LETTERS: Radiation from phone masts Wednesday October 14 2009 http://www.kerryman.ie/news/letters-radiation-from-phone-masts-1912644.html Sir, I would like to respond to Dr Nolan's letter on safety issues with mobile phone masts, published in The Kerryman of October 7. Dr Nolan is wrong when he says that non-ionising radiation cannot affect living things if it is too weak to generate significant heat. The most obvious examples are the effects of visible light, which is of course non-ionising. Were it not for its effects on chlorophyll, plants would not be able to photosynthesise and, were it not for its effects on our visual pigments, we would not be able to see. Non-ionising radio frequencies can affect other important pigments; for example, Ritz and co-workers (Nature, Vol. 429, 13th May 2004) showed that they affect the normal functioning of cryptochrome. Birds, bees and other animals use cryptochrome to sense the direction of the earth's magnetic field for navigation, and radio waves can interfere with this. In fact, the cryptochromes are a family of pigments, present in virtually all animal and plant cells, where they also form a vital part of the biological clock that senses time. In animals that use the sun for navigation, an accurate sense of time is important because it enables them to compensate for its changing position throughout the day. In the case of the bees, which can use either magnetic or solar navigation, radio waves from mobile phone masts will leave them with little or no sense of direction. This is probably the main contributory factor to the so-called colony collapse disorder in which foraging bees simply do not return to the hive. The bees clearly do not like this sort of radiation since, if you place a DECT cordless phone base station (a surrogate mobile phone mast) next to a hive, the bees leave and do not return. These effects now threaten the very survival of the bee population, which in turn threatens us because many of our crops depend on them for pollination. However, we humans also use cryptochrome in our own biological clocks, and this may be responsible for the poor sleep patterns often reported in people living near mobile phone masts. They suffer fatigue during the day and interrupted sleep at night, just as if their biological clocks had ceased to function normally. This sort of disruption is like a permanent jet-lag and is associated with a damaged immune system (which works best at night), and increases the risk of getting cancer and other diseases. The increased risk of cancer, including breast and colorectal cancers, is well established in people whose rhythms have been disrupted by shift working and is now becoming increasingly reported as cancer clusters around mobile phone masts and radio and television transmitters. However, the most serious biological effect of non-ionising radiation is its ability to disrupt cell membranes. This has been known since the work of Suzanne Bawin and her coworkers in 1975 (Ann NY Acad Sci Vol 247, pp 74-81). They discovered that amplitude-modulated radio-waves, where the signal strength rises and falls (as it does in mobile phones), could remove structurally important calcium ions from cell membranes at levels far too low to generate significant heat. This makes them leak, which can give a whole range of biological effects that are similar to those of ionising radiation, which also makes cell membranes leak. The mechanism is, however different. Ionising radiation generates highly reactive free radicals, which destroy the fatty components of cell membranes to make permanent holes, whereas non-ionising radiation makes temporary holes as the components of the weakened membrane pull apart from time to time. Nevertheless, the effect is the same; the membranes leak. In either case, the most serious effect is on the membranes of the lysosomes. These are structures in living cells that contain digestive enzymes and are normally used to digest waste for recycling. When these leak, they can release their enzymes and do serious damage to the rest of the cell, including to its DNA (bacteria, which have no lysosomes, are about a thousand times more resistant to radiation than higher organisms, which do have them). The effects of non-ionising radiation are slower than ionising radiation. For example, it takes several hours for exposure to mobile phone radiation to do serious damage to the DNA in living cells (see www.bioinitiative.org ), but the effects are qualitatively the same. The result is an increased risk for heavy mobile phone users of getting brain and other head cancers in later life. There has also been a mysterious increase in cancers of the thyroid gland (which is in the neck, close to where you hold your mobile phone), and a permanent reduction in thyroid function has been reported in rats exposed for more than three months to power line frequencies. In humans, this would be expected to lead to obesity and other symptoms of hypothyroidism. About one third of the population is currently overweight or clinically obese. There is also a reduction in fertility in people using mobile phones for more than about four hours a day as sperm, and possibly also the eggs, are damaged. Another effect of DNA damage is the disruption of cell division in the bone marrow, which affects the production of healthy white blood cells and can lead to a reduced immunity to disease. Yet another serious effect of leakage is on the blood-brain barrier. This is a layer of cells, where the gaps between them are sealed to prevent unwanted materials entering the brain from the bloodstream. It has been shown that mobile phone radiation makes this barrier leak, which results in the death of neurons, and is likely to lead to early dementia. There are similar barriers covering all of our body surfaces, both inside and out. Leakage in the skin barrier allows the easier penetration of allergens, and is probably responsible for the recent rise in multiple allergies. Leakage in the nasal barrier will increase the risk of asthma. Leakage in the gut barrier has been linked to autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, type-1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, as undigested food enters the bloodstream and damages other cells, which are then destroyed by the immune system. More information on much of this, together with references to the appropriate scientific journals, can be found at http://tinyurl.com/5ru6e6. I'm afraid that Dr Nolan (who is an electronics engineer but not a biologist) is seriously and dangerously incorrect in his claim that weak non-ionising radiation can have no harmful biological effects. Sincerely, Andrew Goldsworthy BSc PhD Lecturer in Biology (retired) Imperial College London.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Radiation from phone masts
Should the UK spend £10bn on smart meters?
Author:
Ian Grant
12:41 14 Oct 2009
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/10/14/238131/should-the-uk-spend-10bn-on-smart-meters.htm-->
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is expected to reveal its decision this month on how to implement a £10bn plan to replace 47 million gas and electricity meters with new smart energy meters in every British home, office and factory by 2020.
The government believes smart meters will provide accurate real-time information on consumers' energy consumption, encouraging them to use less. Smart meters promise to give consumers the ability to switch between energy suppliers almost instantly. Micro-generators will be able to sell spare energy back to the grid, and consumers will be able trickle-charge their electric cars at the cheapest rate. There will be no more meter readers or estimated bills.
The project will "dwarf" the Digital Dividend project to convert TV broadcasting from analogue to digital technology, says David Southwell, a spokesman for the Energy Network Association (ENA), which represents companies that own and manage the energy distribution networks "Every home and office will have to be visited [to fit the new meters]," he says.
Garry Felgate, chief executive of the Energy Retail Association (ERA), which represents gas and electricity suppliers, says the industry needs to invest up to £200bn over the next 10 years on new power stations and distribution grids to meet environmental targets and to ensure "the lights stay on".
The DECC impact assessment found that the smart meter project would cost £9.3bn and return £11.8bn over 20 years. So is spending the money now on smart meters the right way to go?
A DECC spokesman says the spending decision has been taken; still at issue is the roll-out plan. But last week, the government asked consultancy Accenture, which has pushed for city-based smart grid projects, to take another look at the business case.
Guy Doyle, chief energy economist at Mott MacDonald, a multinational management and engineering and development consultancy, says there are cheaper ways to cut energy consumption.
The biggest impact consumers can make on their energy bills is to turn down their thermostats, improve insulation in their houses, install energy-efficient boilers and lights, and swap their cookers for microwave ovens, Doyle says. "MOreover, these savings are locked in," he says.
It would be easier and cheaper to retrofit existing meters with a very basic energy meter.
Consumers or energy retailers could then use existing fixed and mobile telephone, satellite and cable TV networks, or possibly even the electricity grid (see box) for communications, he says.
The information transfer requirement is negligible, he says. "Message sizes are a couple of bytes and they can update once a day. There would be some loss of functionality versus the premium solution, but the savings would be considerable."
He discounts the claimed benefits of extra information and control that smart meters and smart electricity grids could provide, pointing out that most of the grid is already under real-time control.
"There are about 300 grid supply point [GSP] meters [which measure the change from high-voltage to low-voltage distribution] all under real-time monitoring and providing very detailed information about consumption. One would want to be confident that the extra information from 28 million consumer metering points justified the cost," Doyle says.
He agrees that providing regular feedback to customers on their consumption should incentivise them to better manage their consumption, but research shows that consumers are only likely to save between 2% to 15% on their bills, and these savings are temporary as consumers do revert to old habits.
The energy industry is keen to have a centralised data network to manage the meters. But that might not be needed. Search engine firm Google is already testing how to use personal Google pages to provide customers with their electricity usage data with several energy companies, including Glasgow EPB.
Southwell says smart meters are essential if consumers want to recharge their electric cars at the lowest tariff, or those who generate their own electricity want to sell any surplus to the national grid.
But the real short-term consumer benefit of smart meters would be to simplify and speed up switching between energy suppliers. Doyle says the present process requires some 30-plus error-prone steps.
"A smart meter and grid would allow consumers to change suppliers almost instantly. Your supplier could take a reading while you were on the phone, say you owe so much, which you could pay by card, and the job's done," he says.
The other big advantage would be to cut the number of meter readers. Not reading meters would save energy firms £2.6bn, the impact assessment says.
But unemployment is close to record levels. Could the government afford to throw more people out of work? Would meter readers be happy to retrain to fit smart meters?
Had the decision to refresh the nation's meters been taken six years ago, when the government's finances were stronger, there would be little argument about it. But the size of the national debt, the current account deficit, the untested carbon saving, and the likely staff redundancies, all suggest the case for smart meters now is unproven.
How will the smart grid be controlled?
The kind of communications network needed to control the smart grid is a key issue affected by the decision on how the UK will roll out smart meters and convert the nation's 50-year-old electricity distribution network into a smart grid.
The question was the first asked in a consultation on ways and means to spend almost £10bn to replace the nation's 47 million gas and electricity meters by 2020, the aim being to cut the nation's energy consumption.
The Energy Retail Association (ERA), which represents the six main energy suppliers, is keen on a centralised communications network. It told the DECC, "A combined central metering management system (which includes communications network specifications) is the most effective way to govern retail and metering arrangements."
Others argue it could be done using the existing telephone, data, TV and possibly even the electrical power grid itself, or a combination of them. Or that it could be done with regional rather than national networks.
Jason Brogden, principal consultant for Engage and project manager for the ERA's smart meter project, says interoperability is crucial for the different components that make up the system. The industry would prefer to specify the network in terms of application interfaces that cover the meters' functions, the wide area network, the home area network and the human interface (ie, display), he says.
"The key thing is to define everything as a service," he says. This will allow suppliers to provide innovative answers to the meters, the networks and the displays because they have only to ensure that their components can accept defined inputs and provide defined outputs.
Either the government or the industry can then use procurement policy to get competitive bids from smart meter manufacturers, installers and communications services suppliers, he says.
Energy grid as broadband network
Two new standards are under development that will turn the electrical power grid into a secure high-speed broadband network.
They could allow energy companies to compete with existing telecommunications network operators, or to earn more by renting out spare capacity.
TheIEEE P1901 project will develop a standard for high-speed (faster than 100Mbps) communication devices via alternating current electric power lines. They will use transmission frequencies below 100MHz and run up to 1,500m from the nearest exchange or 100m from other network devices in local area networks.
The standard will ensure the privacy of communications between users and allow the use of networked devices for security sensitive services. The full implementation will allow devices on the network to talk to each other as well as other networks via Ethernet 802.1. The standard will also comply with national electromagnetic radiation limits to ensure they don't affect other electronic devices.
The IEEE P1903 standard will allow local devices such as TV monitors and personal digital assistants to use internet protocols to discover, set up, and maintain their own local area network independently of underlying transport networks.
SCRAP THE METERS FOR HEALTH REASONS
Letters to the Editor - Simcoe Reformer
http://www.simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2113992
Three cheers to Ron Beckett for his letter in the Oct. 6 edition of the Times-Reformer.
Ron makes good points in regards to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by these meters.
County council, in endorsing the installation and use of these transmitters, likely has no idea of the specifications of these meters. For instance, what frequency or frequencies do these meters transmit on? The likely range is from 900 MHz (megahertz) to 2.5 GHz (gigahertz). These frequencies are near or at microwave range.
The higher a frequency of EM radiation, the easier it will penetrate materials including human tissue.
Also, how many times in a 24-hour period does the meter transmit? Another important factor is the power in the transmitted signal.
If the signal strength is anywhere near that as reported to me by Norfolk Power in regards to "smart meters," a level of two watts, the long term consequences can be serious. This is a power level much higher than cellphones produce. So, especially in Simcoe, the possibility exists that we could have both meters transmitting very near you, in your house.
I have sent an e-mail to the Canadian Cancer Society as well as every MPP in Ontario, outlining long-term risks of these meters. I received only two replies; one from the office of our local MPP Toby Barrett. The rest of them seem to show no concern for the long-term health of the residents of Ontario.
The McGuinty government legislated the smart meters. This should be reversed. As well, the replacement water meter plan should also be scrapped; for our health.
Gary Mills
Simcoe
Analysis of cellphone studies finds tumor risk
Scientists looking at 23 studies involving almost 38,000 people initially see no connection. But a closer look at the highest-quality studies tells another story.
The answer to the question of whether cellphones increase the risk of brain, head and neck tumors is truly a matter of whom you ask.
An analysis published Tuesday of data from 23 epidemiological studies found no connection between cellphone use and the development of cancerous or benign tumors. But when eight of the studies that were conducted with the most scientific rigor were analyzed, cellphone users were shown to have a 10% to 30% increased risk of tumors compared with people who rarely or never used the phones. The risk was highest among those who had used cellphones for 10 years or more.
"The other group of 15 studies were not as high-quality," said study coauthor Joel M. Moskowitz, director of the UC Berkeley Center for Family and Community Health. "They either found no association or a negative association or a protective effect -- which I don't think anyone would have predicted.
"The main message of the analysis, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is that studies should be conducted so that findings are harder to refute, he said.
In recent years, concerns have arisen that the radio-frequency energy emitted by cellphones may be high enough to cause tumors and other health problems. But the risks are hotly debated.
"I went into this really dubious that anything was going on," Moskowitz said. "Overall, you find no difference. But when you start teasing the studies apart and doing these subgroup analyses, you do find there is reason to be concerned.
"All of the studies were case control studies, which means researchers interviewed people on their past use of cellphones. Some of the people, referred to as controls, had no history of brain tumors; others, known as cases, had been diagnosed with brain tumors. The studies encompassed 37,916 people.
Eight of the studies were singled out as more reliable because the researchers were not told which people had tumors and because the studies were not supported with mobile phone industry funding. However, seven of those eight studies were conducted by a single researcher, Dr. Lennart Hardell, an oncologist in Sweden.
Some of the less-stringent studies were part of the Interphone project coordinated by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer. Interphone is funded in part by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum and the Global System for Mobile Communication Assn.
"Hardell had the higher-quality studies in which he was blinded to the cases and controls," Moskowitz said. "Presumably, he would have less opportunity to bias the results. But was it better methodology? Or was it something about Sweden? More people there live in rural communities, and maybe they were exposed to higher levels of energy."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-cell-phones14-2009oct14,0,3949576.story
Tumor risk
Study Suggests Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Tumors
By Amanda GardnerHealthDay Reporter
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=106496
TUESDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The latest study focusing on a possible cell phone-brain tumor connection finds a weak potential link between the two.
A review of existing research on the topic, published online Oct. 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, discerned no overall link. But when the spotlight was turned on only the more methodologically rigorous studies, a potentially harmful association was found.
Combined with similarly murky conclusions from earlier research, this leaves the world's four billion cell phone users with no clear indication of what risk, if any, they are taking when they converse on the go.
"We cannot make any definitive conclusions about this," said one expert, Dr. Deepa Subramaniam, director of the Brain Tumor Center at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. "But this study, in addition to all the previous studies, continues to leave lingering doubt as to the potential for increased risk. So, one more time, after all these years, we don't have a clear-cut answer."
"What makes me worry," she stated, "is that the higher quality studies [seen here] did indeed show an association."
Joel Moskowitz, the study's senior author, said that "clearly there is risk." He's director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health.
"I would not allow children to use a cell phone, or I at least would require them to use a separate headset," Moskowitz said. "It seems fairly derelict of us as a society or as a planet to just disseminate this technology to the extent that we have without doing a whole lot more research of the potential harms and how to protect against those harms. Clearly, we need to learn a whole lot more about this technology."
Some in the technology industry disagree.
"The peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk," John Walls, vice president of public affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, said in a prepared statement.
"In addition, there is no known mechanism for microwave energy within the limits established by the [U.S. Federal Communications Commission] to cause any adverse health effects," he said. "That is why the leading global heath organizations such as the American Cancer Society, [U.S.] National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration all have concurred that wireless devices are not a public health risk."
For the new study, Moskowitz and his fellow researchers in South Korea searched medical bases for the keywords "mobile phones," "cellular phones," "cordless phones" and "tumors" or "cancer." They included 23 case-control studies, involving 37,916 total participants, in their final analysis.
When the studies were pooled, no risk was seen between mobile phone use and brain tumors, either benign or malignant. But a subgroup of studies that employed more rigorous methodology -- most conducted by the same research team in Sweden -- reported a harmful effect, whereas a set of less rigorous studies -- most funded by an industry consortium -- found a protective effect.
Specifically, the more robust studies found that using a mobile phone for a decade or longer resulted in an 18% increased risk for developing a brain tumor.
Some studies also showed that brain tumors were more likely to appear on the side of the brain where the cell phone was used.
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 21,000 malignant brain or spinal cord tumors are diagnosed in adults in the U.S. each year, while 3,800 such tumors are diagnosed in children.
Moskowitz also believes that there's potential for harm to other areas of the body -- the genitals, for example -- when the phone is carried in a pocket.
With so many people worldwide using cell phones, even a small risk could translate into many illnesses and deaths, he said.
"We need to do a whole lot more research because the stakes are really high and there seems to be suggestive evidence that you better be careful about this, especially in children, who have developing tissue and smaller brain and skull sizes," Moskowitz warned.
Subramaniam seemed to agree.
"I do encourage people to use the speaker phone or a hands-free device if they can, and I definitely do not encourage children to use cell phones because then there's a much longer lifetime risk of exposure," she said.
"In my opinion," she said, "the question remains unsettled -- and unsettled always carries with it likelihood that we might find an association."
A report last year from the National Research Council, the main operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, and compiled at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, called for more research into the risks posed by long-term cell phone use, rather than the more commonly studied short-term risks. It urged that such research focus on the health of children, pregnant women and fetuses as well as workers subject to high occupational exposure.
Review of the safety standard NZ
From: D Ward
To: http://www.blogger.com/
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:06 PM
Subject: Re: Select Committee consideration of cellphone tower petitions
Please acknowledge receipt of my submission as I am absent but wish to state:-
Cellphone Towers around the world can operate at 10 microwatts per square centimetre, yet New Zealand moved our limit from 200 to 450 microwatts per square centimetre without any scientific evidence showing that 450 units of radiation was safer than 10.
If government is going to completely remove peoples rights to request safer cellsites in communities, then the government should ensure that the safety limits protect the people of New Zealand.
The Environmental Protection for Children trust has continually asked for a review of the safety standard NZ Public Exposure Safety Standard for Fadiofrequency Fields Maximum Exposure 3 kHZ to 300 GHz NZS2772:(99 year made) and to review the standard setting committee. We have asked that health proffessionals set the standard rather than electrical engineers, industry spokespeople and people with a vested interest in the outcome. We were advised that the standard should be reviewed every 10 years, which meant the standard was due for review this year and yet recent correspondence has indicated that the standard will proberly not be reviewed in the near future, if at all, because the review needs industry funding, amoung other funding. What kind of standard do we have?
An indepth concern on the New Zealand standard is on the Safety Standards page at http://www.blogger.com/
The main problem is that the government are continually advised by the same people in MoH, NRL electrical engineers, industry spokes people and those with a vested interst in the outcome, when will people who know about the health effects from radiation be consulted and when will the people of New Zealand be heard?
Denise Ward,
240 Prestons Road,
Christchurch,
New ZealandCheck out http://www.blogger.com/http://www.blogger.com/and http://www.blogger.com/
PS
Dear Denise
Your email to John has just been forwarded on to me, thanks for writing to us about NZS 2772:1999 - Radio-frequency fields - Maximum exposure levels - 3 kHz to 300 GHz
NZS 2772:1999 is cited by the Resource Management (National Environmental Standard for Telecommunication Facilities) Regulations 2008. Usually, in order for Standards New Zealand to initiate a revision on a cited Standard, the government agency concerned would have researched the need for the revision and they would approach us and fund any revision required. Once we have this, Standards New Zealand initiates a call for experts to form a balanced committee that will review the Standard. We discuss committee representation with the funder and with the obvious key stakeholders, and we also ask the committee once formed whether they feel that the group is balanced or whether it needs additional membership. We aim to have balanced representation from all national interests, including central and local government, academics, professionals/practitioners, non profit organisations, consumers, industry associations and business interests.
In terms of a pathway forward, I suggest you could approach Barry Johnson at the Ministry for the Environment to discuss NZS 2772:1999. I have just rung him, and he would be happy to hear from you. Barry is cc'd to this email, and his contact details are: 04 439 7769. http://www.blogger.com/
The other key government agency stakeholders are Ministry of Health (MoH) and the MoH National Radiation Laboratory (NRL). This webpage at NRL has specific mention of NZS 2772:1999 http://www.blogger.com/ Barry tells me he can direct you to the right people to talk to at MoH and NRL.
Standards New Zealand would be most happy to attend any meetings with you to facilitate the conversations. I look forward to staying in touch on this, and please let me know if I can provide you with any further information.
Kind regards
Angela
Angela HendersonBusiness Development Manager - Environment Standards New Zealand
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Controversial cell phone tower destroyed - Botswana
Vandalism Controversial cell phone tower destroyed - Botswana The controversial cell phone tower erected on the royal Phuthadikobo Hill, a few metres away from the royal palace, has been destroyed by the villagers, it was confirmed on Saturday. Officer Commanding Kgatleng District, senior superintendent Seabe Maboka confirmed on Saturday that the tower is not working after some unknown people vandalised it. He would not immediately say who reported the damage but said reliable sources had informed the police at night that the tower had stopped working. Maboka said Mascom cellular network, which erected the cell phone tower, told him the damage ran into millions of Pula, but would not specify how it was destroyed. On Saturday, the Mochudi police sealed off the area around the tower on top of the hill so that no one could interfere with the investigations. Meantime, efforts to reach Mascom proved futile on Saturday as one of their manager's cell phone kept ringing unanswered. According to sources at the Mochudi Police Station, the destruction of the cell phone tower was reported in the early hours of Saturday by the cell phone network operators. The police chief confirmed informing the Bakgatla royals early in the day about the destruction after the incident was reported. Investigations are continuing. Meanwhile, the Bakgatla Kgosi Kgolo Kgafela II was not immediately available to comment on the latest development. He was said to be out at the cattle post along with his indunas at the time of going to press. Last week Bakgatla royals called a meeting where the community was briefed on the health hazards posed by the Phuthadikobo museum to their royalty. They were also told that the late Kgosi kgolo Linchwe died from an illness linked to exposure to radiation, microwaves and radio emissions from the tower. They were also briefed by dikgosi amongst them Kgosi Mmusi, Sekai, Mothibe, Segale, Bakgatle, that the tower should make way for the kgosi kgolo, as it is preventing him from occupying the royal residence. After the meeting held on October 3, Bakgatla regiments went up the Phuthadikobo hill to inspect the tower so they might know the right tools needed to destroy it. It was finally destroyed in the early hours of Saturday. However, neither the Bakgatla royal house nor any of the regiments have claimed responsibility.
Monday, October 12, 2009
EMR and sperm head abnormalities
Preliminary Study on the Induction of Sperm Head Abnormalities in Mice, Mus musculus, Exposed to Radiofrequency Radiations from Global System for Mobile Communication Base Stations.
Otitoloju AA, Obe IA, Adewale OA, Otubanjo OA, Osunkalu VO.
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria, bayotitoloju@yahoo.com.
The exposure of male mice to radiofrequency radiations from mobile phone (GSM) base stations at a workplace complex and residential quarters caused 39.78 and 46.03%, respectively, in sperm head abnormalities compared to 2.13% in control group. Statistical analysis of sperm head abnormality score showed that there was a significant (p < 0.05) difference in occurrence of sperm head abnormalities in test animals. The major abnormalities observed were knobbed hook, pin-head and banana-shaped sperm head. The occurrence of the sperm head abnormalities was also found to be dose dependent. The implications of the observed increase occurrence of sperm head abnormalities on the reproductive health of humans living in close proximity to GSM base stations were discussed.
PMID: 19816647 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Protests against phone tower near Rainworth State School
Article from:
Tanya Chilcott
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26201694-3102,00.html
October 12, 2009 11:00pm
TELSTRA has been warned it faces "a gladiatorial ring" of angry parents and residents tonight when it flies in experts to address growing fury over a planned mobile base station in Brisbane's Bardon.
Hundreds of parents and residents met last week to galvanise action against the telecommunications giant's plan to place the station on an apartment block just 170m from Rainworth State School.
Telstra claims it is replacing an existing tower which is closer to the school, but residents say the new device emits 22 times the radiation.
Residents are tying pink ribbons on fences to symbolise cancer fears, and plan to join hundreds of parents in a meeting tonight with Telstra at the school.
Rainworth State School P&C president Sandra Boland said there were no long-term studies into the effects of electromagnetic emissions or radiation from the 3G network stations, and parents were not willing to put their children's health at risk.
"If there is any doubt – and I think that is the bottom line – no one wants to take the risk," she said.
Local resident and pediatrician Fiona Macfarlane said there were people within the scientific community who believed electromagnetic radiation could cause memory loss, poor concentration, sleep disorders, tremors, fatigue, rashes and immune system problems, with children more susceptible.
She said there were also links to cancer.
Federal Member for Ryan Michael Johnson is backing the infuriated community.
A Telstra spokeswoman said the company acknowledged some people were "genuinely concerned about possible health effects" and they were "committed to addressing these concerns responsibly".
Sunday, October 11, 2009
News from Ireland
Martin,
I'm attaching an article from our local newspaper because it marks the first time an Irish municipality has challenged county and national bodies on the issue of EMFs following a visit here by Prof.Olle Johansson in March. It took them long enough. Unfortunately, theydidn't challenge police authorities over the erection of a Tetra mastat the local police station within 1,000 metres of 5 schools and 2,000 children.
Our website is http://www.eirewaves.com/ where you can find Prof. Johansson's presentation.
Kind regards,
John Weigel
continues to rage
By Peter Kelly
Liffey Champion
4 October 2009
THE DEBATE over the potential dangers over a Leixlip telecommunications mast poses to human health continues to rage with those arguing the case for both sides as far off as ever.
Steps are being taken by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government to allay locals' fears about the potential risks the mast at Leixlip Garda Station poses to health.
But at the same time, elements within Leixlip Town Council remain unconvinced.
The resident had previously written to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, TD (GP) to raise his concern about the potential risk to health from the structure.
Yet on Tuesday night (6th October), Cllr Pat Burke-Walsh (FG) called on Leixlip Town Council to agree to his proposal for Minister Gormley to initiate a study of the effects of radiation, from masts with multiple signals, on human and animal life in Leixlip.
He was also seeking for a moratorium to be put in place on the erection of such masts and called on the Minister for State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Martin Maasergh, TD (FF) to bar the use of the Leixlip Garda Station mast by commercial interests.
"In my opinion and in the opinion of a lot of people, there are still problems with masts," said Pat Burke Walsh, as he pointed out that opposition to such structures within some planning authorities is growing.
Using Sligo County Council's refusal to grant permission for a TETRA mast and Mayo County Council's refusal of mast plans by Hutchison as examples, Cllr Burke-Walsh said he could cite a whole list of other examples.
He added that children attending Scoil Bhride on Green Lane Leixlip are playing1 in their yard sandwiched between two masts.
The councillor also acknowledged previous assessments of masts in Leixlip that showed emission levels are below the permitted limit hut questioned the validity of those reports.
"Some people think it's poppycock but would you ask someone from Volkswagen to assess how safe cars are?' he asked.
"No. There were vested interests in the assessment done before.”
Having retired from his position as principal of St Peter Apostle Senior National School in Neilstown in Dublin earlier this year, Cllr Burke-Walsh said one family hi that area had been decimated by cancer.
He said that family believed it was caused by radiation from a nearby mast and alleged that gardai in Clondalkin, where a mast is also located, have, and are, dying of cancer.
However, in correspondence sent to the Leixlip resident, the Department official said the advice it is giving to people to those living close to mobile phone base stations, is that there is no scientific basis or evidence of adverse health effects in children or adults as a result of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
He said that advice applied irrespective of the location of the phone mast.
He said the majority scientific opinion is that, to date, no adverse short or long, term effects have been demonstrated from exposure to electromagnetic fields at levels below the limits recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection.
However, he said a minority group of scientists believe otherwise and extensive international research, co-funded by the Irish Government, continues to be co-ordinated through bodies such as the World Health Organisation.
He said the TETRA system being used in Leixlip, as it is elsewhere around the country to support emergency differs to the standard GSM base stations in that it operates continuously.
But he pointed out the Expert Group did not report evidence that the special features of the signals from the TETRA terminals and repeaters pose a hazard to health.
He added that the views a the Expert Group Report are consistent with the latest findings
from the European Commission's own expert advisory group on the subject, the Scientific
Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENHIR).
He said SCENHIR's most recent report, adopted on 19th January this year, found that no
health effect had been consistently demonstrated at exposure levels below those established by the ICNIRP in 1998.
In support of the Cllr Burke Walsh's motion, Cllr Shane Fitzgerald (GP) told this week's Town Council meeting that the issue is very important for Leixlip.
Cllr Bernard Caldwell (FF) though, appeared unconvinced saying no one wants to live next to a mast but yet still walk around with mobile phones.
“As a local body all we can do is voice opinions or objections because no one has proved the effect,” he said.
But not wishing to cause panic, Cllr Burke-Walsh said instances of prostate and breast cancer in Leixlip are 24% higher than anywhere else in the country.
While Cllr Catherine Murphy (Ind) said she encountered everything from "fear to terror” when discussing the issue during canvassing in June, she indicated that those figures could be put down to the,demographic in Leixlip.
But she said the fact the mast in Leixlip benefited from exempt development, despite the fact it might be used for commercial interest, was wrong.
On Cllr Burke-Walsh’s comments that gardai in Dublin have died from Cancer attributed to the masts, Cllr Sean Purcell (Lab) doubted if anyone of them would be “stupid enough to allow a similar structure in Leixlip”, describing such a scenario as “madness”.
Despite that, a deputation of local residents is expected to attend the Town Council’s meeting in December to speak on the issue, pending a request to do so being submitted before next month’s meeting.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
EHS Mechanisms Talk on Oct 3rd 2009 / EMF-Omega News
Hello all
I gave a talk on the mechanisms by which electro hyper-sensitivity symptoms occur, at a meeting of about 100 EHS sufferers last Saturday. It was held at the Head Office of Samworth Bros (Makers of Ginster's pies and many supermarket own-brand ready-meals) whose CEO has severe EHS and had a special EMF-free room constructed for the purpose. A recording of it can be found at
http://electrosensitivityuk.podbean.com/ .
Please feel free to pass the link on to anyone you think may be interested.
Best wishes
Andrew
(Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy)
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sir, Madam, Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
for your information.
Best regards,
Klaus Rudolph
Citizens' Initiative Omega
<http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/OmegaNews.php>http://www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/OmegaNews.php
http://www.mastsanity.org/index.php?option=com_newsfeeds&task=view&feedid=1&Itemid=52
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/
Electromagnetic Pollution in Our Environment
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5983019/
Understanding of neurogenetic
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5981316/
Cell phone antennas cause harm
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5975319/
Can a cell phone kill us?
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5979089/
Broadband tower sparks outrage
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5979537/
Mascom Tower Keeps The Chief Away From His Palace
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5976437/
French Senate wants to ban cell phones in school
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5983408/
Honeybees face towering threat from mobiles
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5980899/
Human Antenna
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5983282/
Cell Phone Towers and the NIMBY Syndrome
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5981342/
The great cell phone cover-up may be coming to an end
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5981403/
Proposed Wireless Antennas Have Citizens in Uproar
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5981191/
Farmer wants vote against Victoria Harbour tower upheld
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5983016/
Cell Phones and Cancer: How To Stay Safe
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5984872/
News from Mast Sanity
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3
--------
Our links:
http://tinyurl.com/93epp
http://tinyurl.com/9w2sx <http://www.grn.es/electropolucio/00omega.htm>
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3
http://tinyurl.com/oya9t
http://tinyurl.com/jyemw
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EMR-EMF/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/emf-omega-news/
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/emf-omega-news/>
______________________________
Note: EMF-Omega News belongs to the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), Umbrella Organization of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog. Editor and responsible for the content: Citizens' Initiative Omega, member in the Buergerwelle. Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), which works on non-profit base. Our messages are the result of many hours of daily research, roundup and editing.
If you would like to support our activity for people around the world with a donation or an aid fund unique or on regular base, you can do it: Recipient: Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), bank-connection: Hypo Bank Augsburg, account-No 2250284, BLZ 720 200 70, IBAN: DE83 7202 0070 0002 2502 84, SWIFT (BIC): HYVEDEMM408. Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), Umbrella Organization of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog: 1. Chairman Siegfried Zwerenz, 2. Chairman Barbara Eidling, Mailing address: Lindenweg 10, D-95643 Tirschenreuth, phone 0049-(0)9631-795736, fax 0049-(0)9631-795734,
e-mail pr@buergerwelle.de,
Internet http://www.buergerwelle.de .
Thank you.
If you have information which you would like to share with your friends and colleges around the world and which are from common interest, please send us this information, we will send them out. Disclaimer: The information in our EMF-Omega-News are derived from sources, which we believe to be accurate but this cannot be guaranteed. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions and disclaims any liability incurred as a consequence of any of the contents of this resources.
Childhood cancer survivors / French Senate Moves to Ban Mobile Phones in Schools / Cell Phones and Cancer: How To Stay Safe
Survivors of childhood cancer less likely to marry
"Our study pinpointed what aspects of the survivor experience likely contribute to altered marriage patterns: short stature, poor physical functioning and cognitive problems," said Kadan-Lottick.
"These conditions are known to be associated with certain chemotherapy and radiation exposures."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/aafc-soc100509.php
PHILADELPHIA – Childhood cancer survivors typically suffer from the long-term effects of cancer treatment on physical health, and results of a new study suggest that social implications also exist, which may affect their chance of an "I do" at the altar.
Survivors are 20 to 25 percent more likely "to never marry" compared with siblings and the general population, according to findings published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Many childhood cancer survivors still struggle to fully participate in our society because of the lasting cognitive and physical effects of their past cancer therapy," said lead researcher Nina S. Kadan-Lottick, M.D., M.S.P.H., assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center, and medical director of the Health Education, Research & Outcomes for Survivors (HEROS) Clinic for childhood cancer survivors.
Using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a retrospective cohort of more than 10,000 childhood cancer survivors (who are now adults) treated at 26 institutions around the country, Kadan-Lottick and colleagues evaluated the frequency of marriage and divorce rates among survivors compared with their sibling group and U.S. Census data. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is an ongoing study funded by the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers distributed surveys to participants to determine late outcomes of therapy, medical problems, subsequent cancers, psychosocial functioning and other aspects of survivorship, according to the researchers. They identified patients and treatment factors that may predict marital status, including psychosocial distress and neurocognitive impairment.
"Our study pinpointed what aspects of the survivor experience likely contribute to altered marriage patterns: short stature, poor physical functioning and cognitive problems," said Kadan-Lottick.
"These conditions are known to be associated with certain chemotherapy and radiation exposures."
Results showed that an estimated 42 percent of survivors were married, 7.3 percent were separated or divorced and 46 percent were never married.
Those who survived brain tumors were 50 percent more likely never to marry. Survivors of central nervous system tumors and leukemia had the greatest likelihood of never marrying, according to the study. Cranial radiation was the therapy most associated with not getting married.
Likelihood of divorce did not vary between the study populations.
"While it can be debated whether marriage is a desirable outcome, marriage is generally an expected developmental goal in our society to the extent that most U.S. adults are married by the age of 30. Our results suggest that survivors of childhood cancer need ongoing support even as they enter adulthood," Kadan-Lottick suggested.
Electra D. Paskett, Ph.D., who was not involved with the study, but is a deputy editor of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, said these findings shed light on the use of certain treatments and their long-term implications, which may affect a patient's physical appearance, thereby resulting in social effects.
"In other studies marital status has been found to be a significant predictor of survival. Will we see this among the childhood survivors as well?" asked Paskett, who is the Marion N. Rowley professor of cancer research in the Division of Epidemiology, and associate director for population sciences in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
As a follow-up to this report, separate analyses are underway to better understand factors that contribute to other adult benchmarks among childhood cancer survivors, such as living independently, achieving higher education and income. The National Institutes of Health funded this study.
Submitted by Linda
-------------------------------------------------
French Senate Moves to Ban Mobile Phones in Schools
Peter Sayer, IDG News Service
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/173408/french_senate_moves_to_ban_mobile_phones_in_schools.html
Friday, October 09, 2009 9:00 AM PDT
Pupils at French primary schools and middle schools could be banned from using mobile phones in school under draft legislation approved Thursday by the French Senate.
The measure, proposed by the government, is just one clause of an enormous piece of environmental legislation that must still be debated by the National Assembly before it has any chance of becoming law.
The restriction on phones was the subject of vigorous debate on Wednesday, with one senator pushing for the ban to be limited to the classroom for older pupils, so that they could make calls in the corridors during breaks.
Many schools already ban the use of phones in their code of conduct.
Nevertheless, school teachers report that pupils regularly exchange text messages in the classroom, with some occasionally even making or answering calls there, making it difficult to maintain classroom discipline.
The proposed legislative ban, though, is for health rather than educational reasons, with the government wanting to apply the "principle of precaution" in the absence of guarantees that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones is perfectly safe for young children.
The government is in the middle of a long consultation of the effects on health of emissions from mobile phones and transmitter masts. The French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety is expected shortly to publish the latest in a series of regular reports for the government on the health and safety of mobile phones.
----------------------------------------------------
French Senate wants cellphone ban for kids
Last Updated: Thursday, October 8, 2009 |
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/10/08/france-cellphone-ban.html
France's Senate wants to forbid children in primary and middle schools from using cellphones, amending a sweeping environment bill to include such a ban.
Senators added a line this week about cellphones to an article of the bill on exposure to communications equipment "posing a risk to health."
The measure would ban pupils up through about age 14 from using cellphones in school. It also approved a measure banning cellphone advertising that targets children under 14.
The changes would need approval by the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly. Both houses are dominated by President Nicolas Sarkozy's party UMP.
A poll published Tuesday says many French pupils use cellphones in class even when school rules forbid it.
An investigation by CBC's Marketplace last year found experts who raised concerns that excessive cellphone use was not safe for children. Studies have found cellphone signals penetrate farther in the brains of children.
In July 2008, Toronto's department of public health issued an advisory that teenagers and young children to limit their use of cellphones to avoid potential health risks.
The advisory — believed to be the first of its kind in Canada — warned that because of possible side effects from radio frequencies, children under eight should only use a cellphone in emergencies and teenagers should limit calls to less than 10 minutes.
"Teach them the ways to use a cellphone responsibly — to make shorter calls, to use other modes of communication; if it's possible, use a landline," said Loren Vanderlinden, a health department supervisor and the report's author.
The Marketplace survey of 1,084 kids between the ages of nine and 13 across Canada found that just under 40 per cent of kids had their own cellphone. The average age of when they got their first cellphone was 10.5.
Only 7.5 per cent said they used a headset with their cellphone.
With files from the Associated Press
----------------------------------------------------
Cell Phones and Cancer: How To Stay Safe
Founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine
Posted: October 9, 2009 03:13 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/cell-phones-and-cancer_b_315714.html
Do cell phones cause cancer? The question has nagged researchers and users for the entire time - roughly the last 20 years - that these phones have been in common use.
The Food and Drug Administration's website states, "The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems." The FDA emphasizes that cell phones emit low-level, non-heating radiofrequency (RF) energy, rather than electron-stripping ionizing radiation, the type proven to permanently damage tissues and disrupt DNA.
But damage from RF energy may be cumulative over very long periods. Since cell phones show no signs of going away - indeed, most American children today face a lifetime of exposure - it's vital to focus closely on the most recently published studies, the ones that show the effects of longer-term exposure.
I am not persuaded that the FDA has done that sufficiently.
Recently, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that advocates for health-protective policies, has reported on key studies (including, crucially, several recent ones, published from 2007 to 2009) that link radiation from long-term cell phone use with increased risks of brain and salivary gland tumors, migraines and vertigo, as well as behavior problems in children, including hyperactivity. Among the findings cited:
- An analysis of 25 earlier studies by two research groups showing a 50 to 90 percent increase in the risk of glioma (a brain tumor that is frequently malignant) on the side of the head favored for cell phone use in individuals who had used cell phones for more than 10 years. It also showed a 60 percent increase in acoustic neuromas, benign but troublesome tumors of a cranial nerve among long-term cell phone users
- A 50 to 60 percent increased risk of salivary gland tumors among people who used cell phones frequently.
- A 10 to 20 percent increased risk of hospitalization for migraine and vertigo among long-term cell phone users.
- An 80 percent increased risk for emotional and hyperactivity problems among young children who use cell phones and whose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy.
All of this sounds very alarming, and it is not good news, but it is important to keep the numbers in perspective. When speaking in terms of a percentage increase in risk, bear in mind that if, for example, one person out of 100 is normally at risk of a brain tumor, a 100 percent increase in risk means that two people out of 100 would be at risk. It does not mean that as a cell phone user, you have a 100 percent chance of developing a brain tumor. The actual risk to a given individual indicated by these studies is quite small.
Still, I believe prudence is warranted.
The EWG report maintains that current U.S. government radiation standards are outdated. It noted that in 2008, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging member countries to develop lower radiation limits for cell phones - no such steps have been taken in the U.S. Here, particular concern is focused on the amount of radiation that could penetrate a child's softer, thinner skull (roughly twice the amount that could penetrate an adult skull) and that long-term cell phone use starting in childhood could pose even bigger risks than those already documented. Experts in the U.S. and Europe have advised limiting youngsters' cell phone use.
Fortunately, the smart response to this report is not necessarily to abandon or even curtail cell phone use, but rather to use them more carefully. The saving grace of cell phones is that, like all point-sources of radiation, they obey the inverse-square law: the strength of an electromagnetic field is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source point. This means that if you move the phone twice as far away from your head, you get one quarter the RF; move it three times farther, you get one-ninth the RF. So rather than clasping the phone to your ear (roughly one inch from your brain), use the phone in speaker mode (roughly 15 inches from your brain) and you'll drop the RF to your brain to a mere 1/225th of the against-the-ear dosage.
Aside from that, the EWG check list for safe cell phone use is similar the safety tips I've been recommending for some time:
- Save long conversations for land-line phones.
- Use a headset or the speakerphone setting, and keep the phone itself away from your body.
- Find out how much radiofrequency energy your cell phone emits. This measurement is called the Specific Absorption Rate or SAR. The SAR permitted in the United States is 1.6 watts per kilogram. The FCC maintains a list of the SAR of various phone models; the EWG also has a simple tool to check your phone's emissions.
Specific Absorption Rate or SAR. The SAR permitted in the United States is 1.6 watts per kilogram. The FCC maintains a list of the SAR of various phone models; the EWG also has a simple tool to check your phone's emissions.
The EWG also contends that the U.S. government should require phones to be labeled with their radiation emissions at the point of sale. I agree.
Andrew Weil, M.D., is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the editorial director of www.DrWeil.com. Become a fan on Facebook and follow Dr. Weil on Twitter.
Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/cell-phones-and-cancer_b_315714.html
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wireless water meters / Hang on to your land line phones / Attack of the Antennas
Rethink meter replacement plan
Posted By Ron Beckett, Simcoe
http://www.simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1975511
Our local council has done it again. Those who read the insert in their recent utilities bill may have noticed that yet another portion of our utilities has been subcontracted to a private company in the form of a "Water Meter Replacement Master Plan."
The notice is innocently worded to sound as innocuous as possible, unless one actually takes the time to read it. It lists a number of "inconveniences" that we will experience as a result of this plan, such as the fact that "you may see an increase in your monthly water consumption due to these new meters."
Also, don't insult us by assuring that "Norfolk County will pay for the purchase and installation" as if the county is some independent self-sustained entity. The wireless meters should raise far greater concerns than that.
Two years ago, a large group of local citizens devoted considerable time and expense to securing international experts attesting to the health hazards of prolonged exposure to radiofrequency radiation. The council made it clear that it valued economics over the health of its citizens, and showed little concern for citizens who suffered from electro hypersensitivity (EHS). Becoming increasingly more widespread, this debilitating condition results from exposure to everyday sources of radiofrequency radiation such as cell phone masts and other wireless devices.
Perhaps most annoying is the attempt to veil their actions by feigning an environmental concern. Discarding hundreds of thousands of perfectly well functioning meters with newly manufactured devices is hardly a gesture of environmental responsibility.
As always, council has taken its advice from those making the sale instead of from independent scientific authorities. It is not surprising that the company attests to the safety of these meters, just as the telecommunications companies attest to the safety of their devices.
While the meters surely do fall within Canadian safety standards, there is no mention of the fact that Canadian standards are among the most permissive in the world. There is also no consideration of the fact that the consideration is given to a single meter and not the effects of it when combined with other forms of radiation present in the homes. This would include cellular masts in the district, wireless Internet, and the newly Ontario mandated "smart meters," which are far from smart, but instead will equip every household in the province with the equivalent of their own cell tower.
Consider also the interaction of all of these devices in crowded residential areas and imagine what an environment is being created for everyone, most of all those already suffering from the disability.
As state after state in the U.S. sanctions "EHS awareness months," our county continues to provide us with increasingly greater sources of electromagnetic frequency exposure.
Let your council know that you are happy with your meters as they are.
----------------------------------------------------
The Troy Record (TroyRecord.com), Serving Troy and its surrounding communities
Opinion
Pulse of the People: Oct. 8
Thursday, October 8, 2009
For The Record
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/08/opinion/doc4acd072e3e756268954553.txt
Reasons for concern
Hang on to your land line phones. Herb Denenberg in an article for The Bulletin says: "The great cell phone cover-up may be coming to an end. A new report may finally wake the public up to the brain cancer risks of cell phones and force necessary preventive measures.
"A new report, endorsed by a prestigious group of international scientists, finds that there's a risk of brain tumors from cell phone use, that industry studies underestimate this risk, and that children have much greater risk than adults. The report, therefore sends a message to four billion users worldwide and to the $4 billion cell phone industry that they may be facing the same kind of bad news that first burst on the scene for the tobacco industry."
Mr. Denenberg was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and co-authored major legislation.
He goes on to point out that the cancer threat has been recognized by some scientists for decades. Cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation — more specifically, radio frequency radiation which can damage the DNA and lead to cancers or other medical problems.
The study focused on cell phones but cordless phones, talkies, ham radio transmitters, and baby monitors also are sources of radiation.
The report entitled "Cell phones and Brain Tumors: 15 reasons for Concert; Science, Spin and the Truth behind enterphone," can be read at www.radiationresearch.org and will be updated. The report lists eight simple steps to substantially reduce your or your children's exposure to cell phone radiation.
If you are concerned about electromagnetic radiation coming from cell phones or cell towers there is also more information from info@emrpolicy.org.
Martha Winsten
Gansevoort
------------------------------------------------
Photo by Paul Wellman
Attack of the Antennas
Proposed Wireless Antennas — Some Near Schools and Homes — Have Citizens in Uproar
By Matt Kettmann
http://www.independent.com/news/2009/oct/08/attack-antennas/
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The rise of smartphones is bringing with it an onslaught of antennas, as more than 100 wireless data-supporting devices are being proposed throughout southern Santa Barbara County, from the sandy streets of Carpinteria to the student 'hoods in Isla Vista. But since the small devices would mostly be installed on existing utility poles and because the company installing them, San Jose's NextG Networks, is considered a public utility by the state, there's very little public review required and limited means of appealing them once approved. That seemingly secretive ease — fueled by fears that the antennas might emit a dangerous form of electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation — is riling some residents, though it's likely that only a fraction of people who live, work, or play near a proposed antenna have any idea about it.
Particularly vocal are parents of children at Montecito Union School, where a letter-writing campaign is in full swing to oppose a new antenna across the street from the playground. "We feel it is wrong and insidious to be able to do this," said Sarah Wilson, a neighbor of the school whose four-year-old will be attending next year. "We all want cell phones and good signals, but there are safer places they can put them rather than in areas densely populated by children. … Until the scientists, who have been questioning levels of EMF since 1996, say, 'No problem, we think this is completely safe,' then we feel it's wrong to put our children's health at risk."
Then there's a neighborhood in eastern Goleta, where one man woke up to find an antenna proposed for a pole a mere 25 feet from his bedroom on Los Verdes Drive. Yuri Zelez, a family therapist by day, spent last Saturday gathering more than 35 signatures in opposition and spoke out against it on Tuesday before the County Board of Supervisors. "We're trying everything we can to stop this from happening," said Zelez, who was told by county staffers that the antenna was a "done deal" and that it would be installed within three weeks. "I'm not against technology, but why put it in the residential neighborhood? We're talking about constant contact — I am going to be bombarded by this 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Because of the uproar, the Board of Supervisors will be discussing the 39 antennas proposed for the county in a public forum on October 20. But in the cities of Santa Barbara (70 antennas proposed, though most sent back with a request that the control box be put underground), Carpinteria (seven proposed), and Goleta (19 proposed and "pretty much in the bag" according to one planning official), the antennas march forward with citizens mostly unaware. Not that there is much that could be done anyway. NextG's public utility status grants numerous exemptions because its technology is deemed an "essential service," and the technology is governed by the Federal Communications Commission, the sole governmental entity tasked with setting public health and safety standards for such devices. So despite EMF concerns, official appeals cannot be based on health, only on aesthetics and evidence that further coverage is unwarranted.
"We can't go beyond FCC regulations. We're preempted in that regard," said county planner Dave Ward, who's helped process these applications and requested that NextG at least show its technology does comply. "As you can imagine, it's frustrating for the public to hear that the level of review is focused on aesthetics. I don't think we've been able to satisfactorily satisfy their concerns." Although the technology and placement of antennas on existing utility poles is new, Ward says they're covered under the county's wireless telecommunications ordinance. "It's not something we've seen in the past, but it does fit within our ordinance," said Ward, who explained that county policy requires a sign marking each proposed antenna and that residents within 300 feet of a site be notified.
"People can go out there and say EMF doesn't hurt, but we have firsthand experience which shows that, in all likelihood, it does. We don't want to go down that road again."
Being handcuffed by FCC regulations doesn't sit well with Montecito's Cindy Feinberg, whose son is at Montecito Union and whose daughter is ready to start next year. Years ago, Feinberg fought to have electrical wires moved away from the campus after high EMF levels allegedly triggered a "cancer cluster" at the school in which six kids got lymphoma or leukemia from 1981 to 1988, a rate five times more than normal. "It's a sore issue with us," said Feinberg. "People can go out there and say EMF doesn't hurt, but we have firsthand experience which shows that, in all likelihood, it does. We don't want to go down that road again." Feinberg and Wilson believe that the technological advances have outpaced the ability of the FCC to safely regulate them, and say standards are stricter in Europe and Australia. "I'm worried that it's going to be like cigarette smoking in the '50s and '60s, when everyone thought it was fine and that they wouldn't let us do it if it was bad for us," said Wilson. "It's going to be the cigarette smoking of the 21st century." Echoed Feinberg, "It's like the tobacco industry all over again. We're just basically being guinea pigs."
NextG's spokesperson Sharon James was emailed questions on Monday and had not replied as of Wednesday's press deadline despite repeated inquiries. In general, NextG uses the two- to three-foot-tall, omni-directional "whip" antennas and accompanying control boxes — referred to collectively as "nodes" — to establish wireless networks in a selected community and then leases the coverage to big cellular companies such as AT&T. The company has successfully created similar networks in other parts of the country, and James has repeatedly cited San Diego as a successful California community network in her meetings with county planners.
But one place where NextG hasn't been successful is Long Island, New York, where a wave of outrage occurred when the company proposed 170 antennas throughout the 22 communities that make up the Town of Hempstead. According to a September 10 story in Newsday, the community of Merrick filed a $100-million lawsuit against the company because property values would be driven down by the perceived health risk. NextG then ceased negotiations with the town government, explaining to one resident that the money they would have used to re-site some of the controversial antennas now had to be spent on legal defense.
The property value argument is also starting to be mentioned in Montecito, home to some of the country's priciest real estate. "It may affect the price of your house — it does in Europe," said Wilson, who speaks with a British accent. "Certainly, you don't buy a house with an antenna overlooking your yard."
Whatever the opposition, there may be some hope. About two years ago, Montecito resident Don Miller successfully led a letter-writing charge to block the construction of a cellular tower near Cold Spring School. "We made so much of a fuss that they just dropped it," recalled Miller. But he's acutely aware that the fight is different this time. "NextG is listed as a public utility company, so the review process is very limited," he explained. "It's almost like the electric company coming in and stringing a new wire. It's scary."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
EHS proclamation / Honeybees face towering threat from mobiles / Comments to the U.S. Senate / téléphone cellulaire
The Mayor of Norris Arm, Newfoundland proclaimed October 2009 as 'Electromagnetic Hypersenstiivity Awareness Month'.
The proclamation document is attached
Thanks to Gerry Higgins and Joanne March for their hard work to have this illness recognized.
-magda
-----------------------------------------------
Honeybees face towering threat from mobiles VR
Jayaraj | Kochi
http://www.dailypioneer.com/203392/Honeybees-face-towering-threat-from-mobiles.html
Radiation from transmitters wipes out bee colonies which will affect food production: Study Studies in Kerala have brought out evidence to support the theory of colony collapse disorder (CCD) among honeybees due to bioactive microwave radiation from mobile phones and their relay towers, which leads to extensive disappearance of entire worker bee colonies. This could result in disruption in food production because most of the crops depend on bees for pollination. Although the theory of mobile towers leading to CCD is yet to be proved anywhere in the world, experts say this is highly possible and the phenomenon could cause unimaginable food troubles to most Indian States, especially Kerala which is already food-scarce. The State has the highest density of mobile towers. The phenomenon of (suspected) mobile tower-induced CCD and resultant crop loss were first noticed in the US several years ago, but this had spread to most European countries by 2007.
Now, experiments by Sainuddeen Pattazhy, a researcher and dean in the department of zoology at SN College, Punalur, Kerala, have found that worker bees fail to return to their hives when their navigation skills are interfered by the mobile microwaves. Sainuddeen had conducted his experiments by placing mobile phones near beehives (as some scientists in the West had done earlier). He found that these hives collapsed totally in five to 10 days with the worker bees failing to return to their homes, leaving the hives with the queens, eggs and immature bees. The vanished bees were never found, but the assumption was that they died singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives. "The navigation skill of the worker bees is dependent on the earth's magnetic properties. The electro-magnetic waves emitted by the mobile phones and relay towers interfere with the earth's magnetism, resulting in the loss of the navigation capacity of the bee. Then it fails to come back.
Also,the radiation causes damage to the nervous system of the bee and it becomes unable to fly," said Sainuddeen. The researcher had earlier led a study on the impact of mobile phones and towers on ecology, in which other environmentalists had participated. The study revealed that bioactive radiations from mobile towers threatened the very existence of home sparrow, which lived in colonies close to human habitats, even in crowded cities.
Pattazhy, however, is not the first scientist to notice the phenomenon of CCD occurring in bees due to mobile phone-tower proximity. A limited study at Landau University in 2007, headed by Dr Jochen Kuhn, had found that bees refused to return to their hives when mobile phones were placed nearby. As back as in late 1990s, a researcher, George Carlo, had headed a massive study sponsored by the US Government and the mobile phone industry in America, had said, "I am convinced that the possibility is real."Apiarists in Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Wayanad districts confirm that they have been noticing the massive play of CCD for the past four or five years, but they have never thought of the relation between mobile tower-induced radiations and their bees. A beekeeper in Thodupuzha, Idukki said he had lost 13 of his 17 hives in the past three years. Three years ago, three mobile towers were erected on the hillock near his farm. "But I have never thought of the relation. I, like other farmers, was thinking that climatic changes and pesticides used in the rubber plantations were the reason," he said. Scientists warn that Kerala, which already has a large number of mobile sand towers, could face not just CCD-created hive losses but even a crop disaster if the mobile craze continues to grow.
"Honeybees can be wiped out in Kerala and many other Indian States and cities if there is no system to control the unscientific increase in the use of mobile phones. It can in turn lead to a disaster in the food front as bees are responsible for pollination in most of the food crops," said a biotechnologist at a Coimbatore college.
--------------------------------------------------
From Angela Flynn Evelyn Savarin has submitted comments to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education regarding the recent hearing on Cell Phones and Health. I strongly urge people to write in as well.
Even just a quick note saying that you want action on this will suffice. I am copying Evelyn's comments below. Her write up is a landmark report on what is happening and what needs to be done.
Please send to: Dear Members Subcommittee on Labor HHS & Education, In addition put in Topic -"Re:"; Contact info -" Your Name, Organization (if desired), State, phone, email" Email to: "Curtin, Teri (Appropriations)"
--------------------------------------------------
From: Evelyn Savarin
Re: Subcommittee Hearing Sept 14, 2009 on Cell Phones and Health
Dear Members Subcommittee on Labor HHS & Education,
Thank you for holding the hearing on Cell phones and Health. Many of us in the hearing room that day have been impacted by wireless radiation in ways that have drastically altered our quality of life and health.
Your subcommittee's initiative to hold a hearing of this sort represented a major ray of hope for many of us who have long sought federal recognition and action on this issue. All measures presented to limit direct cell phone contact are necessary first steps.
Although restricting cell phones to children should still be a top priority, it should become clear from the remarks of the hearing, ambient cell phone radiation, for that matter all background wireless radiation, poses as many challenges, hazards and questions.
Including Cordless Phones in Precautionary Warnings A concern of mine was the exclusion of cordless phones from the discussion of precautionary warnings. Often cordless phones are given a casual seal of approval for it is believed they are much lower powered than cell phone sand therefore presumed to be safe. This idea is very misleading and potentially harmful. In fact, manufacturers of cordless phones state in their manuals to stay at least 9 inches away from the bay station. This cautionary statement should give us pause as to the potency of the bay station's ambient signal, not to mention the phone's own powerful effects. The claims cordless phones are safe because they are lower in watts than cell phones is a flawed analogy.
To begin, cordless phones operate at much higher frequencies - 6G vs the new 3G of cellular phones. Compared to cell phones the bay stations emits at higher watts than cell phones and the stations operate 24/7, with signals reaching well beyond the boundary of one's household. It's like having mini cell antennas in your home. RF/Microwave Signal Potency on the Body Wattage is only a small part of the concern when evaluating signal's potency on the body. Researchers are finding more and more we need to take as seriously other factors in a signal's propagation, such as waveform, frequency, pulsing pattern, resonance with the body, and body's vulnerabilities.
1,2,3,4 Scientists are also finding a sometimes higher frequencies, can induce more biological response than a lower frequency at presumably higher power levels.
5,6 Industry supporters that state lower wattage makes new phones safer without taking into account other signal factors totally obscure the science and play into the hands of the uninformed user. Clearing Misconceptions between Radio and Microwave Frequencies In order to avoid the negative images that may be associated with title of 'microwaves', all our wireless devices seem to be popularly addressed as 'radio frequency' products. Although the line of distinction between RF and microwave may vary, it is well accepted that many of our new household wireless technologies operate in the Microwave band. A cell phone operating at 2 to 3 GHZ or cordless phone operating at approximately 6 Ghz, are definitely in the microwave band. In fact new Microwave ovens now operate between 1 & 2 Ghz. Should we now call them Radio Frequency Ovens? In FCC radiation standards standing 5 inches from a microwave oven door are more stringent than those for putting cell phones to the head.
7 All these issues show how easily we can spin the terminology to dilute the potential risks. Dr. Segal Szediski Research has Troubling Implications Dr. Szediski presentation highlighted the need for a precautionary approach on cell phones for children, as well as the use of use earpieces. However, an observation she made on her research has troubling implications. Her research found higher incidence of brain cancers in the countryside from cell phone users than in the city where cell antennas are more dense. This observation follows along the line of her remark that exposure from cells phone radiation in elevators is stronger because transmission is weak. My concern is - will the solution become more frequent dispersion of cell antennas to reduce phone emissions? This would have a devastating effect on future brain cancer/tumor studies. If brain cancer rates continued to rise, separating brain cancer incidence between non-users, light users and long term heavy users of cell phones would be impossible to observe. The entire population will become equally exposed either by background RF or direct wireless phone use, effectively leaving wireless expansionists euphoric and the rest of us at risk. Dr. Robert Buckers Remarks and Shortcomings of the NIH Rat study Although the new NIH study presented by Dr. Bucker represents a major achievement in US EMF research initiatives, I am concerned about several remarks in Mr. Bucker's presentations, and his potential lack of knowledge on past human RF/MW studies. From my reading there is a plethora of human lab studies.
8 I am generally surprised a man of his background and significance to the study would be so elusive and incurious. Whether scientists debate quality of the studies or whether better selection of bio-markers are needed is another issue. The fact is the human studies are there, and should be entered into the public debate on wireless safety. Perhaps most troubling is Mr. Bucker's discussion on the New NIH rat study now underway. I appreciate this research is one of many going on in the country, however it represents a major expenditure in taxpayer dollars to potentially not have realistic, real life comparisons. My understanding is that the signals in the Rat chambers will mimic cell phone signals of old, 900 Mhz and 1900 Mhz. Very few of our cell phones operate 900 Mhz. And 1900 Mhz is being phased out for the new 3 G phones which will allow for greater band width to accommodate a plethora of cell phone addons: internet, texting etc. The new phones receiving & emitting a complex of frequencies on one device will create further complexities for signal replication in biological lab studies unless the actual device is used. Add this complexity to the mix of many other wireless signals coursing through our bodies 24/7 which are not represented in the research and we are left with non- realistic experimental exposure conditions. Mr. Bucker's assistant discussed the similar NIH Rat study at the concurrent Cell phone conference. It became clear the exposure chambers as presently constructed cannot be easily modified to allow for varying new signal exposures without substantially higher costs. Over and over again we see lab research worldwide never adapting fast enough to adequately replicate the signals the public is unwittingly exposed to. Hence industry can proudly dodge the issue of biological effects by proclaiming a new signal coming to market will be different or safer; be it digital vs analogue, higher vs lower frequency, or lower power, arguments continuously intended to detract the uninformed user from the findings connecting RF/microwave radiation to health effects. Secondly, I question using only SARs (Specific Absorption Rates) as the sole assessment measure of RF/MW exposures in NIH study. SARs offer a confused comparison to people's direct RF/microwave exposure experiences. To correct this situation we need to include assessment measures using field strength readings, such as power density or ambient voltage and gauss readings. A Need for Biophyics Researchers/Scientists/Medical Professionals An issue that cries out for attention is appropriating more research dollars to educate more scientists and medical professionals to understand the atomic properties and workings of our body. European countries, especially Russia have long established schools/departments in Biophysics. Separating living creatures from man's manipulation of his planet's electromagnetic energies is pure folly. We evolved under the strength of nature's Electromagnetic energies and are protected by the ionosphere from the universe's more potent radiation. Medical schools and biological sciences have little or no interest or instruction on human response to the physical phenomena of the universe, hence no underlying appreciation that manipulations of our planet's natural energies could influence our everyday bodily processes.
9 Emphasis has always been on the body's chemical, mechanical and now genetic reactions, with pharmaceutical and biotech companies capitalizing nicely on this situation. This situation is compounded when self proclaimed EMF sensitive people seea doctor, and point to a correlation between certain EMF exposures and their symptoms. The unfamiliarity of the medical community with the electromagnetic health effects, makes our situation doubly frustrating. Their answer is to sedate us, when all we are looking for is ways to negate the affects and reduce our exposure Conclusions We have raised ambient power levels of RF/microwave frequencies to over 1010 power compared to background levels we evolved in over millenniums of years. It seems incredible that modern science and medical community can deny man's connection to the frequency bands of our planet. We see in the visible light frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. We hear in another set of frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. Our brains think and sleep utilizing another band of the EM spectrum. Our hearts beat at certain frequencies. Many animals use entirely different bands of the spectrum to see, hear and even feel. Can we believe that our bodies' might not sense man's manipulation in the radio and microwave band, when historic natural RF/MW signals were extremely weak compared to today's manmade signals.
10, 11 As a society we consider it important to ensure various technological devices do not have signal interference with each other, but we will totally deny the possibility that living organisms which are intricately more frequency complex could possibly sustain the same interference problems. If medical technology has so aptly harnessed the power of EMF - RF/microwaves to cure disease (Search: Pubmed search engine) one has to ask how is it possible we are not impacting life with the indiscriminate and unrestrained broadcasting of manmade RF/microwave energies. To say there are inconsistencies in the health research literature as a reason for dismissal of the evidence is beyond logic. Never has a science accumulated such a body of biological and health effects without some plausible action by governments to implement strong safety measures.
12 The ongoing conflicts should not be cause for dismissal of disagreeable research or for government inaction, but rather it should highlight the power of vested interests, love affair with this technology, and the biological complexity of this science - all inferring we enact a more precautionary approach to wireless expansion.
Recommendations and Interests
This brings me to my final conclusion. There are many of us who because of different physical reasons and our personal research have chosen not to partake in this wireless revolution. Despite the fact I own no wireless devices, I must accept second hand exposures from all others who choose to use them, and from governments who choose to approve their expansion. In other words I have been left with no choice, but to live with the discomforts and health impacts the State imposes upon us.
Through the years I have bought expensive meters to assess and control my RF exposure, only to find those meters become increasingly obsolete as the wireless frequencies deployed by the new technologies reach higher and higher levels.
Many of us are finding it increasingly difficult to find a place in this country where we can live with the sense of well being and calm we once experienced before the by-products of wireless age became so invasive.
Considering the many unanswered question inherent in the safety of this science, and major conflicts of interest that increasingly permeate the research agenda, I ask this subcommittee to consider re-evaluating wireless expansion policies and regulations I ask your subcommittee to please consider the following:
. Consider initiating a whole new approval process for the introduction of Wireless devices before going to market. The approval process should consider the interference of new RF/microwave devices with body frequencies not only with other electronic devices. The ALARA principle should be considered for non-ionizing products as well as ionizing products . Give preference in the new Recovery Stimulus Act appropriation for fiber optics, cable technologies or other wired technologies in Broadband expansion. Any new wired technology should be ascertained to not emit unintentional high frequency radiation in the ambient atmosphere.
. Reassess the new Recovery Stimulus Act appropriation for Smart Grid technology. The portion of the Smart Grid technology that will employ wireless components should be discouraged in favor of wired components with assurance that those components do not emit stray voltages that would increase new forms of ambient electromagnetic radiation.
. Hold hearings to repeal the Telecom Act of 1996, section 704, which prohibits consideration of environmental and health effects of wireless technologies in municipal proceedings. European countries, especially France, have been more successful in bringing up the health issues in the public arena, hence their awareness has initiated greater impetus for Precautionary warnings.
. Designate 4 or 5 Wireless Free Zones in this country where minimum ambient EMF thresholds could be established and maintained. These areas could also serve as future controls sites for RF/MW studies. Establishing criteria and locations for these places should include the representation of specific interest groups & trained engineers in RF metering devices. . Minimize Conflicts of Interest in Research Peer Review Panels. Panel selection should be publicly aired, and selection should include varied backgrounds and interests.
. Empower local or state bodies to set up their own RF/MW and other EMF frequency Monitoring/Enforcement offices across each state with responsibility and resources to measure ambient exposure levels. A fee on wireless carriers should be imposed for operating and setting up these offices. The measurement devices should be of uniform standard for calibration and accuracy.
. Allocate research/education appropriations in the training & establishment of bio-physics disciplines at university and colleges. As much as we are manipulating the physical properties of our universe, we need to ensure that biological sciences stay attuned to our altered EMF ambient environment and its potential effect on biological health.
-------------------------------------------------
Bonjour, Aujourd'hui le sénat français vient d'adopter un projet de loi interdisant l'utilisation du téléphone cellulaire dans les maternelles, écoles primaire et secondaire. En plus, ils veulent inter dire la publicité pour les enfants de moins de 14 ans. Le tout au nom du Principe de Précaution. Voir la nouvelle diffusée sur France 2 aux nouvelles de 20h et dans l'article suivant:
Dossier à suivre... François Therrien Porte-parole du SEMO
Posts
