W.E.E.P. News
Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News
19 August 2010
Open letter to:
The Minister of Health for Ontario
The Hon. Deb Matthews
18 August 2010
Stratford,
Ontario
Wireless Danger at Stratford General Hospital.
Dear Minister Matthews,
On Friday 6 August 2010 you opened the new wing at Stratford General Hospital. Later that same day I went on a guided tour of the new wing. It is a fabulous new facility that will serve the community well for many years.
During my tour I used a high quality radio frequency meter to measure wireless microwave radiation. What I discovered was shocking. A wireless Wi Fi communications system has been installed throughout the new wing and throughout many other areas of the hospital, including the patient accommodations. This has been implemented despite the fact that I provided senior hospital officials with information about the dangers of such a system over a year earlier.
The new wireless system operates from dozens of Wi Fi ports that are installed throughout the hospital every few metres. Each Wi Fi port emits very strong microwave radiation that reaches in all directions, covering many areas of the hospital in dangerously high levels of microwave radiation. The devices emit this dangerous electro magnetic pollutant twenty-four hours a day, all year around, as long as they are powered, even when not actually transmitting or receiving.
A few weeks earlier, I had occasion to visit a patient at the Stratford Hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, I was healthy and feeling well. When I left approximately forty minutes later, I was suffering with asthmatic type symptoms, even though I am not asthmatic. The cause of my almost instant illness was the microwave radiation emitted by a Wi Fi port just outside the room where I was visiting. Although the Wi Fi port was several metres away in the passageway on the other side of the wall, the radiation passed through the wall and was still very strong even at the bed located the furthest distance from the device. All occupants of that room were being subjected to electro magnetic radiation that is harmful to their health. The hospital has placed its patients and staff into a situation that is both harmful and unacceptable.
Life on earth has only recently started to be exposed to radiation at these high levels. Research has shown that people who have been exposed to microwave radiation in their past employment or others who have lived near antennas, have significantly higher amounts of cancer and many other illnesses than those who have not been exposed. Scientific research indicates that the effect to our health over long periods of time may be very harmful (http://www.neilcherry.com/documents/90_s2_EMR_Brain_cancer_paper09-02.pdf). The adverse health effects of microwave radiation have been known for over sixty-five years ( http://www.zoryglaser.com/ ). Some of these health effects are known as "microwave illness" or "radio wave sickness". Scientific studies that document the harm, number into the thousands. Long term exposure can lead to several very serious illnesses. There are good scientific reasons to believe that electro magnetic radiation is possibly the most serious environmental and health threat that we face today:
(http://www.hese-project.org/hese-uk/en/papers/warnke_bbm.pdf).
These are some of the known health effects:
Depression
Suicide
Insomnia
Chronic Fatigue
Cancers and Leukemia
Alzheimer's
Parkinson's Disease
Heart palpitations and arrhythmias
Chest pain
Stroke
Low or high blood pressure
Asthma
Skin rashes and irritations
Altered sugar metabolism leading to diabetes
Infertility and miscarriage
Headaches and migraines
Attention Deficit Disorder
Difficulty concentrating
Ringing in the ears
Joint pain / arthritis
Soviet research from many years ago indicates that health effects caused by microwave radiation are similar to health effects caused by pesticides. Can you imagine all patients in an entire hospital being continually sprayed by harmful pesticides? Open sewers running through the hospital, would probably be less harmful.
Research indicates that the children of women who use cell phones and cordless telephones (microwave radiation) during pregnancy show drastically increased behavioral problems by the time that they reach school age. Children and babies are particularly susceptible to harm from microwave radiation and this pollution must be kept away from the pediatrics department. There is a greater risk of miscarriages for pregnant women exposed to strong levels of microwave radiation.
Exposure to microwave radiation such as that from Stratford Hospital's Wi-Fi system is known to create stress responses that harm people, animals, birds and other living things. The "Freiburger Appeal" is a doctors' perspective on concerns about the health effects of electro magnetic radiation (http://omega.twoday.net/stories/566350/) that you should consider.
The Irish Doctors' Environmental Association (http://www.ideaireland.org/emr.htm) have also written an important document providing doctors' perspectives about the dangers of microwave radiation.
In the new wing of the Stratford hospital, one of the wireless hubs that I measured during my tour was at the emergency admitting area, just above where the patients are interviewed during registration. Can you imagine an ill person with a possible heart condition being subjected to strong microwave radiation that is already known to cause serious adverse effects on the heart? This is medical madness at its worst.
In the very impressive new Pre and Post Anaesthetic Care Unit I found four Wi Fi hubs, located in each area of the unit. The patients located closest to these devices will be exposed to very high amounts of dangerous microwave radiation and all other patients will be exposed to varying amounts that could still harm them. This is a critical care area where the health of patients can be in great danger. Patients should not be placed at such risk during critical care and the staff should not be subjected to electro magnetic radiation that could affect their cognitive functions in this stressful environment.
As well, patients waiting in the CAT scan area will be subjected to very high levels of microwave radiation from a Wi Fi hub in the ceiling above. It is probable that some critically ill patients will be waiting here, and their lives will be further endangered by radiation from this device. Other patients who are in this waiting area will also be subjected to this danger. This same danger can be found in the Ultrasound waiting area, where there is another Wi Fi hub in the ceiling. The Mammography waiting area is similarly dangerous because of the microwave exposure.
At the Stroke Centre, just outside one of the specialized rooms, a Wi Fi hub is located in the ceiling of the passageway on the opposite side of a wall. Although I was unable to enter the room and confirm this, I suspect that the radiation will pass through the wall and affect the stroke patients inside the room. Stroke is another illness linked to microwave radiation, it has been shown to thicken blood, as shown by live blood testing (http://www.magdahavas.com/2010/03/22/live-blood-cells-and-electrosmog/). Microwave radiation must be kept away from stroke patients.
Outside Operating Room # 1, I measured strong microwave radiation. I did not have access to the room itself, but I suspect the microwave radiation was being emitted by a device inside the operating room. If this is the case, it is just plain stupidity and negligence on the part of those involved in planning this system. This is a life threatening danger in a critical care area. Microwave radiation must be kept away from operating rooms.
I measured enough of the new hospital wing to know that patients at this facility are facing danger from short-term exposure from microwave radiation. The staff who will be permanently working in this environment face significant long-term harm. This is a huge liability issue for the hospital because staff may become ill from exposure to this dangerous new pollutant. We cannot afford to endanger the safety of the patients and staff at this, or any, hospital for a dangerous and badly conceived communications system.
There are many more adverse effects of electro magnetic radiation than I have mentioned above. To assist you to find more information about those effects, two thousand scientific studies are referenced at www.bioinitiative.org (The BioInitiative Report). After you have studied some of the information about the known dangers, I think that you will agree that this type of radiation must not be used in our hospitals.
I suffer from a condition recognized by the World Health Organization and the Canadian Human Rights Commission that is called electro hypersensitivity. This condition is becoming increasingly well known as more people are being harmed by modern wireless technology. Microwave radiation makes me very ill. It was probably a key factor in the development of the cancer that I suffered five years ago. More recently, blind scientific testing showed that microwave radiation has dangerous effects on my heart. An emergency trip to Stratford Hospital with its new Wi Fi communications system is an alarming prospect for me. Instead of healing and help, the experience could easily make my condition worse or kill me. My wife has asked me what she should do about if I were admitted to hospital in an acute situation. I have instructed her to ask the staff to turn off any of the Wi Fi hubs located nearby that may be affecting me. If that is not done, I have suggested that she disable the device by smashing it, as it may be the only other option that would ensure my safety. Nobody should fear a hospital visit due to a dangerous Wi Fi and communications system! Hospitals should be safe for all patients, visitors and staff.
Although Health Canada may quote Safety Code Six, there are no real and practical "safety" standards in Canada because the Canadian Government ignores all health effects other than heating effects. Canadian microwave radiation standards are based simply on heating, known as "thermal effects". Health Canada fail to take into account the "biological" effects that radiation has upon the brain, the heart, muscles, the skin, the brain and the nervous system. Independent scientists from around the world have demonstrated these effects exist at very low radiation exposure levels, but Health Canada has consistently and negligently ignored these findings. Yes, Minister, even you and your family are in danger because radiation levels that you have been told are safe, are not.
While this letter is written about the situation at Stratford Hospital, I am aware of two other Ontario hospitals that have similar dangerous communications systems. This is a critical time for the health and safety of patients, hospitals and the entire Ontario Healthcare system. If you fail in your duties now by failing to make hospitals safe from this invisible new pollution, you could indirectly cause much illness and death to Ontario residents. You could also be responsible for damaging the entire health care system.
Here are some actions that you need to take:
- Educate yourself, your staff and the Ontario Government about the adverse health effects caused by exposure to microwave radiation.
- Educate doctors and all other medical personnel about the health effects of microwave radiation. Ensure that they can recognize the symptoms and provide advice to their patients.
- Order all non essential microwave emitting equipment to be removed from the inside of hospitals.
- Protect patients from exposure from sources of microwave radiation that originate outside of the hospital (antennas etc).
- Protect the health of citizens of Ontario by advising them about the danger of microwave radiation from devices in their homes, at work and in their environment.
- Order an investigation into the use of this type of dangerous Wi Fi communications equipment in Ontario Hospitals to find out why it was installed and why those responsible have ignored massive amounts of scientific research that shows the dangers.
- Call for an Ontario Government Inquiry into the reasons why the Federal Government is ignoring the massive amount of evidence about non-thermal adverse health effects of microwave radiation and why they are failing to protect Ontario and other Canadian citizens from that danger.
The fact that the mainstream medical establishment in Ontario is mostly unaware about the health dangers and effects of electro magnetic radiation shows negligence on the part of your Ministry. The evidence and scientific studies are clearly available to you. You must not ignore this information. You have a duty to ensure the safety of hospitals and the health care system. If you fail to ensure the safety of our hospitals and fail to take every precaution to ensure that electro magnetic radiation does not effect patients and endanger the health care system, it is possible that you may face criminal charges in the future.
Sincerely,
Martin Weatherall
Co Director, WEEP
The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution.
www.weepinitiative
weather@golden.net
and
Candidate for Mayor
City of Stratford
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Barrie Trower
Barrie Trower will be in Toronto next week to speak about the dangers of electro magnetic radiation..
We hope everyone and their friends and anyone with interest in the topic of EMF can come to his speech:
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
HEALTH SCIENCES BUILDING
155 COLLEGE STREET
THE AUDITORIUM, ROOM 610
7:30 PM
Tuesday August 24th.
The contact person for this event is patricia naylor tricia_naylor@yahoo.com
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Your Mattress Could be Acting as a Cancer-Causing Radiation Antenna
Posted by: Dr. Mercola | August 18 2010
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Is Wi-Fi a health risk at schools?
Comment Columnists / Moira MacDonald
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/moira_macdonald/2010/08/18/15066996.html
Darn. Just when I figured out how to connect my wireless Internet, all hell breaks loose. Ever since stories emerged last week about the risks of Wi-Fi'ed classrooms to students I've been disconnecting my router nightly, situated just on the other side of the wall from where my kid sleeps.
But is this a health risk worth donning a tinfoil hat for, or should we take a big breath and get our heads on straight before getting carried away?
The Toronto District School Board is still poised to go full speed ahead with plans to make every school wireless by 2015 — 74 are already. A staff report says the technology is well within Health Canada guidelines.
"If there was new research that came out or Health Canada … changed their guidelines we would certainly work to make sure the Wi-Fi in our classrooms was in line," board spokeswoman Lindsay Satterthwaite told me Wednesday.
Health Canada contends "there is no convincing scientific evidence that this equipment is dangerous to schoolchildren" and based on continuous review of new scientific studies, the energy from Wi-Fi systems "is not dangerous to the public."
The Simcoe County District School Board, where there have been complaints at 14 schools about kids suffering ill effects they suspect are due to Wi-Fi, also says its technology is in line with federal guidelines.
Dr. Magda Havas, an associate professor in the environmental studies department at Trent University, begs to differ with those guidelines. She's written an open letter to school boards asking them to "think twice" before installing Wi-Fi because of potential health effects such as increased cancer risk.
"Everyone wants to use the technology and I understand that, but you can use it in a wired fashion," she says. I'll bet, though, that wireless costs less and is easier to install than miles of cable.
Havas says Health Canada's Safety Code 6 does not set a low enough limit on the amount of low-level radio-frequency energy emitted by technology such as cellphones and Wi-Fi and its limits are based on the heat produced by the energy, not other biological effects.
She has a peer-reviewed study going to publication showing the development of irregular or very rapid heart rates — something reported in Simcoe County — in six out of 25 study participants during exposure to a 2.4 GHz radio frequency, the same frequency used in wireless routers. A heart monitor showed the effect stopped when the frequency was turned off.
While fewer than one-quarter might not sound convincing, Havas says not all people are affected the same way or will exhibit symptoms, just as not everyone has a peanut allergy, but for those who do, it can be fatal upon exposure.
Havas is well-educated. She has a PhD. from the University of Toronto and did her post-doc research at Cornell. Meanwhile, another scientist, Fred Gilbert, former president of Lakehead University and a biologist, oversaw a Wi-Fi ban there four years ago until there was more study on its safety.
I'm not donning a tinfoil hat — but the questions are there. Still, with a fall election coming up, it may be too much to expect trustees to start debating the merits and potential hazards of technology that is too convenient for most people to turn down.
Web site www.weepinitiative.org e-mail contactweep@weepinitiative.org
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W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution
