rafael on Tuesday to
protest the utility's installation of SmartMeters in Marin County.
The women, part of the group West Marin Citizens Against Wireless SmartMeters, shut down a PG&E
billing center at 750 Lindaro St. for a couple of hours on Tuesday, said Katharina Sandizell, a codirector of the group.
PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said some protesters "entered the lobby area, and made it a challenge for
us to properly serve our customers."
"In order to maintain our customers privacy, we temporarily suspended operations to make sure we
could pay proper focus to our customers," he said.
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Dozens of people attended a Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting earlier Tuesday to ask the
board to pass a moratorium on installing the meters, which collect information on electricity and
natural gas usage from homes and businesses and transmit the data remotely to a wireless
communication network.
SmartMeter opponents claim the system emits potentially dangerous electromagnetic radiation,
invades privacy by collecting details about people's private lives, such as when they wake up or go on
vacation, and has had inaccurate meter readings.
After Tuesday's board meeting, about 20 women gathered around noon at the billing center to "ask for
basic information that PG&E has still yet to give us," Sandizell said.
She said the group believes the emissions from the SmartMeters exceed Federal Communications
Commission standards, and is asking PG&E to provide FCC compliance papers and data to show that
the meters are safe.
No one was arrested in connection with the protest, which Sandizell hopes will spur some action by
the Board of Supervisors.
She pointed out that some local governments have called for SmartMeter moratoriums, and said it is
time for Marin County to do the same.
"Until now, the Board of Supervisors said they don't have jurisdiction, but they have to take the
power," Sandizell said. "Our local government needs to take more of a leadership stance when people
feel their health may be impacted."
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/north_bay&id=7845553
______________________________
Wi Fi Concerns in British Columbia Schools
Subject: Maple Ridge News - Children pulled from Maple Ridge school over Wi-Fi concerns
I am the 'other parent' mentioned in your article (Children pulled from Maple Ridge school over Wi-Fi
concerns) who removed their daughter from xxxxxx Elementary. While I understand that, as a
newspaper, you must be seen as neutral, I feel your article supported Health Canada's standards and
mentioned nothing of the many, many studies contravening them. Nor did you mention the growing
number of countries that are banning wireless communication technology in schools and public
buildings because the mounting evidence is so disturbing.
For the record, Health Canada has deemed many things 'safe' over the years - Thalidomide, asbestos,
tainted blood, PCBs and DDT, to name just a few. Our government is woefully inadequate when it
comes to putting the safety of our population before the profits of corporations, and the fact that it is
our children who are most at risk in this instance is what I find so offensive.
We removed our daughter from xxxxx because the Wi-Fi routers they are using in most schools are
fundamentally commercial grade and extremely powerful, and the words 'acceptable levels of
radiation' are not ones I wish to hear in conjunction with my daughter's health and safety. I cannot
imagine a parent who wouldn't be bothered by such a description of a school environment, but
46 | P a g e
apparently there are plenty. In fact, most did not bother to attend the meeting we had at the school
to address this. It was well advertised and our concerns made very clear in the flier we handed out.
But what I have come to realize is that most people want to chat on their cell phones and
complacently play X-Box rather than consider the idea that not all technology is positive. To quote
Arthur Firstenburg of the Cellular Phone Task Force; 'Memory of life before cell phones is strangely
fading. In that world, one child in a hundred had ADHD, not one in six as today. Strokes and heart
attacks in twenty and thirty year olds were almost unheard of. Sleep disorders never occurred in
children, and were not common in adults. Colony collapse disorder in honeybees did not exist.'
In response to my concerns over this issue, a parent said to me ' Oh, this stuff is everywhere.' And
that is correct, it is everywhere, and it could be life threatening, and one would think that the sensible
thing to do is err on the side of caution rather than subject our children to something that could end
up killing them. But the majority of parents consider it 'acceptable risk' and continue to send their
children into an environment where they are constantly bombarded with something that many
scientists and people far more learned than I consider incredibly dangerous.
They trust the school board and Health Canada and the World Health Organization, all of which have
been proven wrong before.
When concerns over BPAs rose, our government - miraculously - chose to pull products containing
them off the shelves, although the science was not yet conclusive, because it was more prudent to do
so, rather than risk a health epidemic. Why is this any different? Could it possibly be the extremely
powerful telecommunications companies? Why is it that studies funded by them all conclude that this
is safe technology, but all the independent studies say just the opposite? Dr. Henry Lai, of the
Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, has stated that, on average, 25% of
industry funded studies show biological effects below the heating threshold, whereas 75% of nonindustry funded studies find biological effects below the heating threshold. So, not only is there
complacency among the masses, but there is also dissembling from those funding and reaping the
financial rewards from this technology. A perfect recipe for disaster.
We need to take this issue seriously right now. It is unlikely that we will get any second chances.
Unfortunately, I think it is going to take a generation of children who spend less time in school and
more in the oncology ward of their local hospital to wake people up, and by then it will probably be too
late.
regards,
xxxxxxxxx
Maple Ridge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
47 | P a g e
Dear xxxxxx (school administration)
Thank you for meeting with us, the xxxxxx Parent Action Group, acting on behalf of our children with
concern to the adverse health effects from Wi-Fi microwave radiation in schools.
To facilitate our meeting, we are providing a summary of some of the pertinent points we wish School
District 42 to consider.
1. Wireless routers emit microwave radiation constantly. They therefore resemble cell phone towers
more than cell phones, because cell phones only power up when a call is made or received. There are
rules about how many metres a cell tower has to be from a school, because of health concerns for
children. Unfortunately, by placing 6 wireless routers into the Laity View School Building, you have for
all intents and purposes put 6 mini cell phone towers in close proximity to children.
2. Across Canada, children becoming sick at school are all suffering from the same group of symptoms.
This cannot be coincidence. The parents of these children have ruled out other causes such as vision
problems, as well as pursued the matter with pediatricians and specialists only to be told that there is
no explanation for their children’s headaches, dizziness, nausea, muscle aches, skin rashes,
palpitations and anxiety.
3. No studies have been done to date specifically examining health concerns to children, nor have any
studies been done examining low-level, long-term microwave radiation exposure. Children are not
mini adults. They are physically more susceptible to microwave radiation than adults due to a thinner
skull and other physiological considerations. Safety standards based on adults cannot be extrapolated
onto children.
4. Health Canada cannot be relied on. The recent report from the Standing Committee on Health,
released at the beginning of December, recommends the Canadian Government provide funding for
safety studies (something it has not up till now done even in light of public concerns). The report also
recommends that an independent academic society review all studies to do with microwave radiation
because there is uncertainty about Health Canada’s objectivity. The present health standards are
based solely on thermal effects of radiation (Safety Code 6) despite the significant body of research
confirming non-thermal biological effects of this type of radiation, such as DNA damage, leaking of the
blood brain barrier and increased brain tumours.
5. Scientists are divided on this issue. There is general consensus on biological effects resulting from
non-thermal microwave radiation. What is disagreed upon is whether these effects cause harm. How
are we as parents supposed to sift through all this information to make decisions for our children? The
World Health Organization recommends that in situations such
as this, the Precautionary Principle be adopted. The Precautionary Principle is a risk management
policy applied in circumstances with a high degree of scientific uncertainty, reflecting the need to take
action for a potentially serious risk without awaiting the results of scientific research. Several countries
such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, as well as Israel have already implemented this
principle and dramatically reduced the exposure of their children to wi-fi. What is taking so long in
Canada? It is unacceptable to maintain the use of this technology for the sake of convenience if there
48 | P a g e
is the least chance that children’s health is at risk. It is urgent that the Precautionary Principle be
enacted to protect children within school walls.
6. It is unlikely that School Boards and their employees were aware that by exposing children to
wireless technology in schools, they had placed those children into a biological experiment without
informed consent from their parents. In 1999, the Royal Society Report to Health Canada confirmed
that the long term effects of non-thermal microwave radiation were unknown. They suggested that
the exposed population be observed over a number of years to document health effects. This is the
definition of human biological experimentation. There are strict Canadian and international rules
concerning human experimentation, especially with regards to informed consent on behalf of children.
By disregarding the need for informed consent in this matter, the school board is contravening the
Nuremberg Code, the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving
Humans, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the United Nations Declaration of the
Rights of the Child.
In consideration of the points listed above, it would be prudent for SD42 to act in accordance with the
Precautionary Principle and hard-wire all schools in the district until there is conclusive proof that
wireless technology is safe for children. At the very least, one school building in the district needs to
be hard-wired only so that wi-fi sensitive children and children whose parents do not consent to
exposing them to technology with no long term safety record, have a public school option for their
children.
Signed,
xxxxxx
(submitted by Una)
______________________________
HOW THOSE GIZMO GIFTS COULD WARP YOUR
CHILD’S MIND
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Prof Greenfield says computers are affecting the brains of a whole new generation.
Sunday December 5,2010
By Julia Hartly-Brewer
WITH Christmas just 20 days away, the pressure is on parents to buy their children expensive gadgets.
However, leading neuroscientist Professor Susan Greenfield tells JULIA HARTLEY-BREWER that
cravings for computers could have terrible consequences.
In Yuletides past, Monopoly, Barbie dolls and footballs might have dominated the Christmas wish lists
for Britain’s youngsters. Now such electronic gadgets as Xbox, PS3 and Wii are at the top of Santa’s
sack. While parents are understandably eager to give their children what they want on Christmas Day,
they should heed a stark warning from one of the country’s leading scientists that a child’s perfect
gift may in fact be doing them more harm than good.
Professor Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist at Oxford University, has warned that parents may not
be aware of how playing computer games can change the way their children’s brains work. Prof.
Greenfield has provoked an outcry for her belief that computer technology is creating children whose
brains are being rewired, leaving them unable to think for themselves. As she is a specialist in brain
degeneration parents might do well to heed her fears before they trudge to the high street to buy the
latest technological trinket.
“Whatever you give your child, the one thing that can be guaranteed is that it will modify their brain
because that’s what the environment does,” Prof. Greenfield says. “Every moment the child is alive
its brain is being modified by the experience it is having in the world.”
So what effect does she believe electronic gadgets have on children’s brains? “The technology is
neutral,” she says. “It’s not intrinsically good or bad. It depends on how we use it and how long we
use it. I’m not condemning parents because I can understand the pressures they are under and how
tempting these things are.”Top of Form
section
10
Many parents believe computer games stimulate the brain and teach their children to have fast
reaction times but Prof. Greenfield insists this is not necessarily a good thing.
“People also confuse information with knowledge but just because you can process information
quickly and efficiently that doesn’t mean you are understanding it,” she says. “The kinds of skills you
end up being good at are evaluating complex situations and responding quickly and efficiently, rather
like when you’re driving. When you’re driving, you’re not really understanding or thinking deeply. A
‘no entry’ sign is just a ‘no entry’ sign, it’s not going to give you a new inspirational insight into life.
“If you do that too much and you don’t do anything else, in a sense you’re turning yourself into an
information-processing device while what you really want to do is to understand. When you
understand, then you have knowledge.”
Prof. Greenfield is adamant she is not against computer games as such, rather the amount of time
children spend playing them at the expense of reading, socialising or playing sport: “It’s not that I am
an ossified Luddite, it’s that we are looking at a very different type of person because the
environment has changed so much, with children spending six hours a day or more in twodimensional space.
50 | P a g e
Although people often say to me that TV had critics when it started, and so did the printing press,
nothing is as pervasive and invasive as the current digital technologies in terms of how they have
become a culture in and of themselves and the amount of time people spend in them.
“In the old days people didn’t spend all their waking hours in front of the television. Anyway you
would have the whole family sitting around interacting and discussing it. Now people interact with the
machines.”
The problem, then, is how two-dimensional fantasy has taken over from reality for many children.
“When you play a computer game and you kill someone, they jump up again. In real life you can
compensate for things and apologise for things but you can never undo things.
“While people of an older generation know what the difference is between what’s a game and what’s
real, I wonder whether for these very impressionable young brains, who have a much greater
exposure to that other world, it is unfair to expect them to make the same distinction.”
Many parents will share Prof. Greenfield’s concerns about violent computer games but what about
fantasy games containing weird and wonderful characters? Surely such games are about feeding
children’s imaginations?
“World of Warcraft will have supernatural beings but you’re not actually using your imagination.
There’s a difference between fantasy and phantasmagorical creatures,” she says. “What it won’t have
is the wonderful ability that you have when you read a book to conjure something up that is so real
that you feel let down when you see the film of it.”
Prof. Greenfield has polarised the scientific community with her theories about the dangers posed by
cyberspace but is confident that the evidence will bear out her beliefs. “When I get people saying that
there’s no evidence and therefore I’m wrong, I say: ‘absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.’ ”
So, if she had children and they presented her with a Christmas list electronic gadgets, what would
she do? “I’d say: ‘Why do you want that, what does it do for you?’ Then I’d try to think of ways of
giving them whatever it was they got out of it. We need to find an alternative in real life that is
fulfilling.”
Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/215514/How-those-gizmo-gifts-could-warp-your-child-s-mindHow-thosegizmo-gifts-could-warp-your-child-s-mind#ixzz18MIMPcg7
______________________________
Essay about EMR
I'm delighted to announce that the EMR Policy Institute now posts my
essay, a primer about electromagnetic radiation. Please distribute it as
you deem fit. http://www.emrpolicy.org/files/singer_14dec2010_11pt.pdf
Sincerely, Katie Singer
51 | P a g e
______________________________
Increases in Cancer Rates Near Radar Facilities in
Taiwan
気象レーダーが災いを招く？
住民、癌増加 1.7 倍
氣象站雷達惹禍？居民：癌症增加 1.7 倍
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZmZQg4Dgk&translated=1
2010-12-10
気象レーダーを撤去せよ、と七股郷の村民が陳情
要氣象局撤雷達 七股鹽埕村民陳情
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9nmldyXGrs&NR=1
孫が３人とも知的障害者になったのはレーダーの影響だ、と障害者証明書？を３枚見せて訴えられる女性。
過去に紹介した動画、全部まとめて貼り付けておきます。
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSFAJoEwrxY
設置 5 年にして、
死亡率 1.2 倍
発がん率 1.7 倍
白血病率 3.6 倍
癌発生 map 写真とニュース
http://www.coolloud.org.tw/node/29019
台湾放射線防止協会などの環境保護団体の公表によれば台南県七股郷の気象レーダーや龍山村の基地局設置後に、隣
接する地域住民にガンが増加した。保健省国民保健局と中央気象局との出資による大規模な「南七股郷鹽?村周辺の
住民に対する疫学調査」の委託が進められた。昨年、学者による「氣象レーダー電磁波の曝露に因る健康影響」の論
文が海外の学術定期刊行誌「Epidemiology（疫学）に掲載されたが政府の卻氏がその論文を隠蔽した。
保健局の説明は、その委託計画の執行期間に住民の(調査)協力が得られず、同意を得るための訪問しか出来なかった
ので、研究者は戸外で調査するしかすべが無かった。なのでガンを記入した初歩的な分析記録が僅だけ保管されてい
るだけだ。疑惑は研究の仮説をともなうが、研究は推進するすべがなく、完全な報告が無かったので計画に終始符を
打たざるを得なかった。
それ以外に、ガン登録者の住所の申請が不完全で有り、相関資料によれば鹽?村のガン死亡率は台湾の平均値と比べ
て統計上の顕著な意味は無い。保健局は、先に提供した一部分のガン発症人数の資料等を示したが、88 水害資料の
隠匿や保健局提供資料でもガンの登録資料に制限があり、何としてでも研究内容を隠匿したいということだ。
ニュースソース
http://udn.com/NEWS/LIFE/BREAKINGNEWS9/5884402.shtml
http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/5883112.shtml
検索してみました。
政府が隠蔽したという研究はこれ？
Epidemiology:
52 | P a g e
November 2009 - Volume 20 - Issue 6 - p S207
doi: 10.1097/01.ede.0000362694.21587.60
Adverse Health Effect of Radiofrequency Exposures from Weather Radar System
http://journals.lww.com/epidem/Citation/2009/11001/Adverse_Health_Effect_of_Radiofrequency_Exposures.617.aspx
過去の陳情のビデオ（2007 年）
台湾の台南県七股郷の百数名の村で、WiMAX（公衆無線 LAN）の周波数に近い、2836MHz の気象レーダーの電磁
波による、難聴や癌、障害児、そしてたくさんの村人たちが病気で死亡、などの健康被害を訴え、行政院と立法院に
陳情を行ったというビデオ。（なぜ WiMAX がでてくるかというと、過去に住民たちは公衆無線 LAN 基地局の設置
反対の座り込みも行ったようです）
レーダーから 100ｍ内の精神遅滞児 3 名、癌が台湾平均の 5 倍、聴力障害が十数名、身体障害者は台湾平均の 3 倍、
と書いてある模様。
20071123 七股雷達站附近居民北上 Part1 行政院陳情
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4WLtL6X5Xw
20071207 七股雷達站附近居民立院記者會
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lh699wqlVg
台湾：台南 WiMAX(公衆無線 LAN）に近い周波数の電磁波による健康被害を訴え国に陳情：動画
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10633197846.html
台湾：レーダー基地局の電磁波による近隣住民の発ガン増加を国が隠蔽したとしてこれまた大騒ぎ
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10667905762.html
台湾関連ニュースまとめ。
台湾：電磁波はもう、国家的な問題に
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10715790120.html
台湾：電磁波 833mG まで安全主張も国の施設は 1mG 規則。怒りの住民がデモ
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10712327947.html
台湾で変電所の電磁波の危険性にまたまた大規模抗議デモ&家の前の変電箱・一家三人癌で移設へ
動画
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10701854089.html
台湾：電線の電磁波による健康被害陳情・政府は 833mG まで安全主張も政府施設は 5mG 以下に遮蔽
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10688999445.html
台湾：また携帯基地局周辺で癌増加の報道
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10675597626.html
台湾：不当な基地局で脱毛、めまい
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10674610478.html
マンションやデパート等の”分電盤室（変電設備）の上下左右の部屋の電磁波は？台湾では大問題に
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10642689849.html
台湾：携帯基地局周辺で 2 年間で 40 人の癌患者、抗議デモニュース
youtube その４
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10629873121.html
台湾
8月8日
日本の「みの」的健康番組で電磁波と健康を守る特集
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10616434099.html
53 | P a g e
台湾では電磁波問題が国民的な問題に：大規模抗議デモ youtube：No.3
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10596554367.html
台湾では電磁波が大問題に：電柱付属のバケツで癌疑い？TV 報道&コードレスや無線にも注意
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10586002845.html
台湾国会立法委”たばこ同様警告表示を”
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10395544052.html
台湾：携帯基地局周辺で癌多発報道
南勢は移設
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10338133130.html
記事一覧にもどる
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entrylist.html
↓無料ブログを利用しているため、下記に”Ads by Google”というグーグルによる広告が勝手に出てきますが、なかに
は海外ですでに公正取引委員会などの指導が入った製品のリンクが出てくるとの指摘があります。国際企業のグーグ
ルなにやってんの？安易に購入する前に国民生活センター や消費者センターに必ずお問い合わせください。大事な
お金を払う前に、まずは必ずセンターに相談！！！国民生活センターよ、商品テストしてください。欧州はやるらし
い。国民生活センター 消費者ホットラインの電話番号は０５７０－０６４－３７０です。
http://www.kokusen.go.jp/map
http://ameblo.jp/kitakamakurakeitaing/entry-10738269766.html
______________________________
Excellent Wi Fi Letter to School Principal
Mrs. Turnbull (School Principal)
I realize that WiFi in the schools is an increasingly controversial and divisive topic, but I trust you will
read the following with an open mind, as I write as a concerned parent.
A few nights ago, I attended a public meeting designed to provide information to concerned parents
regarding the use of WiFi in the school system. I will preface the rest of this letter by noting that I
was at Parent Council the night of the WiFi presentation, and while I was in no way involved in
organizing that presentation, I was shocked by what I learned, and this motivated me to try to learn
more.
My concerns about the current situation, with the school board poised to quietly install WiFi in our
childrens' schools, are many. First and foremost, of course, are the potential health risks associated
with prolonged radio frequency radiation exposure. I have heard the school board repeatedly defer to
Health Canada and Safety Code 6, yet many experts in the field feel that the Safety Code 6 limits are
far too high, and do not sufficiently measure all potential effects of microwave radiation exposure.
There have been NO long-term studies of the effect of chronic microwave radiaion exposure on
children, because, in the words of Health Canada's Beth Pieterson, "there are large ethical issues on
conducting studies specifically on children", yet Health Canada condones exposing our children to this
new, insufficiently studied technology. The fact of the matter is that installing WiFi in schools and
54 | P a g e
then watching to see what happens to our children IS an experiment, one for which I do not consent
to the use of my children.
Health Canada's repeated reference to "the weight of evidence" offers me no comfort: Using a
"weight of evidence" approach, 40% of the studies being done could demonstrate adverse health
effects to WiFi, yet "the weight of evidence" would still favour using the technology. Health Canada is
not infallible, and has been wrong many, many times in the past, sometimes with distastrous
consequences: lead-based paint, Thalidomide, Diethylstilbestrol (DES), smoking, AIDS, fetal alcohol,
bisphenol A plastic, etc., etc. Consequently, Health Canada's seal of approval is insufficient for me, as
Health Canada has shown itself to be slow to change its stance, even in the face of mounting evidence.
As a timely example, at this time, Health Canada still approves the use of many pesticides that our
community, including K.P.R. schools, has collectively decided to discontinue.
Allow me to use fetal alcohol exposure to illustrate a huge duality in Health Canada's risk management
approach. Given the knowledge available at this time, I think everyone would agree that both fetal
alcohol exposure and radiation exposure are harmful: The question for both is how much is safe, and
how much is harmful? With fetal alcohol exposure, Health Canada's message is clear: "If you are
pregnant, or planning to become pregnant in the near future, do not drink alcohol. No amount or type
of alcohol is considered safe." Yet, in the face of
mounting evidence that WiFi exposure in children
may not be safe in the previously accepted "dosage", Health Canada does not see fit to adopt the
same cautious approach, and in fact, supports exposing our kids to even more microwave radiation
than ever before.
The Precautionary Principle is, in the words of Health Canada's Beth Pieterson, “a public policy
approach for risk management of possible, but unproven, adverse health effects”. It should be
invoked "when there is only some evidence, and it's not conclusive" that something is harmful. The
Precautionary Principle was the reason for bisphenol A plastic being pulled from store shelves a few
years back. Well in fact, there is evidence that WiFi exposure is harmful. True, some of it is anecdotal,
and there is evidence supporting both sides of the argument, but there is an increasing body of
scientific evidence that suggests there is cause for concern regarding WiFI exposure: This would seem
to fit the criteria for the Precaustionary Principle, yet strangely, Health Canada has still not seen fit to
invoke it.
My second major area of concern centres around the issue of informed consent. I work in the field of
health care, and I quite literally cannot get a patient out of bed without their informed consent. An
technician most certainly could not do a CATscan on a patient without their informed consent, nor
could a surgeon peform surgery (and please note that "informed" means that the patient must be
informed of the benefits and the risks associated with that particular test/procedure/therapy).
Similarly, I think most people would agree that no one has the right to expose non-smokers to second
hand cigarette smoke without the non-smoker's consent, because of the health risks involved. Why
does that same need for consent not apply to WiFi exposure? I find it curious that the school/school
board can not publish my child's picture, can not teach them sex ed., can not take them on a field trip,
or even for a walk around the block without my consent.... yet the board appears to feel that it has
the right to expose my children to microwave radiation without my consent. Ironically, when I
returned home from the WiFi information presentation, I found in my 13-year old's knapsack, a
consent from the Health Unit, which they need me to sign so that my teenager can fill out a survey.
55 | P a g e
Yet that same Health Unit condones exposing her to WiFi, despite the question marks surrounding its
safety.
The Nuremburg Code of 1947, was designed to guide researchers by determining some ethical
guidelines. One might argue that it does not apply in this case, as we are not talking about official
"research"; but I maintain that it does, as the use of WiFi in schools, with no previous research to
support its safety in this context, is in fact an experiment. The Nuremburg Code states, among many
other things, that voluntary consent of the research subject is essential, and that the subject must be
informed of any potential risks associated with the research. Yet my right to deny consent for my
children to be exposed to WiFi is not being considered, despite the words of Health Canada's Beth
Pieterson: " I think parents have to make decisions all the time about the safety of their kids and the
well-being of their families. I think they have to seek good information, talk to their health care
providers, and get information from all sources. Science isn't black and white. There are always going
to be different sides. They need to make their own decisions."
My third major area of concern is around the issue of information: The K.P.R.D.S.B. has not been
forthcoming with either their plans to install WiFi, nor with any information to educate parents about
the potential risks. I recieved untold notices home about the switch to balanced day, the change in
bell times, grade 3/6 testing, and most recently, the change in the report card format. None of these
posed any potential risk to the health of my children, yet the school and the school board extended
quite an effort to keep me informed. In contrast, there has not been one word of information sent
home by either the school or the school board regarding either the installation of WiFi, or any of the
question marks or concerns surrounding its safety. In fact from what I have seen, the school board is
quite actively trying to suppress the dissemination of any information on this topic. I find this
suspicous, arrogant, and unethical, and it certainly appears to me that the school board is trying to
put one over on the public: Parents are not protesting this technology plan, because the vast majority
of them know nothing about it.
To further that point, I noted in the minutes of the KPRDSB Board Meeting that amid concerns over
the safety of WiFi in the schools, "A trustee asked administration for assurance that the Board's
insurance policy will adequately cover any health issues that my arise related to WiFi. (A
superintendent) confirmed that the Board's liability insurance coverage currently covers up to $20
million ... Director Hick noted that it would be difficult to include every potential or perceived hazard in
any insurance plicy. It was stressed that due diligence is taking place, and accepted authority say
there is no reason for concern." In other words, the board seems to think that WiFi is OK, but thought
they had better just check up on their liability insurance... just in case. That doesn't sound to me like
my childrens' best interests are being placed at the top of the priority list.
My fourth and final area of concern is that there is quite literally no need to install WiFi in the schools,
particularly given its great expense. Despite the potential risks to their health, WiFi will not allow my
children to do one thing at school that they cannot already do with the computers in their current
hardwired state. Of course, a person using a laptop could do so at any location within the school, but
the fact is that students using laptops are the rare exceptions to the rule (in my previous job, I was
one of the professionals whose job it was to identify technology needs for special needs students, so I
know first-hand how reluctant the board is to hand out laptop computers). Just because we can install
WiFi does not mean that we should. Schools and public buildings in several European countries are
56 | P a g e
now removing WiFi because of health concerns: Can we not learn from their mistakes, rather than
repeat them?
I have heard the arguments that radiofrequency radiation is all around us, so it is silly to think that
WiFi in the schools would make any significant difference to my childrens' health. That argument is
akin to saying that because there is air pollution all around us, I might as well smoke. Or that since a
person is overweight, he/she may as well order the large platter of wings. Just because there are
hazards and threats to my childrens' health that I cannot control does not mean that I should
passively accept those that I can control. I can control their exposure to microwave radiation: I do so
in my home, and I am asking you to help me do so in their school environment, by holding off on
implementing WiFi until we know more about the long-term safety of the technology.
St. Vincent-Euphrasia Elementary School in Meaford recently allowed their parent council to conduct a
referendum on the issue of WiFi: The parents of that school spoke very clearly, with almost 90%
voting to have WiFi removed from that school. In your position as interim principal, you are in a
powerful position, in that you can allow parents to freely receive information and have their say,
rather than just towing the party line, and following the school board's agenda. There are simply too
many question marks around the safety of WiFi, and I strongly feel that we must, for the sake of our
children, proceed with extreme caution, rather than pursuing "progress" at any cost.
Thank you for your consideration on this matter.
Yours truly,
Kathy McDermid
______________________________
Dr. Oz Airport Scanners and CT Scans
Worried about airport scanners? Dr. Oz weighs in on the radiation debate. Even your routine checkup
could be dangerous. Find out why. Click here to track your exposure to radiation.
Click here to watch Part 2.
Click here to watch Part 3.
Click here to watch Part 4.
William
______________________________
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Dear Dr. McDiarmid:
Your response to Ms. Nicole Langfield, a parent concerned regarding children’s exposure to wi-fi in
schools, is totally unacceptable.
What significance is your statement “I am particularly concerned about student health and wellness”
when your actions speak otherwise? You defer to Dr. Kendall but you are a doctor yourself and you
have been EDUCATED to have your own opinion on health risks. Why are you not doing your job?
Your refusal to protect children in your care amounts to a complete dereliction of your duty for which
you were elected, literally turning a blind eye to health risks to susceptible youth from long term, low
level exposure microwave irradiation. Why are you forcing children to be irradiated in schools when
more and more parents don’t want this risk? Why are you not keeping schools to a higher standard of
safety, and recommending the precautionary principle be applied in schools as is happening in
Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Russia, France, Brussels, Monaco, Israel and elsewhere?
Recommending hard wired options over wireless would be the kind of actions which would indicate you
are indeed concerned for children’s welfare.
Are you aware that Wi-Fi base stations operate in a similar manner to cell towers, not cell phones? Are
you aware you are allowing mini cell towers to operate inside every school in Canada?
Are you aware that the largest government owned telecommunications company in Switzerland,
SwissCom, filed a patent to make a safer wi-fi base station, citing the high risk of irreversible health
damage from the beacon signal and non-thermal biological effects that occur thousands of times
below out of date standards set for thermal effects only?
The Wi-Fi base station beacon signal emits 10 pulsed radiation signals per second and is strong
enough to go hundreds of feet in an omnidirectional manner, irradiating constantly. These beacon
signals are never turned down, nor do they change with data stream requirements or downloads. The
data stream is a completely different function than the beacon signal, and it is the data stream signal
which is compared with cellphone use for public consumption. This is completely erroneous
information supplied by the telecommunications industry – the same manner in which the tobacco
industry supplied “science” to show their product couldn’t cause any health problems. There is
definitely enough gold standard science showing non-thermal biological effects. I cannot believe you
would choose to be ignorant of the gold standard science providing clear evidence of non-thermal
biological effects far below the heating threshold.
You have a legal and moral duty to educate yourself, and not just take the opinions of government
agencies which are suspect due to industry influence and lobbying – it is confirmed that Health Canada
is lobbied by the telecommunications industry, which is a complete disgrace. Even Health Canada’s
scientists report there is a gap in knowledge and understanding. Health Canada believes it is
acceptable to watch exposed populations to see and then understand the development of illness and
disease. Did anyone ask if it is acceptable to parents that their children are radiated every day in
school as part of this biological experiment without knowledge or consent?
58 | P a g e
With all due respect, you are utterly failing in your job to protect vulnerable children from totally
unnecessary irradiation in schools. You do not have the right to force radiation onto children who
cannot protect themselves, who must attend school. These actions are a complete violation of parental
rights to protect their children, of human rights as well as rights of those being used for biological
experimentation without consent. You will still have to answer to parents, that you allowed this
unconscionable situation to continue and did absolutely nothing to prevent the health damage that is
occurring every second in the schools under your care. A disgraceful and totally unnecessary tragedy
which will be a blight on the future of this country.
The parents of the children you are supposed to be protecting demand that you do your own due
diligence. If you find ANY evidence of biological health risks from exposure to low level microwave
irradiation on a continual basis, it is your duty to protect children from such exposure, no matter what
the rest of the community is doing. Schools need to be kept to a higher standard of safety than
Starbucks. Or have you actually handed over safety of our children in schools to the wireless industry?
Una St Clair-Moniz
Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Technology Society
www.citizensforsafetechnology.org
______________________________
WiFi Rapport final Ministère d'État Bavarois de l'Éducation :
"Protéger à l'école les enfants de l'exposition aux radiations"
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http://www.next-up.org/France/Wifi.php#1
______________________________
For Distribution:
Topic – Possibility of revising the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Regulations to address
accessibility for the disabled to wireless technology and services.
Take Action - Submit comment to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) by January
24, 2011. Submit comment yourself or forward this information to folks you know with Implanted
Medical Devices or who experience hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields.
TAKE ACTION
Tell the DOJ in CRT Docket No. 110 (also RIN 1190-AA61) - related to web access - or in CRT Docket
No. 113 (also RIN 1190-AA64) - related to equipment and furniture - how increasing wireless
electromagnetic radiation has made and will make it more difficult for you to work, access services of
State and Local Governments, and/or public accommodations by causing a disabling functional
impairment for you or by rendering treatments for your disability ineffective due to electromagnetic
interference.
The DOJ Dockets address hearing, speech and vision disabilities. Your input is needed so that
the DOJ includes the functional impairment brought on by environmental exposure to wireless
devices in this proceeding.
WHY?
Unless we educate our government about the disabling functional impairment wireless communication
can cause for those with radiofrequency sickness and medical implants, it may assume that making all
libraries, public buildings, public spaces, shopping malls, hotels, motels, transportation services, etc.,
wireless will help all disabled Americans. The Disability Rights section of the DOJ is updating its rules
for the ADA. It is studying how to help people who are disabled gain access to Web information, and
to Services of State and Local Government Entities, and Public Accommodations that use wireless
technology. It seeks input on how its rules on equipment and furniture need to be updated to improve
accessibility for the disabled. See *** below for points to include.
HOW?
Submit comments, identified by RIN 1190-AA61 (or Docket ID No. 110) and RIN
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1190-AA64 (or Docket ID No. 113), by any one of the following methods:
Electronic: Link to the original docket related to websites and accessibility. Federal eRulemaking
Web site: www.regulations.gov. Follow the Web site's instructions for submitting comments. Direct
link:
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480b20b1a
Regular U.S. Mail:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
P.O. Box 2885
Fairfax, VA 22031-0885
Overnight, courier, or hand delivery:
Disability Rights Section
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
1425 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 4039
Washington, DC 20005.
DEADLINE: Postmarked or filed electronically by January 24, 2011.
***Enough comments submitted on the topic of radiofrequency sickness as discussed below
could have very positive results. Please read and participate.
While access to the internet has tremendous potential value for people with disabilities, the
Department of Justice needs to recognize that wireless technology emitting microwave radiation in
workplaces, public buildings, places of public accommodation (government buildings, hospitals,
doctor's offices, schools, airports, airplanes, buses, trains, restaurants, shopping malls, museums,
etc), transportation, and other areas of American life is seriously limiting the ability of a growing
segment of the American population to participate in civil society and community life.
The DOJ Dockets address hearing, speech and vision disabilities. Your input is needed so that the
DOJ includes the functional impairment brought on by environmental exposure to wireless devices in
this proceeding.
The microwave radiation from wireless technology causes serious functional impairment to many
whose symptoms have been characterized under the name radiofrequency sickness. The symptoms
61 | P a g e
can range from discomfort to life-threatening depending on the exposure and the individual
involved. Please see “Provocation Study using Heart Rate Variability Shows Radiation from 2.4 GHz
Cordless Phone Affects Autonomic Nervous System” (Eur. J. Oncol. Library, vol. 5)
at http://electromagnetichealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Havas_HRV_Ramazzini1.pdf to read
about how potentially serious the effects can be on the heart.
The ADA Dockets ask a number of questions related specifically to different aspects of website and
physical accessibility. At the end of the Docket 110 - related to internet access – is the question: "
Are there additional issues or information not addressed by the Department's questions that are
important for the Department to consider?” Please provide as much detail as possible in your
response."
Docket 113 relates to furniture and equipment. WiFi deployed in a building, wireless inventory
systems or communications systems, etc., would all constitute problematic furniture and equipment.
Please submit your testimony under both dockets.
Below are some points to consider and incorporate in your comments. Please be sure to personalize
your comment with examples from your experience. You do not need to worry about providing a
comprehensive summary of the science. The EMR Policy Institute will cover that in its comment.
Points:

DOJ should issue a supplemental NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rule Making) to explicitly
address radiofrequency sickness and related environmentally-induced functional
impairments. Accommodations for disabilities in hearing, speech and vision do not address all
disability issues for emerging electronic technologies.

Radiofrequency Sickness, a functional impairment which is caused by exposure to transmitted
radiofrequency radiation and electrical pollution, needs to be clearly addressed by the DOJ in
the rules governing Title I, Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

ADA rules need to explicitly reflect the very serious nature of radiofrequency sickness and
require that workplaces, public places and places of public accommodation provide internet
access on wires or fiber optic cables only. (List examples of places you are excluded from
due to your environmentally-induced functional impairment.)

ADA rules also need to explicitly require utility companies to exempt persons with
radiofrequency sickness from installation of transmitting utility meters at their homes and
neighboring homes. Persons with relatives with radiofrequency sickness should be able to
request this accommodation as well so that sufferers is able to visit and are not excluded from
family life due to transmitting meters.
Additional actions the DOJ should consider:

The preemption of state and local authority over emissions from Personal Wireless Services
Facilities found in Section 704 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act is an unreasonable
restriction of the right to free speech and to redress of grievances and should be repealed.

Persons with radiofrequency sickness need an entity where they can file complaints and that
can and will take action on their behalf. Thus far, the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
62 | P a g e
FDA, and FCC have refused to fulfill these roles.

Radiofrequency radiation exposures increase risk of disease among the whole population and
in the natural world. True safety regulations need to be enacted to protect the health of the
public (including babies, children, pregnant women, the ill, persons with Implanted Medical
Devices) and the environment during real-life daily exposures experienced from multiple reallife sources of wireless technology and electrically-polluting devices (see
www.electricalpollution.com for more information). The EPA’s efforts to do this were halted in
the 1990s. It time for the EPA to complete this work. Under the current inadequate guidelines
the number of people who are succumbing to radiofrequency sickness is rising daily.

There should be a nationwide moratorium on additional antennas and additional wireless
devices until true safety regulations are in place.
Please try to make as many of these points as possible in the context of your personal experience. It
is essential that a significant number of people file comments. We need numbers or we will be
ignored so please pass this on to other affected individuals. The Department of Justice does have
a history of listening where other agencies have not. Do help us and help yourself by filing a
comment.
If you are concerned about having personally-identifying information posted on the internet,
please read the instructions in the dockets below for instructions on how to avoid that when filing your
comment.
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=0900006480b20b1a
the DOJ docket related to websites and accessibility.
Link to
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=0900006480b20b7a
Link to the DOJ docket related to furniture and equipment.
P.O. Box 117 | Marshfield, VT 05658 US
https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:1401296.6889117162/rid:448686f9bbfba04d9cd8d14d86fba147
______________________________
Public health and the impact of EM microwave
radiation: the Standing Committee for Health calls
into question Health Canada's Safety Code
63 | P a g e
http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/Canada.php#1
______________________________
Big Pharma inside the WHO: confidential analysis of
unreleased WHO Expert Working Group draft
reports, 8 Dec 2009
Released December 9, 2009
Summary
This is a confidential pharmaceutical industry trade association dossier about the WHO Expert Working
Group (EWG) on R&D Financing.
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA; "Big Pharma")
gave its members 4 documents: a non-public draft report of the WHO EWG and a non-public
Comparative Analysis done by the working group, the IFPMA Overview of the EWG Comparative
Analysis, and IFPMA summary slide on the EWG Draft Report.
The compilation of documents shows the influence of "Big Pharma" on the policy making decisions of
the WHO, the UN body safeguarding public health. These confidential documents were obtained by the
drug industry before their public release to WHO member states (scheduled to be released May 2010).
The document also illustrates that the WHO expert group was highly responsive to industry lobbying
— a result that public health groups had feared since early 2009, when the expert group met with the
industry, but refused to meet with public health groups known to be industry critics.
The likely audience for these documents include countries, public health policy makers, civil society,
industry, academia, media, patients and the general public.
Journalists can contact Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO: chanm@who.int and Malebona
Precious Matsoso, WHO Director, Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property:
matsosom@who.int
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According to our source, the English version of the final report of the EWG with its recommendations is
expected to be released to member state countries this week.
Contents
ewg-comparative-analysis-11-12-09.pdf
ewg-report-draft-20-11-09.pdf
ifpma-ewg-final-report-draft.pdf
ifpma-ewg-internal-mail.pdf
ifpma-ewg-overview-comparative-analysis.pdf
Help us create a just and corruption free world.
DOWNLOAD/VIEW FULL FILE FROM
fastest (Sweden), current site, slow (US), Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Tonga, Europe, SSL,
Tor
Context
Switzerland
International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA)
Primary language
English
File size in bytes
6345653
File type information
Zip archive data, at least v2.0 to extract
Cryptographic identity
SHA256
7931a2d62e56bdf4e658be0e02c822818088acb0c38fbb05f5abbd9123056ddd
http://mirror.wikileaks.info/wiki/Big_Pharma_inside_the_WHO__confidential_analysis_of_unreleased_WHO_Expert_
Working_Group_draft_reports,_8_Dec_2009/
______________________________
65 | P a g e
Mobile phones 'harm blood cells'
Mobile phone radiation may damage cells by increasing the forces they exert on each other,
scientists have said.
Evidence on mobile phone health risks is inconclusive
The finding could be the key to claims that mobile phones cause cancer and other health problems.
Swedish physicists looked at the effect of electromagnetic radiation on red blood cells using a
mathematical theory, New Scientist reported.
Experts cautioned that the finding was theoretical and said there was no evidence of a danger to
health.
There have been suggestions that mobile phones can cause brain tumours and Alzheimer's disease,
but research has been inconclusive.
“ There is presently no evidence of cancer or any other serious health effect ”
Dr Michael Clark
The conventional view has been that radio waves could only damage a cell if they were energetic
enough to break chemical bonds or "cook" tissue.
But radiation given off by mobile phone handsets is too weak to do this.
Bo Sernelius at Linkoping University, Sweden, looked at another possibility by modelling the properties
of red blood cells.
Water molecules have poles of positive and negative charge which create forces between cells. These
forces are normally extremely weak - about a billion-billionth of a newton.
Mathematical
The simplified mathematical model investigated the effect of electromagnetic radiation in the field of
850 megahertz on the blood cells.
850 megahertz is around the range used by some mobile phones, though different networks vary and
some phones use around 1800 megahertz.
The molecules all ended up with their poles aligned in the same direction. The forces between the cells
unexpectedly jumped by about 11 orders of magnitude.
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If confirmed by experiments, the results could give an explanation for tissue damage. Stronger
attractive forces between cells might make them clump together or cause blood cells to contract, New
Scientist said.
Katie Daniel, deputy editor of the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, said the finding was
important.
"It highlights the idea that electromagnetic radiation might act on cells by affecting the attractive
forces between them rather than simply causing heat damage to tissue," she said.
Camelia Gabriel, from King's College London, who is taking part in the Mobile Telecommunications and
Health Research Programme funded by the Government, said the theory was feasible.
But she said the model was extremely simple and may not apply to larger numbers of cells.
"It needs to be tested experimentally," she said.
Dr Michael Clark at the National Radiological Protection Board said: "It is an interesting theory but it is
not evidence of an effect on cells or a real health effect. I don't think the author would claim it was."
Recent reviews of the science had not shown there was a danger to health from using mobile phones,
he said.
"There is presently no evidence of cancer or any other serious health effect. It is so far so good, but it
is early days of course," said Dr Clark.
"The widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon, particularly by children."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3605203.stm
______________________________
Council seeks radiation advice
MERYL NAIDOO
|
December 14, 2010 12.01am
HOBART City Council aldermen hope to talk to electromagnetic radiation expert Don Maisch
about high-voltage powerlines near residential developments.
Two motions on the subject were carried unanimously at last night's council meeting.
The council referred a proposal for a 114-lot housing development to a planning tribunal after
aldermen raised concerns about risks of living near high-voltage lines.
After talking with Mr Maisch, the council will decide whether to enter into mediation with the
proponent rather than go to a tribunal hearing.
Aldermen referred to studies that show Tasmanian adults who lived within 300m of a powerline in
their first 15 years had triple the risk of developing lymphoproliferative or myeloproliferative disorders,
including Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma and several leukaemias.
67 | P a g e
Ald Ron Christie said transmission lines emit two types of fields -- electric and magnetic.
"It is proven that electromagnetic fields interact with animal tissue, and are potentially dangerous," he
said.
He said there was evidence that even momentary exposure to extremely low frequency
electromagnetic fields increase, by a factor of five, the chances of a woman having an abortion in the
first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
"There is also evidence that shows these fields are associated with other diseases like leukaemia in
children," he said.
The 114-lot development spans land in both the Hobart and Glenorchy municipalities.
Glenorchy council has given approval for the development of 50 lots in its municipality, provided the
developer meets 40 conditions.
Development cannot start on the Glenorchy sites until the Hobart City Council approves development
of sites in its area.
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/12/14/193061_tasmania-news.html
______________________________
The Real Risks of Cell Phone Radiation
By Seth Fiegerman
NEW YORK (MainStreet) — When the neurologist discovered the tumor in Stuart Cobb’s brain earlier this
year, he had three pressing questions for his patient.
“Do you work with dangerous chemicals?”
Cobb didn’t.
“Have you been exposed to radiation?”
To the best of his knowledge, Cobb hadn’t.
“Do you use a cell phone often?”
Surprised by the question, Cobb initially answered by saying no. But then his wife, Kristen, blurted out:
“You’re on your cell phone all the time!”
Cobb admitted his wife was right. In fact, Cobb, who was just 35 years old at the time, would qualify
as a cell phone addict.
He purchased his first phone when he was 19, and worked part-time at a car wash to pay for it, since
cell phones were expensive back then. In the 15-plus years since, Cobb says he has owned more than
30 different cell phones.
“I always wanted the latest greatest thing,” he told MainStreet. “I always liked having new gadgets.”
68 | P a g e
Indeed, Cobb, who has worked as a plumber in Portland, Maine, for ten years, needed to be on his cell
phone constantly for his job to communicate with his coworkers and clients while running between
houses.
Hearing this, Cobb’s neurologist posed another question: “Which side of your head do you usually
place the cell phone to?”
Cobb explained he’s right-handed, and almost always presses the phone against that side of his head.
Sure enough, the brain tumor was on the right side of his brain.
To date, there is no conclusive evidence linking cell phones to brain cancer. One paper published last
year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute refuted any link between the two outright, while
another long-term study out this year suggested there was a slight possibility that cell phones cause brain
cancer, but that it required more investigation to prove a connection.
So the verdict, according to every major health organization from the Federal Drug Administration to
the World Health Organization, is that cell phones are safe, for now.
But for Cobb and his wife, who works as a medical transcriptionist, their experience has led them to
conclude there must be a link. Stuart was an otherwise healthy 30-something man with no history of
brain cancer in his family. Of all his relatives, only his grandmother suffered cancer of any kind (skin
cancer). Moreover, several of the doctors Cobb consulted suggested the cell phone may be a possible
cause, though none would say for sure.
More proof, in the couple’s mind, came in the weeks after Cobb’s operation. Doctors successfully
removed part, but not all, of his tumor as some of it had become tangled up in blood vessels in his
brain. Following the surgery, Cobb went to a rehab center to regain his strength, and there, he and his
wife heard from doctors and patients that there had been an increase in the number of brain cancer
victims in their 20s and 30s.
Suddenly, Stuart and Kristen, who had never known about any potential risks from cell phone use,
came to believe that cell phones were the force behind this phenomenon.
“I was extremely shocked about the whole thing,” Cobb said, his speech mildly impaired from his
surgery. “But now I really think there is going to be an epidemic of brain tumors in the future.”
What Research Does (And Doesn’t) Tell Us
Some might call Cobb’s prediction the doomsday scenario, and others might call it paranoia.
As with any new technology, when cell phones were first introduced several decades ago, consumers
and researchers worried they might pose some health risks. Through the years, the focus has been
primarily on the impact of radiation emitted from the cell phone’s antenna as it transmits a wireless
signal. Yet, after hundreds of studies have been published looking into the risks of this radiation, the
verdict remains the same: Either cell phones will kill us or they won’t.
“In spite of years of research, we still do not know whether mobile phone radiation causes any health
effects or not,” said Dariusz Leszczynski, a research professor at the Radiation and Nuclear Safety
Authority in Finland, who has authored several studies on cell phone health risks. “In fact, what can be
considered astonishing, is we still do not know for sure whether the human body reacts to mobile
phone radiation.”
Part of the problem, according to researchers, is that even if cell phones do cause cancer, it could take
as long as 30 years to manifest itself.
69 | P a g e
“In the U.S., everyone really started to own cell phones around 2000, so if cancer is 20 or 30 years
down the road, we’re not even there yet,” said Sean Gray, a senior analyst at the Environmental
Working Group, a nonprofit public health group that has studied cell phone radiation. “We’re
completely in the dark right now.”
Still, ominous research papers have begun to pile up from around the world, linking cell phone
radiation to pretty much every possible malady except cancer. In recent years, prolonged cell phone
use has been found to negatively affect sperm, to cause insomnia, headaches and depression, to increase the
chances of tinnitus and memory loss. Just this week, a study was published arguing that using a cell phone
while pregnant can cause behavioral problems in the child. And that doesn’t even take into account the
numerous risks that may be caused by Wi-Fi, which now comes standard on many phones.
Several countries have been motivated by these and other studies to take preventative steps against
cell phone radiation risks. France, Israel and Finland have each urged advertisers to stop marketing cell
phones to children, due to concerns that kids are more susceptible to any health risks there may be
from cell phone radiation.
In the U.S., some regions have attempted to issue their own precautions. Back in July, San Francisco
passed a law requiring retailers to advertise the amount of radiation emitted by each cell phone they
sell. Likewise, in Maine, where the Cobb family lives, legislators tried and failed to force manufacturers
to place warning labels on cell phones stating the product may cause brain cancer.
Needless to say, these efforts have been met with resistance from the cell phone industry itself, which
argues that public health advocates are simply trying to scare consumers into making different
purchasing decisions, without actually having the proof to back up their warnings.
“It’s the overwhelming consensus of government agencies that there is no adverse health effect,” said
John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless
Telecommunications Industry, which sued San Francisco for passing what the group deems an
unconstitutional law. “We would urge consumers to listen to what these agencies have to say and then
guide their thinking based on that.”
So what exactly does the U.S. government have to say about cell phone radiation?
According to the FDA, there is “no increased health risk due to radiofrequency energy … emitted by
cell phones." Under the current law, the only real regulation comes from the Federal Communications
Commission, which requires that they not have a specific absorption rate (SAR) of radiation that exceeds
1.6 watts per kilogram, an amount that the CTIA contends is well below anything that would be
remotely dangerous.
Of course, the radiation absorption rate varies widely from one cell phone to the next. The Blackberry 8820
has an SAR of 1.58 W/kg, just skirting under the limit, while the Sanyo Katana II has an SAR of just
0.55 W/kg.
And while the government’s public statements about cell phone dangers may put consumers at ease,
the companies that produce these products slip warnings into the user manual that appear menacing,
to say the least. Regardless of which phone you have, if you review your manual, you will likely see a
note suggesting you should hold the phone at least an inch from your head, and that you should keep
it in a holster, rather than in your pocket.
If you’re reading this now and realizing you don’t follow those instructions, don’t worry. You’re
certainly not the only one.
What if the Cell Phone Industry is Wrong?
70 | P a g e
By the middle of 2010, the number of cell phones in use worldwide had topped a staggering 5 billion, a
fifth of which had been added during the previous year and a half alone.
But what happens if, in the next few years, researchers definitively prove some or all of the health
risks listed above? What happens if, as Stuart Cobb and his wife fear, serious maladies like brain
cancer become epidemics as a result of cell phone radiation?
For starters, it’s worth noting that not everyone who uses a cell phone is as susceptible to radiation
risks.
“The younger you are when you start using the phone, the greater the risk,” said Devra Davis, author
of Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation and Your Health and a National Book Award
finalist. Children and teenagers face starker repercussions since their brains are still developing and
their skulls are also more permeable to radiation than older adults.
The problem though, is that even if children don’t own their own cell phone, they may still be
susceptible to what Davis refers to as “secondhand cell phone radiation” from those using cell phones
in proximity to them, much in the same way that people can get sick from secondhand smoke. If this
turns out to be the case, given the prevalence of cell phones worldwide, it could theoretically lead to a
whole generation of young people who get sick later in life.
But for the moment, this is a reality that cell phone companies, and for the most part, the U.S.
government, won’t consider, and therefore won’t plan for.
“There is no contingency plan that I’m aware of,” said Walls, the spokesperson for CTIA, which
represents the cell phone industry as a whole. “You can use an ear piece if you’re concerned, or you
can theoretically talk less, but the science tells us that those kinds of measures are not necessary.”
Likewise, individual cell phone companies we spoke with, including Motorola and Nokia, argued there
is no reason to consider the ultimatum, but insist they would comply with any and all federal safety
guidelines.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the FDA said the agency would consider recalling any phone if a
“radiation safety defect” was discovered and could potentially impose a monetary penalty on any
product that proved dangerous. But as the spokesperson notes, “the FDA would require scientific and
validated evidence convincing us that there was a real problem for this to occur.”
Many researchers, on the other hand, argue that cell phone companies and the government should be
planning now and get more aggressive if the worst ever happened.
According to Davis, the U.S. Congress should immediately begin placing warning labels on cell phones,
much as Maine proposed, as well as launching a “massive public education program” to teach
consumers about the risks of using cell phones and safety tips for minimizing that risk.
Davis says that if and when it is ever proven that cell phones do cause cancer or another serious
ailment, the government would need to take three additional steps. First, it should make it illegal for
companies to sell cell phones without also including a headset free of charge. Second, government
agencies would need to force cell phone companies to make safer phone designs that emit lower levels
of radiation. And finally, it should crack down on how cell phones are marketed to kids, perhaps even
imposing a minimum age for buying a cell phone, much in the same way as cigarette purchases.
Similarly, Gray, from the Environmental Working Group, recommends that the government adjust its
acceptable radiation exposure limits and add warning labels to the products.
71 | P a g e
Interestingly though, none of the researchers and advocates we spoke with suggested consumers be
told to stop using cell phones altogether. In fact, the one point that the cell phone industry and those
who want to regulate it seem to agree on is that consumers will continue to use cell phones – no
matter what.
Would Consumer Demand Be Affected?
After cigarettes were proven to be cancer-causing agents in the mid-‘90s, cigarette sales did decline
consistently for much of the next decade, but not by as much as one might think.
According to annual data from the FTC, 484 billion cigarettes were sold in 1996, and 343 billion were sold
in 2006. That might sound substantial, but think about it this way: Enough people in the U.S. wanted
to smoke something that had been proven deadly that more than 300 billion cigarettes were sold.
In the same way, it’s very likely that consumers would continue to purchase and use cell phones, even
if they were proven to be dangerous.
“Cell phones are a product that is so engrained in our lives at this point that it’s very difficult to
imagine consumers giving them up completely,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The
NPD Group, which monitors consumer electronics and wireless industry trends.
Instead, it’s more likely that consumers would change the way they use the phone, but not the phone
itself. Several researchers suggested that consumers might focus more on texting or just using the
Internet on their phones, rather than talking on them, since it would keep the product away from their
head.
“It could end up being a kind of retro-hybrid situation,” Rubin said. “Consumers might use their cell
phones to handle their data needs, but might hold off making a call until they get to a landline, unless
they have a headset on them.”
To some extent, cell phone companies may actually fare even better than cigarettes did in the ‘90s.
“The difference between cell phones and tobacco is that cell phones do play a positive role in our
society,” said Davis, who notes that cell phones have revolutionized the way we do business with one
another and can be useful in emergencies.
And, if one needs proof about just how hard it is to get rid of a cell phone, just look to Stuart Cobb
who, even though he believes cell phones gave him brain cancer, continues to use a cell phone when
he goes to work three days a week. Rather than ditch the phone, Cobb says he now practices safer
phone habits, relying on a headset or the speaker phone in order to keep the phone away from his
head.
“All my coworkers talk on their headsets now, too,” Cobb said.
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/technology/real-risks-cell-phone-radiation?page=1
______________________________
Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (UMTS,
1,950 MHz) induce genotoxic effects in vitro in
human fibroblasts but not in lymphocytes.
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Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2008 May;81(6):755-67. Epub 2008 Feb 16.
Schwarz C, Kratochvil E, Pilger A, Kuster N, Adlkofer F, Rüdiger HW.
Division of Occupational Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, 1090,
Vienna, Austria.
Comment in:
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009 Jan;82(2):275-8.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009 Jan;82(2):143-4.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2009 Jan;82(2):279-83.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) was recently introduced as the third
generation mobile communication standard in Europe. This was done without any information on
biological effects and genotoxic properties of these particular high-frequency electromagnetic fields.
This is discomforting, because genotoxic effects of the second generation standard Global System for
Mobile Communication have been reported after exposure of human cells in vitro.
METHODS: Human cultured fibroblasts of three different donors and three different short-term human
lymphocyte cultures were exposed to 1,950 MHz UMTS below the specific absorption rate (SAR) safety
limit of 2 W/kg. The alkaline comet assay and the micronucleus assay were used to ascertain dose and
time-dependent genotoxic effects. Five hundred cells per slide were visually evaluated in the comet
assay and comet tail factor (CTF) was calculated. In the micronucleus assay 1,000 binucleated cells
were evaluated per assay. The origin of the micronuclei was determined by fluorescence labeled
anticentromere antibodies. All evaluations were performed under blinded conditions.
RESULTS: UMTS exposure increased the CTF and induced centromere-negative micronuclei (MN) in
human cultured fibroblasts in a dose and time-dependent way. Incubation for 24 h at a SAR of 0.05
W/kg generated a statistically significant rise in both CTF and MN (P = 0.02). At a SAR of 0.1 W/kg
the CTF was significantly increased after 8 h of incubation (P = 0.02), the number of MN after 12 h (P
= 0.02). No UMTS effect was obtained with lymphocytes, either unstimulated or stimulated with
Phytohemagglutinin.
CONCLUSION: UMTS exposure may cause genetic alterations in some but not in all human cells in
vitro.
PMID: 18278508 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18278508
______________________________
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Pré-inscriptions: Formation: Champs
électromagnétiques - Mars 2011 - Montréal
Profitez des aubaines de pré-inscriptions!
Coût: 325$ avant le 31décembre 2010,
350$ avant le 1er février 2011
ou
395$ ensuite (taxes en sus).
Vendredi soir seulement: 65$ (taxes incluses).
AU CENTRE ST-PIERRE, 1212, rue Panet (en face de la Maison de Radio Canada)
Voir le programme détaillé: www.essentia.ca
Électrosmog
Formation s’adressant aux professionnels de la santé et du bâtiment, aux enseignants, aux
administrateurs, auxconsommateurs...
Donnée à plus de 2 000Nord-Américains par
Andrew Michrowski (Ph.D. Arch.), président de la Société planétaire pour l’assainissement de l’énergie
et expert dans le domaine depuis plus de 30 ans.
à MONTRÉAL
les 25, 26, 27 mars 2011
CERTIFICAT DE FORMATION ÉMIS
Effets biologiques, normes d’exposition, détection et corrections des champs électriques et
magnétiques de 60 Hertz et de très hautes fréquences à domicile et au travail
Programme détaillé
www.essentia.ca
Inscriptions
(888) 639-7730
essentia@essentia.ca
74 | P a g e
French to English translation
Pre-registration Training: Electromagnetic Fields - March 2011 - Montreal
Pre-registration Discount
$ 325 before December 31, 2010
$ 350 before 1 February 2011
$ 395 thereafter (plus taxes).
Friday evening only: $ 65 (taxes included).
CENTRE ST-PIERRE, 1212 Panet Street (across from Maison de Radio Canada)
View detailed program: www.essentia.ca
Electrosmog
Aimed at training health professionals and the building, teachers, administrators, and consumers
Given to over 2000 North Americans by
Andrew Michrowski (Arch. Ph.D.), President of the Planetary Association for Clean Energy and expert
in the field for over 30 years.
MONTREAL
25, 26, 27 March 2011
TRAINING CERTIFICATE ISSUED
Biological effects, exposure standards, detection and correction of electric and magnetic fields of 60 Hz
and very high frequencies at home and at work
Detailed Program
www.essentia.ca
Listings
(888) 639-7730
essentia@essentia.ca
(888) 639-7730
______________________________
Holistic Primary Care
Cordless Phone EMFs Trigger Heart Rhythm Abnormalities: an elegantly designed study shows that
some people are indeed susceptible to ill effects when exposed to electromagnetic fields from cordless
phones.
http://holisticprimarycare.net/images/stories/pdf_issues/hpc_winter2010.pdf
______________________________
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Lakehead is wild for Wi-Fi
Local News
By NATHAN TAYLOR THE PACKET & TIMES
Posted 7 days ago
A policy that restricted wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) at Lakehead University has been rescinded after
students and staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of the technology.
Students, staff, faculty and administration at both the Orillia and Thunder Bay campuses were asked
the following question: Would you like to have wireless technology installed at Lakehead University?
Of the 10,862 eligible voters, 8,505 responded. Only 6% answered "no."
Considering the 78% voter turnout, "it's obviously an issue that's near and dear to many," said
Michael Pawlowski, vice-president of administration and finance, who held consultations in addition to
the survey.
As a result, Wi-Fi will likely be installed in the common area of the Orillia campus in mid-January.
That's good news for many local students, including Sarah Forte, who voted in favour.
"It's really annoying to have to find a table that has a plug with it just so I can get the Internet," she
said.
And she won't have to worry about the broken Ethernet cord slipping out of place.
Another student, Jennifer Reavie, said it's all about accessibility and convenience.
"It's easier in class to pull up files and research stuff rather than having to sign out a cord," Reavie
said.
Luigi Di Cicco, who did not vote in the survey, said things were fine the way they were.
"If they provide these (Ethernet cords) here, I guess it's pretty much the same," the student said.
Besides, he added, general performance is more reliable when plugged in.
"Either or is OK, but if I had to pick one, I'd go with the blue cord," he said. "I trust this cord more than wireless."
Former Lakehead president Fred Gilbert implemented a presidential policy — which later became
general policy — that placed strict limits on Wi-Fi at the Thunder Bay campus.
During an interview in March, Gilbert, a biologist, said the policy was put in place in an attempt to
avoid potentially adverse health effects of electromagnetic frequencies. He was exercising what is
known as the precautionary principle — taking preventative measures in the absence of conclusive
scientific evidence.
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Pawlowski said he researched the issue of impacts on health. He acknowledged he is not an expert in
the field, but said the school falls back on Health Canada guidelines, and Health Canada insists Wi-Fi is
safe.
"Health issues were not a concern to the current administration," Pawlowski said.
Reavie, too, was not concerned.
"We're on laptops and cellphones every day. I don't think it's that big of a deal."
Even when Gilbert's policy was in place, Wi-Fi was up and running in, of all places, the medical school
at the Thunder Bay campus, Pawlowski added.
"There has been nothing definitive that administration has seen that says there would be a problem
with Wi-Fi."
Also, during the consultations, "nobody raised that as an issue," he said of health concerns.
The only concern that was mentioned — "and I doubt if it was 1%" — was about whether Wi-Fi should
be in Lakehead classrooms, as it could be a distraction to students.
The survey and consultations were initiated after current Lakehead president Brian Stevenson "was
approached by many people at the university about having Wi-Fi instituted," Pawlowski said.
ntaylor@orilliapacket.com
This article shows that there is a lack of awareness and maturity by the students and a
lack of resonsibility by the Lakehead University administration.
If the Lakehead President was approached by many people suggesting that they allow
smoking and drinking beer in the common areas, would he hold a vote of the students? I
doubt it, yet it is probably much less harmful than allowing Wi Fi and exposing a large number of
students and staff to microwave radiation.
President Stevenson has a responsibility to ensure that the students in his care are kept safe and
away from harm. He should know from the available scientific research that various cancers are
showing up after people have been exposed to microwave radiation, several years later. The students
being exposed today are not likely to show increased illness and cancer for several more years,
probably when they are in the prime of their life.
At this stage, while they are still vulnerable and immature they need to be protected
I suggest that all students should be required to study the health effects of electro magnetic radiation.
There is no excuse for a University failing to educate students about what may be, 'the most
significant health and environmental threat' they face today.
Much of the scientific evidence can be accessed here - www.bioinitiative.org
Back in 1847, a Hungarian physician, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweiss, noticed that when
doctors washed their hands before working on patients in his maternity ward, then the
mothers-to-be were less likely to die of puerperal fever. By instituting a policy of hand-
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washing he was able to reduce the mortality rate from 30% to 0.85%. Despite numerous publications
and a book on the subject, the other medical doctors of the time rejected his findings and it wasn't
until years after his death that his findings were accepted with Pasteur's confirmation of the Germ
Theory. Hence, people are unlikely to believe things they cannot sense with their senses. People
cannot see or feel bacteria or viruses -- and many cannot see or feel electromagnetic radiation. And in
spite of the overwhelming evidence that there are biological effects it will most likely be years until
people wake up to the facts. To ignore relevant information is to be willfully ignorant.
http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2883763
______________________________
Canada: Children pulled from Maple Ridge School
over Wi-Fi concerns
http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/Canada.php#1
______________________________
"Doubt is our product," a cigarette executive once observed, "since it is the best means of competing with
the 'body of fact' that exists in the minds of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a
controversy."
http://www.amazon.com/Doubt-Their-Product-Industrys-Threatens/dp/019530067X
"Not one drop of rain thinks it causes the flood."
______________________________
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And the Insanity Continues! Until next time! Wake Up People, Wake Up! Giving up your cell phone is an act of
compassion -- and intelligence.
EMF Refugee
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