W.E.E.P. News Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News 10 September 2010
Letter from Sharon Noble
Health Canada Fails -- WiFi Provincial Responsibility
Dear Honourable Mr. Falcon, Honourable Mrs. MacDiarmid and Dr. Kendall,
Provincial authorities are taking directives and advice from Health Canada regarding the safety of wireless technology and the adequacy of our guideline, Safety Code 6. This is as it should be if Health Canada were providing good, honest advice. Unfortunately Health Canada is not. This means that the citizens of British Columbia, and those across Canada, are being exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation by the proliferation of cell transmitters, WiFi, and WiMax, to name but a few devices because Health Canada keeps stating that there is no evidence of harm at levels below those set by Safety Code 6.
I am writing to give you evidence that we are not being told the truth; in fact, I would go so far as to call it a deception that has been perpetrated on the trusting Canadian public for more than a decade. To substantiate this strong statement, I will quote from the Royal Society of Canada Report of March 1999, "A Review of the Potential Health Risks of Radiofrequency Fields from Wireless Telecommunication Devices" prepared in response to a request from Health Canada.(http://www.rsc.ca/files/publications/expert_panels/RF/RFreport-en.pdf) At that time Safety Code 6 was essentially the same as it is today.
1. Page 2 - "Safety Code 6 was explicitly designed to protect workers and the public from thermal exposures." This means that wireless devices such as WiFi, cellphones, cell and radio transmitters, and DECT phones are not in the category protected by Safety Code 6 because they fall in the lower, non-thermal end of the electric spectrum. Health Canada has continued to state that Safety Code 6 applies to the entire spectrum. Clearly this is not true.
2. Page 2 - "There is a growing body of scientific evidence which suggests that exposure to RF fields at intensities far less than levels required to produce measurable heating can cause effects in cells and tissues." The Panel determined that studies show that somehow, at even very low levels which are significantly below what Safety Code 6 allows, the radiation emitted by wireless devices causes physical or biochemical changes not related to heat.
There are many "biological effects" that are addressed in this report , and two of them are blood-brain barrier leakage and cancer promotion.
The blood-brain barrier is a critical structure in the brain that separates the flow of blood through the brain from the brain matter itself. Leakage can lead to brain damage such as dementia. In the Report, pages 44-45 are devoted to studies showing such leakage occurs as a result of exposure to RF field at levels below Safety Code 6.
ODC stands for Ornithine Decarboxylase which is an enzyme found in cells. Increased activity in ODC has been found to promote aggressive and invasive tumours, which are often cancerous. Studies which demonstrate the relationship between RF radiation below Safety Code 6 and the increased activity of ODC can be found on pages 36-42..
Above I have provided a couple of quotes and references from only the first few pages of an 150 page document, but please be advised that the Report contains statements which are even more alarming. Even with this report in hand, Health Canada and some members of the Royal Panel who wrote this report, such as Dr. Daniel Krewski, since 1999 have continued to declare that there is no evidence of harm below the level of Safety Code 6. As a result, the exposure to wireless devices has increased dramatically. Teenagers are sleeping with cell phones under their pillows. Cell transmitters are being erected on top of buildings and apartments, near homes and schools. WiFi is being installed in elementary schools. Health Canada is allowing proliferation of this radiation exposure at levels they know to be dangerous, especially to our most vulnerable: children.
It must be acknowledged that telecommunication is out of your jurisdiction. This applies to Federally mandated devices such as cell and radio transmitters, cellphones, and WiMax. WiFi, like that being installed in schools, is not in Federal jurisdiction and, therefore, you have every right, and, most would say, every obligation to take immediate control, especially in provincial institutions such as schools. The responsibility for this device cannot be deferred to Health Canada.
A new Health Canada guideline is required, one based on biological effects. Until such a standard is implemented it is your responsibility to use your authority to protect the citizens of British Columbia by, at the minimum, preventing exposure of our most vulnerable by preventing use of WiFi in schoolrooms.
Consideration must be given as well to the dangers from other wireless technology even though they fall within Federal jurisdiction. It is not good enough for the Province to say there is nothing to be done. That clearly is not true. For example, the Province could require warning labels be applied to all cellphones, merely quoting the user's manual: "Cellphones have not been proven to be safe. Keep this device at least one inch from the head and body at all times." Another action: Refuse permission to install cell or radio transmitters on school or hospital property, and require that any existing be removed. Today many schools and hospitals are supplementing budgets by endangering the health of their students, teachers, patients, and hospital workers. These actions are all within Provincial jurisdiction and, based on the proof you have this action is warranted.
Should you wish to discuss this information, I am at your disposal, and await your response.
Respectfully,
Sharon Noble
818 Bexhill Place
Victoria,
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Letter from Una St.Clair-Moniz
Sent to Health Canada.
To all those concerned with the protection of children:
I represent an organization made up of concerned parents, grandparents, teachers, principals, administrators and others from across Canada who are gravely concerned regarding health risks from exposure to Wi-Fi in schools.
Petitions requesting that schools be kept hard wired are currently being signed in different locations across Canada, with hundreds of signatures so far. A significant number of parents worried about their children in schools have actually experienced very troubling and in some cases, disabling, symptoms from their own use of Wi-Fi in the home. There are countless people who have now hard wired their homes as a result of their own experiences of ill health effects caused by Wi-Fi routers at home.
Many teachers are also unhappy about this exposure. I have personally spoken with teachers from around British Columbia who are witnessing a confusing array of unexplained health symptoms in classes that were basically healthy prior to the installation of Wi-Fi routers. These symptoms include a marked increase in headaches, dizziness, nosebleeds, heart irregularities, confusion, changes in attention and concentration, ongoing nausea, exhaustion and sleep problems. I am told by teachers about parents who are taking children to different doctors and specialists looking for answers, but with no results and no reasons given for these horrible symptoms. In the absence of a proper diagnosis, increasing numbers of young people are being put on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs, whilst continuing the exposure to Wi-Fi which could be the trigger for the health symptoms. A number of teachers themselves are also feeling similar effects.
Personally, I can say with absolute confidence that Wi-Fi is extraordinarily biologically active for those who are sensitive. Without my knowledge, Telus remotely activated a wireless router in my home office. I had no explanation for the sudden onset of daily headaches and migraines, dizziness, nausea, inability to sleep, heart arrhythmias, digestive disturbances, painful teeth and gums and absolute exhaustion. I had to close my counselling practise due to these completely disabling symptoms. I experienced a frightening episode of racing heart and pain down my left arm that I went immediately for heart attack tests. Nothing could be found.
As soon as a neighbour alerted me to the fact that I had wireless internet emanating from my home, I had Telus shut off the system remotely, in the same way it had been activated. My unexplained disabling health symptoms disappeared almost overnight. Now, I am perfectly healthy as long as I stay away from Wi-Fi zones.
There is something terribly wrong with a society that does not protect its children at the first sign of danger. Of course, this danger is relatively new, it is invisible and insensible so it is hard to identify as a toxin as in the case of cigarette smoke. I see from the newspapers the ongoing scourge of exposure to asbestos in the past. We know that cigarettes are also still taking a toll. In both these cases, there were early warnings which could have avoided so much tragedy. The story of late lessons from early warnings has always been accompanied by regulatory agencies failing to protect the public, as is happening now. I refer you to the recent public statement made by Carol Hughes, MP, who participated in the Parliamentary HESA Hearings April 2010, in which she states clearly that Health Canada needs to come clean with parents as to the health risks of irradiating children on a daily basis.
The fact is that we are now risking the health of all our children in a place that needs to maintain one of the highest standards for safety in our society. Places where our children and youth gather together need to be protected from risks and exposures, even when we do not understand completely the full extent of the risk. Children are not little adults, and are uniquely sensitive to damage from toxins, from pesticides to non-ionizing radiation. Why is it that Canada is so slow to warn parents that they need to protect their children from the risks of cellular technology, when other countries are issuing public statements to that effect? Why is it that a parent's absolute right to protect their child is being so completely discounted and ignored? Is it that Health Canada has denied biological effects of non-ionizing radiation for so long, that to provide the honest truth that there are thousands of peer reviewed and published scientific articles evidencing harm, as well as the Royal Society Report, would show that Health Canada has indeed not been protecting the public they serve?
This is a growing issue of concern. Every day, more and more people are experiencing ill health effects that they have been able to trace to Wi-Fi exposure, whether in the home, school or workplace. Every day, more and more children are exposed to this dangerous wireless toxin that could be so easily eliminated with hard wired systems. There is an immediate urgency to defend children's health. Let the child be the first among us to receive protection.
On behalf of the members of our society and concerned parents across Canada, I urge you to immediately call for a return to hard wiring in schools, which is such an easy and simple way to eliminate health risks caused by this untested wireless technology emanating from our schools.
Children's health must take priority over convenience. To stand by in silence does not excuse responsibility and accountability.
There is no time to waste; we look to our leaders to act with wisdom and integrity in protecting the people they serve.
Una St.Clair-Moniz
Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Technology
604-532-1863
"Protecting children & youth from unsafe wireless technologies"
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Letter from Linda Ewart
To whom it concerns,
As a recently retired teacher from British Columbia, over the past year I have been devoting my time and attention to learning about the issues surrounding wireless technologies, especially as they relate to children and schools. In doing so, I have become aware of the highly concerning trend for educators, and the vast majority of our government leaders, to accept, adopt and endorse, without due diligence, the short-sighted recommendations and assurances of the Wireless Industry and a negligent Health Canada. To enthusiastically use and promote wireless technologies, and, without realizing the underlying dangers and health ramifications, incorporate them into educational policy, is folly.
With meetings and professional development, the BCTF has wisely entered into a discussion and exploration of the issue, and thankfully, with foresight, the Richmond School District plans to do the same. So must other community leaders and educators who still mistakenly believe that the safety of wireless technologies in schools and communities is secure and therefore of no concern. Most prefer to rely ever more trustingly on the technology industry's information, adhering hopefully to the notion that Health Canada is up-to-date in its knowledge, and trusting that Safety Code 6 provides sufficient guidelines and safety levels to ensure that all is well. All is not well.
Despite assurances from the industry that wireless technology is safe, it has never been proven so. Electromagnetic fields and radio frequencies can trigger and aggravate problems in a variety of areas. Behavioural, neurological, heart and lung problems are on the increase in children.
Mould proliferates in the presence of EMF's. Allergies and chemical sensitivities flare. Immune systems are compromised in their presence, and the blood-brain barrier is weakened. Put children in a classroom with a class set of laptops and several wireless routers and access points throughout the school, in addition to other wireless devices now appearing in the school environment, and the overall level of EMF's increases alarmingly. This is not a healthy environment for any child, but it's especially problematic for electrosensitive children, whose numbers are on the rise.
With the intensity of wireless frequencies increasing rapidly in daily life, school environments need to set an example and provide safe havens for children and youth to learn and to grow in a healthy space.
The roll-out of wireless technologies in schools, is, because of a lack of awareness on the part of school boards, administrators, teachers and parents, transforming schools into unsafe environments. This includes the health and safety of adults who also work in these environments.
I am forwarding a letter written by Carol Hughes, Federal MP for Algom-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing in Ontario. She attended the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA) last April and came away with new insights that she is now sharing in an open letter. It shows her willingness to speak for what she feels, and knows, is right in the growing environment of misinformation and misguided action in our schools and in our communities.
Alternatives are not onerous. They involve a logical re-evaluation of priorities, and the simple continuation of only recently-abandoned wired technologies.
If any of you wish to learn more about the health and safety issues surrounding the subject of Wi-Fi and other wireless initiatives, or arrange for speakers or contacts without industry ties to address it with you, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to respond.
Yours sincerely,
Linda Ewart
Citizens for Safe Technology Society
http://www.citizensforsafetechnology.org
Empowering the public to protect children and youth from unsafe wireless technologies.
Wi-Fi Concerns Should Lead to Updated Regulations
Written by Carol Hughes, MP Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
Wawa News
Last spring I attended the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health meetings that investigated the health effects of microwaves from wireless devices such as cell phones and Wi-Fi. At that time, I was approached by a group from Collingwood who reported an illness cluster in their school that is consistent with microwave exposure.
The Simcoe County District School Board had installed a blanket microwave Wi-Fi system throughout every school, and the parents at Mountain View Elementary School in Collingwood had begun to report an illness trend involving childhood headaches, nausea, vertigo, insomnia, and even tachycardia (a heart condition requiring medical attention). Some parents had spent the last 18 months in and out of doctors' offices with a novel collection of symptoms that appeared only when the children were in school.
They have documented their concerns and reported them to the Simcoe County School Board, only to be told the Wi-Fi system is perfectly safe according to Health Canada.
While at committee we heard from Health Canada officials who defended the department's Radiofrequency Exposure Guidelines (Safety Code 6), only to have those same guidelines questioned by international research scientists whose research shows that people can experience biological changes in the presence of these low-level microwaves. One scientist also warned about an increased prevalence of cancer if Health Canada's "safe" limits for microwave exposure are not lowered.
Health Canada officials confidently stated there is "no cause for concern that Wi-Fi is dangerous."
What they should have said is that Safety Code 6 is sufficient, in their opinion. As we heard in committee, there is no consensus among research scientists that microwave radiation is safe, and Health Canada did know that. In a study by the Royal Society of Canada, commissioned by Health Canada in 1999 and updated in 2001, there is conclusive evidence that potentially dangerous things happen from microwave exposure.
Those things include weakening the blood brain barrier which protects us from disease, increasing certain enzymes known to promote cancer, and changing behaviour. This is hardly promoting a safe learning environment for young children. According to the Royal Society Report, young children are among the most vulnerable when it comes to microwave exposure. The report is clear that these biological changes happen well below the current "safe" limits set by Health Canada.
Health Canada's guidelines are not protecting us. They are outdated and designed for a grown man at 6 minutes of exposure. They don't take into account a four-year-old girl getting microwave exposure for six hours a day, five days a week, for fourteen years of public school.
That is the environment right now in Simcoe County schools, and other School Boards across the country about to roll out microwave transmitters for blanket Wi-Fi coverage because Health Canada tells them it's safe.
Health Canada must tell Canadians the full story when it comes to microwave irradiation of children. What we're doing by exposing them to all day Wi-Fi in school is really a big experiment, with unknowing volunteers.
Carol Hughes, Member of Parliament
Una St Clair-Moniz
Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Technology Society
www.citizensforsafetechnology.org
Protecting children & youth from
unsafe wireless technologies
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