W.E.E.P. News
Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News
18 December 2010
Hi All
The below link is to a web site that I came across today. It has very good scientific links to health effects of electro magnetic radiation and I encourage you to visit it and use the information provided.
Martin
Chronic Exposure
Research on occupational microwave exposure
Epidemiological studies:
http://www.chronicexposure.org/occupational.html
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Press Release
Swedish Örebro studies on mobile phone use and risk for brain tumour re-analysed using the same methods as in Interphone:
Increased risk in both studies and the critique of Interphone is reinforced
The international WHO Interphone study was published in May 2010. The results showed an increased risk for malignant brain tumours (glioma) for the heaviest user of mobile phones, (1,640 hours or more in total). The studies on brain tumour risk from the Hardell-group at the University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden have been criticized for seemingly higher risk for mobile phone use than in other studies.
In a new analysis of the results from Örebro it is found that similar results as in Interphone are obtained if restriction of the material and methods is made according to the WHO study. The results are now published in International Journal of Epidemiology on Internet.
The WHO Interphone study included only persons diagnosed with brain tumour at the age of 30-59 years. Use of cordless desktop phones (DECT) was not assessed. Furthermore, the highest exposure group was restricted to persons who had used a mobile phone for 1,640 hours or more in total. That corresponds to only 30 minutes per day over a time period of 10 years.
On the contrary, the Örebro studies included patients with brain tumour aged 20-80 years. Use of cordless phone was surveyed as carefully as use of mobile phone. The group with highest exposure included persons who had used a mobile phone more than in Interphone; 2,000 hours or more.
The Örebro group has now in the new paper restricted the analysis to the criteria used in the WHO study. Only patients and control subjects aged 30-59 years were included, use of cordless phone was disregarded and highest exposure was limited to 1,640 hours or more. Thereby the risk for glioma was lowered from odds ratio (OR) 2.31 to OR 1.75 in the most exposed group. The corresponding result in Interphone was OR 1.41. Similar results were found in both studies for tumours in the most exposed area of the brain (the temporal lobe), but now it is Interphone that gives a higher risk, OR 1.87, compared with OR 1.46 in the Örebo study.
Besides similar results in both studies when the same criteria are used, this analysis confirms the critique of the Interphone study. The risk has been underestimated since persons aged 20-29 years and more than 60 years of age were excluded, use of cordless phones was not assessed and risk for the most exposed persons was not analysed.
In conclusion both studies showed a statistically significantly doubled risk for glioma at the same side as the mobile phone had been used for 1,640 hours or more; Örebro study OR 2.18, Interphone OR 1.96. Simlar results were thus obtained in both studies if the same criteria were used in the analysis, that is type of phone (only mobile), cumulative number of hours for use, age group, and anatomical localisation of the brain tumour compared with exposure to microwaves from the mobile phone.
Contact persons:
Lennart Hardell, Professor, Department of Oncology, University Hospital. SE-701 85 Örebro, Sweden
Phone + 46 19 602 10 00, E-mail: lennart.hardell@orebroll.se
Kjell Hansson Mild, Professor, Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, SE-701 87 Umeå, Sweden
Phone + 46 90 7858487, E-mail: kjell.hansson.mild@radfys.umu.se
References:
The Interphone Study Group. Brain tumour risk in relation to mobile telephone use: results of the Interphone international case-control study. Int J Epidemiol 2010;39: 675–694.
Hardell L, Carlberg M, Hansson Mild K. Re-analysis of risk for glioma in relation to mobile telephone use: comparison with the results of the Interphone international case-control study. Int J Epidemiol 2010; doi:10.1093/ije/dyq246
Iris
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Turbines under attack
By LAURA CUDWORTH STAFF REPORTER
http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2895514
Stephana Johnston is 80 years old and sleeps on her son's couch because she can't go home.
Every time she goes home she gets a "stuffiness" in her ears and a "buzzing" in her brain. Her home is on the north shore of Lake Erie and surrounded by 18 wind turbines. She's convinced they're the source of her troubles.
"I've been trying to sell for over a year, but no one wants to buy it. I can see every one of the turbines," she said.
Johnston was one of about 300 people at a meeting last night put on by West and East Perth Against Turbines (WEPAT) at the Arden Park Hotel. The group formed less than a month ago.
Dr. Robert McMurtry, former dean of medicine at the University of Western Ontario, said he thought wind turbines were a good idea and considered them for his Prince Edward County property until he began researching.
"There's no doubt in my mind people are suffering adverse health effects," he said. Symptoms presented at the meeting ranged from inner ear problems and sleep deprivation to heart problems, including hypertension.
One of the recurring concerns is the low frequency noise. Another issue is the "shadow flicker" caused by the revolving blades.
"It's very difficult to escape from, even if you close your eyes," said Carmen Krogh, former director with Health Canada.
Krogh did a "windvoice survey" to study the effects of the inaudible and audible noise on the body.
"We've moved from strong suspicions to there's no doubt people are adversely effected," she said.
She had "victim impact statements" from people around the world, including in Germany and Japan.
Before the meeting, local MPP and Environment Minister John Wilkinson said he would live near a wind turbine as long as it met the minimum requirements set out by the province.
A single wind turbine must be at least a distance of 550 metres away from where people live, sleep, pray, work or go to school. If there's more than one turbine, the distance is greater than 550- metres. McMurtry suggested the 550 metre distance is arbitrary. "We have searched far and wide and deep. It's a false claim. They can't say 550 metres is sound science. That claim can't be substantiated," he said.
Regulations also require wind turbines cannot have a noise level above 40 decibels, which is considered "background noise" by the World Health Organization, Wilkinson said.
Because the province regulates wind turbines, if they're noisier than 40 decibels, the province can shut them down, Wilkinson added.
The province gets advice from Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health.
"As long as (turbines) are a sufficient distance away and not exceeding the noise (limits), there's no evidence there's an effect on human health," Wilkinson said.
"Having said that, we are open to any new science."
McMurtry and Krogh both insist there's plenty of science to show there are negative consequences on the health of people around the turbines.
McMurtry also insists the onus of responsibility for proof is on the province to follow the precautionary principle. If there's the potential for harm, it's up to the government to show there is none, he said.
McMurtry was also critical of King's report. He said it was just a review of the literature that was previously published and it ignored any literature that raised alarms.
The final speaker of the night, Dave Collings had wind turbines on his farm property until last December when the lease expired.
"These things destroy your neighbourhood and your neighbours," he said.
Four houses around his property are empty now.
He also noted that there are no earthworms near wind turbines because of the sonic vibration and the ground currents generated by the turbines. "Dirty energy" or stray voltage from the lines substations is another factor making people sick, he said. He tests properties around the Ripley area.
He advised any farmers considering signing a lease to show it to a corporate lawyer because the leases favour the wind power companies, he said.
Wilkinson was invited to attend the meeting, but couldn't go because he's taken an oath that forbids him from attending public meetings, either for or against, projects he may later make a decision about, he said.
"A referee doesn't lace up his skates with any member of a hockey team before a game," he said. "We have to make decisions based on (a project's) merits or lack thereof."
His attendance at a public event could be interpreted as an endorsement of a certain side, he suggested.
While the debate continues, Johnston has offered her house up as a research centre for renewable energy and health.
William
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Plans for huge cell tower have AF neighbors boiling
Ahwatukee Foothills News
30 at Phoenix City Hall, 200 W. Washington St. Plans call for a 65-foot-tall tower topped by a large cross, concealing a cell phone antenna array, ...
http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/article_9bd9a8de-09fe-11e0-9329-001cc4c002e0.html
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Khaleej Times
These days in Mumbai and other part of the country we can see buildings with two to three towers on the top floor. The popularity of cell phone and wireless ...
Robert R
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Court Supports Fort Hunt Residents' Right To Oppose Cell Phone Tower
Patch
By Nancy Malir | Email the author | 6:01am Local residents have the right to oppose land permit
applications for the construction of cell phone towers, ...
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