October 28, 2009 02:00am
 Dr Charlie Teo, from Channel 7's Last Chance Surgery, says it's better to avoid electro-magnetic radiation |
- Surgeon warns of electromagnetic radiation
- Takes 'prevention better than cure' approach
- Global study: Mobile cancer link
- Mobiles: How much radiation is there?
BRAIN cancer surgeon Charlie Teo has urged people to put mobile phones on loudspeaker, move clock radios to the foot of the bed and wait until microwaves have finished beeping before opening them.
The controversial Sydney specialist told a Melbourne fundraiser that although the jury was still out on mobile phones and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, we should not take risks.
"Even though the jury's not in, just to err on the side of safety I would try and limit the amount of electromagnetic radiation that you're exposed to," he said.
"The American government, for example, recommend that all electrical appliances should be put at the foot of the bed and not the head of the bed.
"Electric blankets should be turned off before you get in bed and definitely wait for those five beeps before you open the microwave.
"With the mobile phone I encourage you to put it on loudspeaker and step outside rather than sticking it up to your brain."
Dr Teo, who tackles tumours other surgeons deem inoperable, said some hair dyes, particularly red, could also cause brain cancer in people with a predisposition.
"The body needs some genetic predisposition. The hair dye, the mobile phone, they're just catalysts but you probably need some sort of genetic aberration to get the cancer in the first place," he said.
Fast cancers
Dr Teo, who stars in Channel Seven's Last Chance Surgery, was in Melbourne last week for the Blackwood8 fundraiser at Croydon golf club.
The group was founded by family and friends of Sally White, a patient of Dr Teo's whose outlook has improved dramatically.
Dr Teo said while breast cancer doubled its cell numbers in weeks or months, the quickest brain cancers took just 16 hours.
No age group was immune and the incidence of brain tumours was growing.
"It's increasing in frequency both in this country and developing countries and it used to be ranked out of the top 10 but it's just joined the top 10 most common cancers," he said.
Recent studies have raised alarm bells about mobile phones.
An unreleased World Health Organisation study reportedly found "a significantly increased risk" of some brain tumours related to use of mobile phones for 10 years or more.
A Suleyman Demirel University study in Turkey also found wearing a mobile phone on your belt may lead to decreased bone density in an area of the pelvis commonly used for bone grafts.
Dr Teo said there had been some advancements in treating tumours, like microwave therapy and putting chemotherapy directly into a tumour. A healthy diet, meditation and positive thought could also be beneficial.
"We believe that they probably boost the immune system," he said.
Dr Teo's tips to reduce brain tumour risks
- Get eight hours sleep a night and eat well to boost your immune system
- Keep electrical appliances like clock radios at the foot of the bed
- Turn electric blankets off before retiring
- Put mobile phones on hands-free
- Wait until the microwave finishes beeping before opening it
Related Coverage
- Use a mobile? Then read thisCourier Mail, 28 Oct 2009
- Reader's Comments: Brain tumour doc warns against gadgetsNEWS.com.au,
- Global study into mobile cancer linkNEWS.com.au, 26 Oct 2009
- Readers' Comments: Mixed messages on mobilesAdelaide Now,
- Stars of new show prepared to die on airNEWS.com.au, 13 Sep 2009
- From: The Daily Telegraph
- August 01, 2009
Brain tumour ... Leading Seaman Bosun's Mate Peter Beckwith. Source: The Daily Telegraph
A YOUNG widow has started landmark legal action against the Australian Defence Force to prove her sailor husband's death from a brain tumour was caused by a ship's radar.
Leading Seaman Bosun's Mate Peter Beckwith served with the Royal Australian Navy for seven years, three on board HMAS Newcastle where he was positioned right in front of the radar.
He was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2001 at the age of 23 after suffering a series of "turns" and nose bleeds.
An MRI scan revealed an apple-sized tumour on his right lobe and just two days later he underwent surgery in Melbourne to remove the mass.
Neurologist Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld told the Beckwiths the tumour may have been caused by non-ionising radiation - the same as from mobile phones, microwaves and radars - an opinion supported by renowned brain surgeon Charlie Teo.
After radiation therapy, the Beckwiths moved to Brisbane to be closer to family but the tumour reappeared in September 2006.
At the time wife Rebecca was pregnant with their second child and news of the tragic turn of events hit hard.
"Ella was only seven months old when he passed away. She recognises him in photos but she never knew him," she said.
Peter's death at the age of 29 devastated Mrs Beckwith who was left alone to care for William, 6, and Ella now 2.
"Navy never admitted fault. It's disgraceful. They don't look after you," she said.
Mrs Beckwith since learned of radiation leaks on the guided missile frigate from a former sailor who served with Peter.
Mrs Beckwith is now making a second claim under the military compensation scheme after her first was rejected.
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Court says cities have the right to bar telecommunications towers
Palos Verdes Estates wins its case against Sprint, citing visual blight in
rejecting plans for two structures.
By Carol J. Williams
October 26, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ugly-telecoms26-2009oct26,0,5439620.story
In Palos Verdes Estates, where the first home builders 80 years ago had to
pass muster before an "art jury," it came as little surprise when city
fathers nixed wireless telecommunications contraptions that would clash with
the community's carefully nurtured ambience and obstruct ocean vistas.
"When you move to a community, you want cell coverage, but you also want
beauty and aesthetics," said attorney Scott J. Grossberg, who helped the
city wage a legal battle against Sprint.
Earlier this month, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the
seaside community, ruling that city officials could bar the construction of
unsightly cellular towers. The city's victory was hailed by urban planners
concerned about the proliferation of visual blight in the name of
technological progress.
Like Palos Verdes Estates, San Francisco, San Diego County, La Cañada
Flintridge and other communities have fought the purveyors of cellular
service in court on aesthetic grounds and, for the most part, have won. The
recent legal disputes, planners say, could encourage telecommunications
companies to develop more creative alternatives amenable to residents'
concerns -- or spur more litigation.
In its ruling the three-judge panel paid heed to the esoteric benefits of
landscape unmarred by the accouterments of modern public utilities.
"The experience of traveling along a picturesque street is different from
the experience of traveling through the shadows of a WCF [wireless
communications facility], and we see nothing exceptional in the city's
determination that the former is less discomforting, less troubling, less
annoying and less distressing than the latter," the panel observed in the
ruling. "After all, travel is often as much about the journey as it is about
the destination."
The judges quoted 19th century Viennese architect Camillo Sitte's lyrical
waxings on beauty and art in an 1889 book that became a classic in urban
planning. Their Oct. 13 ruling also pointed to a state utility code giving
city leaders the right to define what might "incommode" the enjoyment of
public right of way.
Sprint had argued that the city's rejection of two wireless construction
projects on aesthetic grounds violated the 1996 Telecommunications Act,
which bars municipalities from action that constitutes "a prohibition on the
provision of wireless service."
The appeals court panel disagreed, pointing to the company's own assertion
that it already serves some 4,000 customers in the affluent enclave.
Sprint spokesman Matt Sullivan would say only that the company was
"disappointed with the decision because of its potential impact on wireless
coverage." He declined to speculate on how the ruling might affect other
pending projects denied building permits, including two similar wireless
towers rejected by La Cañada Flintridge.
Sprint lost its suit against La Cañada Flintridge in federal district court
and on appeal to the 9th Circuit had the case sent back for further
proceedings, said the city attorney, Mark W. Steres. But the
telecommunications company has neither reapplied for antenna permits nor
pressed its court case, Steres said. He said he viewed the Palos Verdes
Estates ruling as endorsement of his position that city officials have the
authority to regulate what is built on public property and can apply
aesthetic considerations.
Aesthetics, some planning experts said, tend to be an issue more for those
on the wealthy side of the social spectrum, whereas poorer communities in
dire need of the jobs and income brought by construction are often less
focused on the visual trade-offs.
"These communities are very inward-oriented. They feel that so long as my
needs are taken care of, we don't want to engage with the rest of the city
or the rest of the world," said UC Irvine urban design professor Ajay Garde.
Palos Verdes Estates officials said they have worked with other cellular
providers to install facilities that minimize intrusions on views and
ambience.
"There is a middle ground. It is unfortunate that Sprint decided to litigate
instead of work with us," said Allan Rigg, a longtime resident and director
of planning and public works. Rigg acknowledged that there are areas of the
city where cell coverage is spotty.
Palos Verdes Estates, incorporated in 1939, was subject to broad deed
restrictions from the onset of private home construction in the 1920s, when
New York banker Frank A. Vanderlip drafted a trust indenture establishing
setback requirements, prohibiting billboards and requiring that builders
"preserve the fine views of ocean, mountains and park." The founder also
created the Palos Verdes Homes Assn. and the Palos Verdes Art Jury to check
home construction and landscaping plans for aesthetic conformance.
Pioneers in the embrace of aesthetics in urban development, the residents of
Palos Verdes Estates are emulated across Southern California's patchwork of
planned communities in what Garde, the urban design professor, has dubbed
"the gated community syndrome."
carol.williams@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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John,
Thank you for your message.
The WiMax is like other sources of radiation (HF) with the same effects on health.
We have won a court (judgment) concerns the health and WiMax and there was also report on WiMax, which is available in French:
www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/WiMax.php
Report:
www.next-up.org/pdf/RapportEmissionAntennesWiMaxSideciAbidjanCoteIvoire022008.pdf
Judgment
www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/CoteIvoire.php
Good luck
Best regards
Marie-Pierre
John Avison: news focus on electromagnetic radiation, phone masts
Oct 27 2009 by John Avison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
in the UK are now using 70m mobile phones – more than one phone per man, woman and child – but the jury remains out on the long-term damage they may be causing.
Mobile phones have been blamed for nosebleeds, memory loss, neuro-degenerative diseases, infertility, sleep disturbance, breast cancer, headaches, cerebral tumours and vomiting.
Calls are serviced through a network of 52,000 masts or base stations – up from 35,000 five years ago.
Dr Martin Sibley is a research leader in communication technology with an interest in electromagnetic theory at Huddersfield University.
He accepts that it is simply too early to determine what all this non- ionising radiation is doing to us.
"But I'm coming down on the 'electromagnetic fog is nasty' side of the argument," he admitted.
"A lot depends on the frequency of the radiation, which covers such a wide range. It's not clear at this stage what is damaging and what is harmless.
"What is certain is that this kind of radiation does have a variety of effects on the human body.
"I compare our present situation to the one scientists found themselves in when somebody first suggested there might be a link between tobacco and cancer."
And the latest research by the World Health Organisation claims it can be linked to four different kinds of cancer with a "significantly increased risk'' of some brain tumours. The full details of the research which looked at 12,800 people over 10 years will be released in the coming weeks.
But for every piece of research suggesting the lethality of microwave emissions, there's a survey saying there's nothing to worry about.
In the USA, a comprehensive $12m federal investigation of cellphone safety is under way, but will take at least another five years to complete.
Investigations in the UK are being conducted and funded jointly by the Department of Health and the Mobile Operators' Association (MOA).
Results from the current £3.1m Mobile Telephone and Health Research Study won't be available for several years.
Many people think that such research is discredited from the outset because, whether or not the Mobile Operators' Association has a hidden agenda, it's impossible to consider that they might not have one.
People can't help but think that MOA research was 'directed' and that the results thus produced are in some way tainted.
Data from a set of Swedish studies, collected over the last 10 years, may be considered more reliable.
One showed conclusively that rats exposed to two hours' mobile phone radiation, became brain-damaged.
For Kirklees Planning Department, apparently, the jury is still out.
Their concern when considering an application for a new phone mast or a significant addition to an established one, is whether or not the application would 'materially affect the appearance' of the proposed site.
When pressed on health issues they mention a 'perception of risk' not 'risk', which indicates that planners, in line with Government policy, are keeping an open mind on the danger or safety of telecoms equipment.
In the meantime, telecoms companies are seeking ever more ingenious ways to disguise their masts – as chimney pots, flagpoles, clock towers, weather vanes, drainpipes and even as plastic trees.
Nationally, UK planners are quietly advising a moratorium on new masts on or overlooking school premises.
This is a profound irony for parents of children at the new Hillside Primary School in Newsome.
Here objection has been over-ruled as a school has been planned and built next to eight mobile phone transmitters on the TV relay mast on the school boundary – and apparently without independent checks on emission levels.
They are objecting to the presence of eight mobile phone transmitters on the TV relay mast on the school boundary, which is The transmitters are broadcasting around the clock in the 900-2100Mhz range.
Many believe such bombardment is damaging their children's health.
They may be right. But it's as well to consider the following:
It's not just mobile phones. Cordless landline phones, baby alarms and broadband-connected personal computers also pump out and receive microwave radiation.
Electromagnetic 'fog' surrounds electrical cables, radios and televisions in the same way a magnet influences iron filings. We've lived with this for many decades. In the United States of America a study has confirmed a relationship between leukaemia clusters and pole-mounted transformers.
It's as well to bear in mind that mobile phones themselves are transceivers which means that they both pick up signals from phone masts and send signals to them.
While a phone mast may emit microwave energy much greater than the waves that come from your mobile phone, you are much nearer to your mobile phone and therefore subjected to a much greater intensity of emission.
The mast is, after all, on top of a building, not next to your head.
Crashing down all around us is wide-band radiation from the sun, cosmic gamma particles from distant exploding stars, background radiation from nuclear tests and accidents and the combined output of many high-powered terrestrial radio transmitter towers.
Far more evidence exists for cancer clusters related to ionising radiation from rocks and soil – radon gas seepage – than from mobile phones and masts
