W.E.E.P. News
Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News
15 March 2011
WiFi: Visualization of the invisible radiation in two dimensions (2D)
http://videos.next-up.org/Norvege/Visualisation_2D_irradiation_WiFi_en_zone_urbaine/13_03_2011.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter to the Victoria School Board
Andrew Green, Risk Management
Director, Client Services - Education
Victoria School Board, B.C. Canada
Dear Mr. Green,
This letter serves as formal advice regarding impending actions by the Victoria School Board, and to ask about the financial reserves established to fund liabilities which the Board and its trustees will likely face as a result of these actions. This will undoubtedly become a provincial issue as well.
The School Board has heard testimony from parents and researchers, and has received submissions from world-renowned scientists about the potential harm resulting from Wi-Fi installations in schools. These experts include Dr. Magda Havas (Associate Professor of Environmental & Resource Studies at Trent University), Dr. Olle Johansson (Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, & Professor, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden), and Dr. David Carpenter (Director, Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, Rensselaer, New York).
Following is a list of documentation and information:
1. Many peer-reviewed studies showing harm from non-thermal radiation at levels significantly below that allowed by Health Canada's Safety Code 6, the exposure guideline.
2. A report from Health Canada's Royal Panel ("A Review of the Potential Health Risks of Radiofrequency Fields from Wireless Telecommunication Devices" March 1999) confirming health effects from prolonged exposure to radiation similar to that emitted by WiFi modems including Single and Double DNA strand breakage, tumour promotions and cell proliferations and blood brain barrier leakage. This report also concluded that Safety Code 6 is inadequate as a guideline for this radiation and following this guideline does not prevent exposure to dangerous levels of non-thermal radiation.
3. Three to ten percent of the world's population suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity ( EHS), and the percentage is steadily increasing. (O. Hallberg. G. Oberfeld, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine (Internet), [cited 2008 July 25] 25:189-191). Electromagnetic hypersensitivity is a reaction to exposure to radiation, causing various reactions including severe rashes, headaches, and muscular pain, often resulting in disability. It is recognized by the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Government as an environmental sensitivity, as well as being recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sweden classifies electromagnetic hypersensitivity as a fully recognized functional impairment for which disability compensation is paid.
4. An industry document presented which acknowledges that WiFi is dangerous, especially for children and pregnant women. The SwissCom Patent Application originates with a major telecom company in Europe and contains admissions of harm.
5. Major insurers and reinsurers have refused to provide insurance against claims associated with radiation-emitting wireless devices based upon their assessment of the high risk of significant claims. If, despite all of this evidence, the school board proceeds with the installation of WiFi, it is likely that children, teachers and staff will suffer health effects resulting in:
a. long term disability claims by employees, and
b. lawsuits by parents.
In consideration of this information, we would like to know:
i) Has the Risk Management Committee considered and estimated the cost of replacing teachers and staff who will become disabled with the development of electromagnetic hypersensitivity, or other radiation exposure-associated health effects? Are sufficient reserves established to pay for this estimated cost?
ii) Are the established reserves sufficient to pay for future damages awarded in legal liability claims from employees, students and parents? Given that the school board has sufficient information to anticipate harm, lawsuits could be brought on the basis of wilful misconduct or negligence.
School officials are in a unique position of responsibility for the health and well-being of our children. The School Act states that this responsibility must be taken seriously. (Sections 6 and 6.1) If it isn't, lawsuits can be anticipated. Lawsuits have been brought forward in other countries and courts have found for the plaintiff, e.g. Italy (wherein the judge would accept only non-industry funded studies.) and the U.S.A., through a decision in the Alaska Supreme Court.
We look forward to receiving complete information about the risk management assessment and the reserves to fund future liabilities.
A) Are sufficient reserves established to pay for this estimated cost?
B) Are the established reserves sufficient to pay for future legal liability claims?
Sincerely,
Sharon Noble
818 Bexhill Place
Victoria V9C 3V5
250-478-7892
dsnoble@shaw.ca
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Law group questions wind farm gag clauses
Tue Mar 8, 2011
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/08/3158332.htm
The Law Institute of Victoria says contractual clauses that prevent people near wind farms from talking publicly about health problems may not be legally enforceable.
The medical director of the Waubra Foundation, Dr Sarah Laurie, yesterday told the ABC she has seen copies of contracts between landowners and wind energy companies that contained the so-called gag clauses.
The wind industry says the clauses do not exist.
The institute's president-elect, Michael Holcroft, says courts consider the public interest when ruling on contracts.
"They could certainly put it into a contract but whether it's enforceable or not is another issue," he said.
"Normally when courts consider whether they will enforce contracts they take into account a public purpose and public interest component, so if a contract so offended the public interest, they probably wouldn't enforce it."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smart Metergate.
Walter Patrick McGinnis 10,03,2011
With political shenanigans and backroom intrigue that rival the Watergate scandal the BC Liberal government is embarking on a program to replace all the hydro meters in our province with the so called "Smart" meters. This could not only hurt our pocket books it may also harm our health.
Resembling the precision of a military coup, the nameless and faceless operatives within the wireless industry, with their collaborators in government bureaucracies, and the ruling Liberal Party, have prepared and are now implementing their plan to blanket our province with yet another layer of radio frequency radiation, (rfr). So called Smart meters are being installed all around the world with much protest from consumers, but you will hear little of that from the corporate media outlets like Postmedia, the owners of most of Canada's daily papers. Ominously our own CBC seems to be in on the scam.
The BC Government is collaborating with Accenture, the business arm of BC Hydro in making another decision that could lead to ruin for our Crown Corporation. Accenture has made a series of decisions regarding the run of river projects, the Site C dam and the so called smart meters that favor corporate profits and penalizes British Columbians.
The BC Utilities Commission must hold formal public hearings to examine how Accenture has driven BC Hydro into the ground financially and has embarked on a new hydro meter program that may have devastating health consequences for our province.
Since the master minds of the Enron scam, Author Andersen and Associates, pulled out with hundreds of millions of dollars, changed their name to Accenture and then took over BC Hydro operations, our public utility has gone from a profitable crown corporation to near bankruptcy. . They are now the cancer inside BC Hydro. If they follow the Enron model, their mandate is to kill BC Hydro and sell parts of the carcass off to their friends.
In BC our hydro meters are going to be replaced with new high tech meters that are going to be able to monitor your electricity consumption by the second continuously, twenty four hours a day, and seven days a week. These meters have surveillance capabilities that the companies are not required to report on and threaten our privacy and security as laid out in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Smart meters emit dangerous levels of radio frequency radiation (rfr), and on top of that it appears they will not save a penny in the consumption of electricity.
Many scientific studies have shown a link between exposure to rfr and a host of ailments including serious diseases like heart arrhythmia and tachycardia and various forms of cancer. Smart Meters expose the public to rfr at harmful levels according to Dr. Magda Havas an environmental toxicologist from Trent University in Ontario.
We are going to lay down 1 billion dollars to pay independent contractors, some with close connections to the BC Liberals, to have these meters installed. Check out
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/03/07/SmartMeterProfits/
Accenture (is a global management, technology services, and outsourcing company. It is registered in Hamilton, Bermuda. It is said to be the largest Consulting Firm in the world. With more than 178,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$19.70 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2007. Accenture's clients include 91 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500.
The lucrative Run of River hydro electric projects have contracts that guarantee that BC Hydro will pay major corporations like General Electric for their generated electricity at 6 times the rate that Hydro can sell it. This will bankrupt BC Hydro. These ecologically disastrous projects are financially devastating for BC Hydro and ultimately British Columbians.
It should be no surprise that this campaign to install these rfr emitting smart meters has started while the legislature is in disarray and both the ruling party and the official opposition are in a dramatic transition with new leaders. The interim leader of the New Democratic Party is now asking the new leader of the liberal party and new premier to shelve the Smart meter program pending a full governmental review. John Horrigan the NDP energy critic is busy running for the leadership of his party and the Liberal Minister of Energy, Steve Thompson is no where to be found.
Our governments have set up many impediments to full public involvement in the decision making process and thus there is little chance in stopping these meters from being installed. The Gordon Campbell Liberals passed a law that excluded Smart meters from the jurisdiction of the BC Utilities Commission with little fuss.
The federal government gets hundreds of millions of dollars per year in licensing fees. Through Industry Canada's regulations the halting of any installation of wireless transmitters on the basis of health concerns is prohibited. Industry Canada is riddled with corporate insiders. Health Canada collaborates with the Telecommunications Industry by not recognizing any research that shows adverse health effects as a result of so called non thermal level of exposures such as emitted from a wireless meter.
The corporate media which is directly owned in many cases by the telecom industry (Postmedia the largest media conglomerate in Canada has close ties with the telecom industry) sensors public criticism and concerns about health as a result of exposure to rfr, concerns about the privacy and security of their homes, and concerns about the costs of their electricity are denied a voice.
At a 1 billion dollar price tag for BC this will means we will have to save about 100 million kilowatt hours of electricity in less consumption before the citizens will see some financial benefit. How long will it take for us to save this much electrical energy? Especially when no one can find any where in the world that these meters have been installed that energy consumption has actually been reduced
---
Walt is an EM Radiation Tester in Victoria, British Columbia. He is a Co chairman of the EM Radiation Health Alliance of BC and has 35 years experience as an electrical contractor specializing in finding and eliminating ELF magnetic fields from buildings. www.mcginniselectric.ca.
Making our electromagnetic world a safer place one home at a time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concerns about cellphone towers not being heard
Government bodies not talking about antennas on public property
Derek Spalding, Daily News
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=bc039e43-a04f-4329-b55d-06d6a21072d0
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
The debate over cellular phone antennas and the possibility of associated health impacts continues to heat up around North America.
The discussion landed in a north Nanaimo neighbourhood recently when Telus announced its proposal to erect a 43-metre tower near Hammond Bay Road.
Telus has offered $24,000 a year to the Regional District of Nanaimo for renting a portion of its property, located across the street from an elementary school.
Two very distinct arguments have been made about the impact of people's exposure to electromagnetic energy, which is emitted from radio frequencies in cellular phones.
Most levels of government and private businesses subscribe to Health Canada guidelines that say high-frequency radiation levels do not cause health problems in humans.
But some scientists are still studying this relatively unknown territory and many are saying there is an increasing number of studies that demonstrate the impacts of long-term exposure to high-frequency or microwave radiation levels.
No one has been able to tell the Nanaimo Daily News how many antennas are in the city, but research shows there could be approximately 15 within Nanaimo proper.
At least four of those are on public property, but few of the governing bodies, including Health Canada, have any comment about the antennas or the possible health impacts.
Too many people hide behind the federal guidelines, which are out of date and have not kept up with the research, according to one of Canada's loudest scientists who believes that long-term exposure to microwave radiation can impact a person's health.
"Our government believes that the only harmful effect from microwave radiation is from the thermal effect. The only thing our government is protecting us against is heating," said Magda Havas, associate professor of environmental and resource studies at Trent University. "Other countries are basing exposure on any kind of biological effect."
Havas is criticized as often as she is praised for her work in this field. She has been researching the biological effects of electromagnetic pollution, including radio frequency since the 1990s.
Research indicates that there is enough of a risk attached to high-frequency radio waves to cause concern among communities and inspire government to reconsider its guidelines until more research can be done.
Studies have shown that long-term exposure to high-frequency radio waves increased the risk of cancer in lab rats, while other studies show that humans experience a range of physiological ailments after long-term exposure to similar microwave radiation from cellphone antennas. The exposure can lead to what scientists are calling electro hypersensitivity. This illness includes insomnia, tinnitus, chronic fatigue, nausea, dizziness, skin problems, depression and anxiety. Not everyone is impacted by the radiation, but research is demonstrating that the closer people live to the antenna, the more likely they are to experience difficulties.
Health Canada refused a Daily News request for an interview. Statements from its communication team said typical radiofrequency levels from cellphone towers are "thousands of times below the limits for public exposure."
A growing number of parents say they will pull their children from Hammond Bay Elementary School, if the RDN reaches an agreement with Telus and allows the tower to go up. Residents living close to the RDN's Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre say they do not want to be exposed to the antennas. Parents say their children will be exposed to it 24 hours a day, particularly at school, which is within 200 metres of the proposed tower site.
School staff have not returned requests for interviews, but a few parents have spoken out. The school's parent advisory council has formed a sub-committee, which has been tasked to come up with an official position. Area residents have lobbied local, regional, provincial and federal governments looking for support. Most of those bodies already have antennas on their own property, but taxpayers hope that they can bring enough attention to stop this one from being erected.
Some people will meet with Coun. Bill Bestwick, who is also a director for the RDN.
"They are taking the necessary protocol to bring the issue to people's attention," said Bestwick. "They're making a compelling argument for why this might not be the most suitable location for a cell tower."
Local governments should be more involved in site selection for these towers, according to Vancouver East MP Libby Davies. She is working on a private members bill that outlines why the federal government should take more of an active role in determining where the towers are installed. It explicitly demands that municipalities be far more involved in the process.
Government bodies are already making money from cellphone towers in the city.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority has one erected on top of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, the RDN already has one at its 6300 property on Hammond Bay Road and the city has a contract with both Telus and Rogers.
Telus installed an antenna in the tower at NRGH a few years ago. VIHA receives $13,500 a year as outlined in the 10-year contract signed in 2008, according to communication staff.
VIHA refused interview requests regarding the health implications for cellphone antennas. When asked if they conducted research into possible health implications, the communications team issued a statement, saying the "health authority does not believe there are health impacts consistent with existing evidence using Health Canada guidelines."
City staff also avoided questions about whether or not they completed any research on the possible health impacts. They too cited Health Canada guidelines, saying the city does not regulate cellphone antennas.
"People won't talk about it because everyone is hiding behind Health Canada regulations," Havas said. "Everyone wants to believe Health Canada, but on this the regulations are so far behind the science."
Telus plans to hold an open house in March to get feedback from the community. Spokesman Shawn Hall said there is wide support for the tower, which will fill a huge gap in service.
DSpalding@nanaimodailynews.com
TOWER FACTS
Telus proposes erecting a 43-metre cellular phone tower on RDN property at 4600 Hammond Bay Rd.
Telus has nine cellular phone antennas in Nanaimo.
Cellular phone providers have a total of about 19 antennas between north Nanaimo and the Nanaimo airport.
The number of cell phone users in Canada rose from 100,000 in 1987 to more than 21 million by the end of 2008.
SOURCE: DAILY NEWS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Nuclear Reactors Work, And How They Fail
That fission produces a ton of energy in the form of both kinetic energy and electromagnetic radiation. Those new pieces include two new nuclei (byproducts), some photons (gamma rays), but also some more free neutrons, which is the key that makes ...
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/whats-happening-japans-nuclear-power-plants
How can I protect myself?
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SNAA-8EXTJM?OpenDocument
Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org
To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org (provide name and e-mail address)
W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution
