W.E.E.P. News
Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution: News
Maine Panel Weighs Cell Phone Cancer Warning
Mar 2, 2010 4:38 pm US/Eastern
http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsme/Maine.legislative.panel.2.1530193.html
GLENN ADAMS, Associated Press Writer
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) ― Ignoring the health risks of heavy cell phone use invites a cancer epidemic, supporters of a bill requiring manufacturers to put labels on mobile phones and packaging said Tuesday.
"We can do nothing and wait for the body count.
That's what happened with smoking" before warnings on cigarette packs were mandated, David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and Environment at the University of Albany, told Maine lawmakers.
The Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing on a bill that would make Maine the first state to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, especially among children. Opponents dismissed research pointing to the risks and said the bill is more about politics than science.
The sponsor, Rep. Andrea Boland, said the United States lags behind other countries that have either mandated similar warnings or endorsed policies warning the public about cell phone use.
Carpenter, a Harvard Medical School graduate and researcher with expertise in electromagnetic fields, said the strongest evidence of cell phone dangers comes from Europe, where the devices have been in use longer than in the United States. He told lawmakers that the U.S. "may face an epidemic of brain cancer" if nothing is done to warn consumers of risks.
Boland, D-Sanford, said the risks diminish markedly if the phone is held away from the head.
Olle Johansson, a scientist at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, submitted testimony saying that "very serious biological changes" that include cancer risks have been noticed for years from exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields like those emitted from cell phones.
Supporters also included brain cancer patient and relatives of victims who said the disease was triggered by cell phone use.
"When you put that phone to your head, you are unknowingly playing Russian roulette," said Alan Marks of the San Francisco Bay area, who's been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
An industry group, TechAmerica, said Boland's bill "substitutes political judgment for the collective scientific judgment of experts around the world."
Kim Allman, senior vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based group, said in a statement that scientific evidence so far does not indicate a public health risk and added that warning labels would be misleading and confusing.
Gov. John Baldacci's administration also opposes the bill.
Dora Anne Mills, director of the state Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said research by federal health and safety agencies does not justify a warning, although she acknowledged that uncertainty exists about the effects of long-term cell use.
Mills said the federal Food and Drug Administration is already taking precautionary action by urging the industry to do further research and to design cell phones to minimize exposure to risks.
But Mills said that if the state was to require warnings on everything with undefined risks, everything "from apples to xylophones" would have to be labeled.
The committee is expected to review the bill further in about a week.
The Total Health Show
will be held in Toronto at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre, March 12 to 14, 2010. For more information visit:
http://www.totalhealthshow.com/showInfo/index.cfm?CFID=12551109&CFTOKEN=52748753
Dr. Magda Havas will be presenting on Sunday March 14th.
Mobile Phones, Antennas, Computers and Compact Fluorescent Lights...What You Need to Know to Protect Your Family
Sunday 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, 205
Our love affair with electronic equipment and wireless technology has consequences we didn't anticipate. As our exposure to microwave and radio frequency radiation continues to climb, a growing population is becoming ill. Their illness resembles rapid aging with insomnia, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, cognitive difficulties with concentration and poor term memory, skin rashes that don't go away, dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, depression, anxiety, tremors, heart palpitations, cancer etc. Have you or a family member become sensitive to electricity or wireless technology? Learn how to use this technology safely, what to avoid, and how to protect your family at home, at school, and at work.
Does the Government Adequately Protect Public Health?
Sunday 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM, 205
Moderator: Helke Ferrie
Our society expects that the role of Provincial and Federal authorities is to protect public health. However, Public Policy can take precedence over Public Health when it is perceived by governments and society as a whole, that the benefits outweigh the risks. In some cases, Public Policy fails to meet that standard and puts Public Health at risk. Magda and Carmen will present actual examples where Public Health has been put at risk as a result of past and present Policies, for example: tobacco, leaded gas, tainted blood, cell phones, cell towers, compact fluorescent light bulbs, industrial wind turbines, etc.
Land owner still fighting cell tower
Judge to rule if antenna's placement was justified
By VIRGINIA RANSBOTTOM
Tribune Staff Writer
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100301/News04/100309968/-1/googleNews
CULVER — Christ Kurtis moved to the country and secluded his home with trees to enjoy natural beauty.
Now a lighted, 280-foot cell tower looms over the treetops and clouds his view.
Kurtis and his attorney, Bob Eherenman, have been fighting tooth and nail against the new tower since it came before the Marshall County Board of Zoning Appeals in April 2009.
A few other adjacent land owners also said they were against the tower because it devalued their land and ruined the view.
But a larger number of residents were in approval of the tower, hoping it would improve their wireless service in the cell phone dead zone. In May, a petition with a 175 names supported the tower.
The BZA determined the tower was a proper land use for the area and the plan commission approved the site plan in May 2009.
The guyed antenna was erected near the corner of Indiana 17 and Indiana 8 (13th Road) in Culver.
Currently, the tower's only service provider is Sprint; however, there's room for four more.
The corner and immediate area also includes a 60-foot NIPSCO tower and substation and a clustering of blinking traffic lights and utility poles and lines.
Last Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Curtis Palmer held a hearing petitioned by Eherenman to interpret tower ordinance legalities and to determine if the BZA and planning commission were justified in allowing construction.
Eherenman supplied Judge Palmer with stacks of arguments for review. A ruling will not be made for approximately 30 days.
Planning Director Ralph Booker said in the 30 years he's worked with the county, he's not heard of a cell tower dispute going to court.
"That's because with the majority of towers, there was no ordinance," he said. "Before, towers were just put up, but when there got to be so many it became a regulation concern."
While the judge and attorneys wade through facts and findings, the dispute is costing the county, the tower provider (Charles S. Hayes) and Kurtis thousands of dollars.
"I'm not against progress," Kurtis, owner of Christo's Banquet Center in Plymouth, said. "I've got a cell phone, but progress needs to be handled with a plan for growth."
Kurtis said towers are going up all over the county, profiting providers and industrializing the countryside.
"The area has a beautiful environment, but we can't go back and fix it once it's gone," he said. "Somebody's got to stand up."
While Kurtis said he doesn't have all the answers, he thought it would be more aesthetically pleasing if towers were located off road and limited in height.
Do Hybrid Cars Emit Excessive Radiation?
BY Ariel SchwartzToday
http://www.fastcompany.com/1567588/do-hybrid-cars-emit-excessive-radiation
Should we add hybrid cars to the list of things that emit unsafe amounts of radiation? A research committee funded by Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection thinks so. The committee studied radiation emitted from various hybrid vehicles over the past nine months with some disturbing results: the current generation Prius is safe, but the Honda Insight, Civic Hybrid, and previous generations of Prius's all emit "surplus" radiation.
According to The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), any extended exposure to electromagnetic fields higher than 2 mG can possibly cause cancer, while the Israeli Ministry of Health believes 4 mG is the maximum amount of allowable radiation. In a study conducted last year by Israeli Web site Walla! Cars, the Prius, Honda Insight, and Civic Hybrid all released 100 mG of radiation during acceleration. Normal driving of the Prius emitted between 14 and 30 mG of radiation.
The Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection will probably release the results of its nine-month-long study this week, with hybrids classified in three radiation groups. One possible barrier to the study's release: the car companies involved. Israeli Toyota and Honda dealers have already hired lobbying companies to prevent the study from being seen by the world. Take that as you will.
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WEEP – Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News, Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
