Thursday, April 30, 2009

W.E.E.P. needs your help / Brain tumours on the rise / Where You Sleep Matters / Summerfield fights proposed T-Mobile tower

W.E.E.P. needs your help fundraising

On May 27th, the WEEP group (Canadian Initiative to Stop Wireless, 
Electrical, and Electromagnetic Pollution),in collaboration with PACT 
of Richmond Hill (Precautionary Approach to Cellular Transmissions) 
are hosting Dr Martin Blank, from the college of physicians and  surgeons at Columbia University, for an information session/press  conference in Toronto. Dr Blank is one of the authors of the  BioInitiative Report that has been so central to the recent promise of  regulatory change in Europe. (www.bioinitiative.org) Dr Blank will be  presenting the scientific basis of the BioInititiave report, as well as all the studies on the risks of EMF in the recent issue of the journal Pathophysiology, of which he is the issue editor.

We are inviting press, scientists, environmental organizations, labour organizations, doctors groups, etc, and hope to use this event to raise awarness as well as to put pressure on Health Canada to change the far too lax electromagnetic emission standards enshrined in  Canada's Safety Code 6.  The European Parliament has recently voted on the need to drastically reduce emissions levels to protect human health and environmental integrity. We would like the Canadian Government to follow their lead.

The entire event is costing WEEP about $4000 and we've raised $1500 or  so in the last weeks. We are hoping that you will consider making a donation to help pay for this important initiative.

As we are an offshoot of the Breast Cancer Research and Education Fund, donations to WEEP receive charitable receipts back for tax purposes. Donations can be made out to 'WEEP - Breast Cancer Research and Education Fund' and mailed to  Dr. David Fancy, Department of Dramatic Arts, Brock University, St  Catharines, Ontario, L2R 6K1. We will get a receipt sent out to you shortly thereafter, and we will also keep you posted on the details of the event so you can attend if you are able.

We recognize that many of you, who are electrically sensitive, are most  likely quite financially challenged.  We ask that you do not send money, but rather use your limited funds to keep on staying as healthy as possible.  If you are able to fund-raise in your community, we would be very pleased at any effort that you make to raise funds.  You may also send us an email of best wishes if you like, and we can give them over to Dr. Blank.

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BRAIN TUMOURS ON THE RISE

Brain tumours are the leading cancer killer among the under-40s and disturbing statistics out today show that the illness is on the rise.

A third more children died in 2007 than in 2001, while 65 per cent more women die from it than from cervical cancer.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/97509/www.brain%20tumourresearch.org

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/apr/26/brain-tumour-child-cancer-deaths

 

Child cancer deaths led by brain tumours

Brain tumours are the leading cause of childhood cancer deaths in Britain, with half as many more children dying from the illness as from leukaemia. Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that in 2007 there were 47% more deaths from brain tumours among under-15s than from leukaemia. Yet that is not reflected in the money spent on research, say campaigners.

This week sees the launch of Brain Tumour Research, a national coalition of 14 charities, which believe that research is "woefully underfunded". It is backed by celebrities including the actress Sheila Hancock, whose grandson survived a tumour, and actor Martin Kemp and opera singer Russell Watson, who were both treated successfully.

Hancock, 76, the widow of actor John Thaw, saw her grandson Jack diagnosed with a rare tumour aged four. "It is terrible to watch a grandchild go through the diagnosis and treatment of a brain tumour. You feel so helpless." Jack was successfully operated on.

Kevin O'Neill, a consultant neurosurgeon at Imperial College London, said: "Brain tumours are on the increase, reportedly in the region of 2% per year. But in my unit we have seen the number of cases nearly double in the last year."braintumourresearch.org

Eileen,

Kind Regards,

Eileen O'Connor

Radiation Research Trustee

http://www.radiationresearch.org

 

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Why Where You Sleep Matters If You Want a Healthy Baby

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/30/Why-Where-You-Sleep-Matters-If-You-Want-a-Healthy-Baby.aspx

Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD explains why the U.S. needs pre-conception healthcare.

I'm sure you will receive many valuable health tips from this small segment of the expert interview. To hear the full version of this and other interviews I do with world-renowned health experts, it's easy ... Simply sign up for the affordable Mercola Inner Circle and receive them monthly, with zero effort on your part. Take this small step -- and take control of your health -- 2281other Mercola Inner Circle members can't be wrong!

Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt is well known for his successful treatment of neurological illness, chronic pain, and autistic children with Integrative Medicine. Here he explains how electromagnetic fields (EMF) interfere not only with your biology, but with that of your unborn child as well, and how it contributes to the creation of autism.

Rates of autism have increased nearly 60-fold since the late 1970s, with the most significant increases occurring in the past decade. It now affects about one in 150 U.S. children, but some sources claim it may be even higher than that. For example, researchers in Great Britain believe that one in 58 children may have some form of the condition!

Preconception healthcare may be one of the most important, yet largely ignored aspects of medicine to halt this alarming trend.

Why You Need to Beware of EMF Exposure During Pregnancy

According to Dr. Klinghardt, one of the most important preconception health considerations is your level of electromagnetic field exposure, particularly where you sleep and work on a daily basis. 

Dr. Klinghardt performed a small study showing that autism can actually be predicted based on the EMF levels of your sleeping quarters while pregnant!

He found that if you sleep in strong electromagnetic fields during pregnancy, your child will likely begin to exhibit neurological abnormalities within the first two years of life, such as:

  • Neurological dysfunction

  • Hyperactivity

  • Learning disorders

I've previously written about the many dangers of EMF's, and information-carrying radio waves from cell phones in particular, which have been found to:

  • Damage your cell membranes

  • Decrease your intracellular communication by disrupting microtubular connections that allow biophotons to communicate between cells

  • Increase deposits of heavy metals into your cells, which increases intracellular production of free radicals and can radically decrease cellular production of energy -- thus making you incredibly fatigued

Getting your bedroom and work space measured for EMF's and changing the position of your bed may be one of the best things you can do for the future health of your baby. I am absolutely convinced that the explosion in cell phone and Wi-Fi usage is one of the primary contributing factors to the rising autism rates as it further increases the dangers of vaccines and other heavy metal exposure. It also potentiates the production of toxic microbes and endotoxins. 

One of Dr. Klinghardt's European colleagues did an experiment on microbial cultures, comparing the growth and endotoxin production between microbes shielded in faraday cages, compared to cultures subjected to typical EMF exposure without protection. The proliferation and endotoxin production went up 600 percent when subjected to ambient EMFs.

For this reason, Dr. Klinghardt suggests:

If you are constructing a new home or renovating one and the walls are being rebuilt you can install radiant barrier which is a tough type of aluminum foil which will also very effectively screen out the EMF.  This is what I did for my own bedroom.

We are discovering more about the detrimental health impact of EMF on a regular basis. In addition to searching my site for previous articles on this issue, two good sources for more information about how and why you should protect yourself and your family members from electromagnetic fields are abcEMF.com and ElectroMagneticHealth.org.

Beware that cell phones and wireless internet features are not the only sources you need to be cautious of. Essentially, most all electronics will generate EMF's, including the wiring in your home, electric alarm clocks, electric blankets, computers and lamps, just to mention a few.

At minimum, move your bed so that your head is at least 3-6 feet from all electrical outlets. If you are constructing the walls you can put the wires inside pipes which will virtually eliminate the fields that are generated in the room when the current runs through the wire. Also, turn off everything electrical in your sleeping area, including your WI-FI, cell and portable phones.

Additionally, whenever possible, try to avoid holding a non-corded phone to your head, and avoid using your cell phone when in a car with a child or pregnant woman. If you absolutely need to use your cell phone, crack your window so the radiation can dissipate quicker.

Final Thoughts

I agree with Dr. Klinghardt when he says that no society can go successfully forward without preconception healthcare, and I think it will become the main issue for any modern society to thrive and to evolve.

Currently there are only two countries that have strict standards in regards to protecting their children from environmental hazards such as EMF's, and that's Iran and Russia. 

We don't do anything as a society to protect the coming generation of children and it's heartbreaking, considering everything we know about the dangers of EMF's and information-carrying radio waves. Part of the problem is that most of the public health decisions are made by attorneys and politicians, not physicians and scientists.

Last year I became an active participant, along with Dr Klinghardt, in the THRiiiVE Consensus Creation Summits, organized by autism educator and activist Dana Gorman. Back in October of last year, at the most recent summit, we created the Top 10 Prioritized To Do List for what you and your children need to thrive, and become optimally healthy.  I recommend reviewing this list in its entirety, if you missed it.

Related Links:

Cell Phone Use During Pregnancy Can Seriously Damage Your Baby

Cellular Phones Linked to Cellular DNA Damage

How Cell Phones May Cause Autism

 

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Regarding the story below, I have to wonder whether there will be a name change to 'The Church of the Devil'.  How much pornography, drug trading, illegal and imoral activities will be passing through the church in the form of carcinogenic microwave radiation?

Martin

 

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Summerfield fights proposed T-Mobile tower

Neighbors say Tigard Church of God site is too close to houses

By Barbara Sherman

http://www.theregalcourier.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=124104821859662700

The Regal Courier, Apr 30, 2009

A cell tower won't be constructed in their neighborhood if some Summerfield residents have their say.

A small but vocal group of neighbors attended a meeting April 7 at Tigard Church of God, located at 15670 S.W. 98th Ave., where the tower is proposed to be built.

T-Mobile West Corporation wants to erect a 100-foot-high tower, including antennas, in the southeast corner of the church property.

The antennas would be enclosed in a canister at the top of the tower, and the tower plus an equipment area on a 10-foot-by-12-foot concrete pad would be placed within a 30-foot-by-11-foot fenced enclosure set among Douglas fir trees.

Steve Gerber, a planning consultant for T-Mobile who led the meeting, added that the tower would be a non-reflective metallic surface and could be painted brown or green to blend in with the trees.

Also, an oak tree would have to be removed because the tower needs to be sited on that exact spot, he said. "We will at least replace that one tree or put in more if the city of Tigard requires it."

According to Gerber, the tower is needed to improve cellular service in the area.

"It will improve service 1 mile in every direction from the tower," Gerber said. "We have offered Verizon an opportunity to join with us but have not heard back."

Gerber explained that the church is located on a higher point of ground than the surrounding area, which is necessary for transmission. Other places such as Cook Park are too low for the tower.

A woman commented, "T-Mobile is a commercial business - it should go into a commercial area."

Gerber explained that churches are a conditional use in a residential area, and towers are a commercial use in a residential area.

If T-Mobile makes an application, people within 500 feet would be notified - the same 127 residences that were notified about the April meeting, Gerber said.

A woman said, "It affects me and my health. It is dangerous. I didn't get a notice about this meeting."

According to Gerber, the antennas would emit low-level electromagnetic radiation, "but the World Health Organization and the American Cancer Society say there is no reason to be concerned," he said.

A woman complained that the tower would negatively affect the neighborhood's property values.

A man added, "This tower is 30 feet from where we barbecue in the summer. This will be in plain sight."

However, Gerber said that T-Mobile identified the area where service was needed, and "two areas that spoke to us were these two churches," including the Southwest Church of Christ next door. "We talked to both, and this one agreed."

A woman in the audience said, "We had T-Mobile service, and it worked just fine. We are right across the street from the church."

Another woman said that she also gets good T-Mobile service. "We don't need a tower here," she said. "If someone a mile away has bad service, put the tower there."

Gerber said that he couldn't reveal the monthly fee that the church would be paid, and a man in the audience commented, "They won't share the lease fee, but they'll share the view with us."

Several people wondered why no one from the church was at the meeting, and a man in the rear said he represented the church.

"We haven't made a decision yet," he said.

Cari Froeber, Summerfield Civic Association administrator, said April 22 that the board has authorized her to send a formal letter in opposition of the plan to the church, T-Mobile and the city of Tigard.

For more information on this issue, contact Gerber at gerbersd@comcast.net or 503-246-8190.

Copyright 2009 Pamplin Media Group, 6605 S.E. Lake Road, Portland, OR 97222 • 503-226-6397

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

FLORIDA - ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSITIVITY (EMS) AWARENESS MONTH / Meter Mistake? / MALIBU CANYON FIRE / The Swine Flu Pandemic

ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSITIVITY (EMS) AWARENESS MONTH

Please read the attached message from Governor C. CRIST of Florida

Sent by -
Rob Metzinger
President
Safe Living Technologies Inc.
Website: www.safelivingtechnologies.ca

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Are Smart Meters going to be President Obama's first big mistake?

Please read the story below.

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Heard a news piece on NPR's "All Things Considered" this aft – Obama wants to move ahead with "smart meters". There was no mention that smart meters use Wi-Fi to transmit data. They also mentioned CFL's as a way to reduce power consumption. Carl Catz

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103437607

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Doug Loranger sent the following item. The practice of pole-sharing may be going on in other states.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Local-News-Roundup----April-25-2009.html

REPORT BLAMES UTILITY POLES FOR 2007 MALIBU CANYON FIRE

That Malibu Canyon brushfire that took out 14 structures in 2007 was caused by utility poles that fell over in winds just half as strong as what they should have withstood. That's the finding of a state utility safety commission, which has ordered Southern California Edison to explain why the power poles failed. The state is looking into how heavy cellular telephone cables and antennas were added to the poles and why the Edison company claims that the new weight load calculations were the responsibility of the phone companies.

Also see:
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/apr/23/no-oversight-of-power-poles-topped-with-heavy/

Power poles topped with communications gear go unchecked
By Hans Laetz
Thursday, April 23, 2009

Karen Quincy Loberg / Star staff

An October 2007 wildfire in Malibu burned 14 structures, thousands of acres and forced the evacuation of the city.

A wind-whipped 2007 wildfire that destroyed 14 structures in Malibu has sparked a probe into why Southern California Edison is allowing various wireless communications companies to add heavy, wind-catching cables and antennas to wooden electric-wire poles without calculating possible collapse risk.

Nancy Evans
Health Science Consultant
415-285-7267

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Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic -- Fact or Fiction? (AA)

Urgent and vital information you need to know about the new swine flu threat that should help you sort through all the mixed messages the media is giving you.

Normally our editorial process has us test, research and review articles over a three week period before it finally reaches the newsletter. However, this article is an exception which is why it is coming out as a special alert.

The searches for swine flu on our search engine has broken all our records, so it is obvious there is an urgent and strong demand for this information. I regret that the report could not come out sooner but I was lecturing in Orlando last week at the American Academy of Anti Aging and when I went to return home on Saturday night, they closed O'Hare airport due to heavy rains - and they cancelled my flight. I was not able to get back to Chicago until Monday.

Read my ten page special report on this vital topic so you can avoid deception and manipulation by the conventional media.

Dr Mercola

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A city in Normandy removes Wi-Fi from schools / HB Council Moves to Spike School-Adjacent Cell Tower / The ecological scandal of CFLs.

A city in Normandy removes Wi-Fi from schools

Monday 27 April 2009

Concerned by the dangers of electromagnetic waves, the City of Hérouville St. Clair has decided to apply a precautionary principle towards the antennas.

By the end of the school year, all Wi-Fi equipment will be removed in primary schools. An information campaign will also be conducted with residents to raise awareness of the risks associated with mobile telephony.

The City also has become a member of Robin roofs and the CRIIREM two associations fighting for the safety of people exposed to new technologies for wireless telecommunications.

These structures are independent will be responsible for undertaking measures to determine the degree of harmfulness of waves emitted by the antennas. Depending on the results, the municipality may require operators to limit its emissions, or even remove their antennas.

++++
ses-ecoles_39382-912964_actu.Htm">http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Une-ville-normande-supprime-le-Wi-Fi-dans-
ses-ecoles_39382-912964_actu.Htm

From: "Olle Johansson" Olle.Johansson@ki.se

 

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HB Council Moves to Spike School-Adjacent Cell Tower

Monday, Apr. 27 2009 @ 9:28PM
By Spencer Kornhaber in Apples and Oranges, Council Meeting Mania

Signs were posted near the construction site.
Spencer Kornhaber / OCW

Remember that brouhaha last Thursday about a cell tower being built next to a Huntington Beach elementary school? Remember the outcry from parents, the indignation from school officials, and the petition from the kid who expressed an interest in having T-Mobile pay for his future cancer bills?

Remember how the community around Harbour View park and Harbour View Elementary School weren't notified that a big ole' fake tree would be built on city property literally feet away from a kindergarten classroom?

Yeah, that's all better now. Mostly.

The hole was dug, the crane was in place, and the faux-leafy tower was sitting on the bed of a truck around the corner last Thursday when parents at Harbour View realized what was going on and confronted Huntington Beach Mayor Keith Bohr. Sensing that the council may have erred in approving the tower without public hearing back in January, Bohr called an emergency meeting of the council--held tonight.

About 200 people showed up, and 23 put in requests to speak. But before anyone from the public got up to the podium, City Attorney Jennifer McGrath announced the outcome of the earlier closed session meeting. The unanimous decision: Direct city staff to renegotiate the contract for the cell tower with T-Mobile, and reimburse T-Mobile up to $50,000 in expenses.

It took a few seconds for news, delivered in McGrath's soft, bureaucratic tones, to make sense to the crowd. "Alright!" someone shouted, and the room hesitatingly applauded.

Bohr put a finer point on things: "I'd like to add, although it's not a done deal until it's a done deal, that the T-Mobile representatives committed verbally that they will not proceed with the site, actually to the extent we're deciding who's gonna fill the hole in. So I think we're moving in the right direction."

That's when the cheers, whooping, and true applause broke out. A few of the council members cracked grins behind the dais.

And then came the public comments...

Most of the 20 people who got up to the mic thanked the council for the decision. But most of them also spoke, not so thankfully, about something else: cancer.

The federal government has indicated that cell phone towers pose little or no danger to humans via radiation. But a few minutes spent on the Internet unveils a jungle of conflicting studies, hard-to-verify assertions and pure speculation about to the idea that radiation and electromagnetic fields from cell phones and antennae may cause cancer.

So, speakers trotted out personal anecdotes about disease, lectures of varying scientific merit, and one chart contrasting brain X-rays of adults versus those of infants. But another kind of complaint came from a woman who didn't like being blindsided by news of the tower's construction.

"My flower bed is less than 400 feet from the tower. My daughter attends Harbour Elementary," she said. "My first thought was, 'Why weren't we told?' That was before I even did the research on the health risks. It's still the thought that haunts me."

After public comment, the council voted unanimously to direct city staff to draft an ordinance altering the zoning code to make future school-site towers go through a different permit process than they currently do, opening them up for public hearings and increased scrutiny.

Talking to the Weekly after the meeting, Bohr stressed that the cell tower by Harbour View wasn't technically dead yet. T-Mobile still has a contract with the city for that site.

"I'm hoping T-Mobile senses exactly what we [the council] did and they don't try to play hardball in the negotiations," he said. "That's still a bit of a poker game going, but I'm confident we'll get there."

 

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- Rémy Prud'Homme denounces the ecological scandal of CFLs.

- The French Minister for Ecology Jean-Louis Borloo: "record-beating ecologist"

- In France it means 3 million tonnes more CO²! Absurd!

- Enviro2b: Rémy Prud'homme - Low-energy bulbs: "a not-so-bright idea"

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Stourbridge MEP demands mast action / Infected airwaves - Tetra radio system / Ste-Foy-lès-Lyon Associations locales: "Action sensibilisation école"

Stourbridge MEP demands mast action
9:00am Sunday 26th April 2009

 http://www.stourbridgenews.co.uk/news/4317558.Stourbridge_MEP_demands_mast_action/

STOURBRIDGE euro MP Liz Lynne is demanding more action to examine potential harm from mobile phone masts.

Lib Dem MEP Liz is also calling on countries in the euro zone to dramatically reduce exposure limits for mobile phone masts near schools or residential areas until scientists discover if wireless communication devices cause long-tem harm.

The initiative, including a written declaration in the European Parliament, follows her visit to the High Acres site in Kingswinford in February where residents fear a massive base station may causing a cancer hotspot.

Liz, who is co-chair of MEPs Against Cancer in the European Parliament said: "With the explosion in demand for mobile phones we have seen a huge increase in the number of mobile phone masts springing up around both the UK and the rest of Europe, but many experts are now raising serious questions about the long term health effects of these masts.

"There is more and more evidence that ten, 15 years down the line there may be serious side-effects from the use of wireless technology due to the electromagnetic radiation these devices emit."

The High Acres station, a former water tower which is home to eight dishes and 18 antennae, is the subject of a high profile protest by residents calling for the masts to be scrapped.

The site was slammed for having "the worst levels of this type of radiation in the world" by American scientist Dr George Carlo during a visit to Kingswinford and leading celebrity anit-mast campaigner Jasper Carrot has added his voice to calls for removal of the masts.

Since 2001 14 people who lived nearby have died of cancer and a further 20 people in the area have contracted the disease and survived.


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Hi All
The article below was written in 2005 but the issue of compensation for harm caused by electro magnetic radiation is only likely to get bigger as exposure continues to increase.
Martin


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Infected airwaves - Tetra radio system
Date: 10/02/2005

http://www.cunninghamlindsey.com/uk/press_detail.asp?press_id=49

Cunningham Lindsey - uk - Press Detail Rowena is a trained Barrister who works for the Loss adjusters Cunningham Lindsey. This is her legal warning to the insurance industry.  Catherine

Despite health concerns being linked to the police force's new Tetra radio system, roll out will continue this year.  Rowena Byrne-Jones explores the evidence for a causal link and assesses potential insurer ramifications.

Much has been written recently on the potential for oesophageal cancer, and other health scares, caused by exposure to radio waves, with particular reference to the installation of a new and controversial radio system.

Currently, the Home Office is equipping the 53 police forces in England, Scotland and Wales with the Tetra system - Terrestrial Trunked Radio - at a cost of £2,9bn.  Rollout of the new system will be complete by the end of 2005 and it will replace an outdated and unreliable VHF system.  Approximately 2500 of the required 3500 transmitters have been erected and 65000 officers in 39 forces are using the system.  Tetra will also be installed for the fire and ambulance services, and MM02 Airwave - the telecommunications company carrying out the installations - is currently bidding for its licences.  The result will be made available during the next six months.

However, the system has provoked strong protests, with claims that the radio signals cause headaches, sickness, disturbed sleep and skin rashes.  Although the health fears surrounding Tetra are linked to concerns about mobile-phone masts, as the symptoms that affect some people appear consistent - sleep deprivation, nausea, headaches, ear pressure and nosebleeds - the symptoms appear to stop when the Tetra exposure ends.

Precautionary approach

Prior to implementation of the system a report was issued, which concluded that, although the evidence to date did not suggest adverse health effects, a precautionary approach should be adopted.  Despite this, however, Tetra went on to be piloted in Lancashire and now continues to be rolled out across the rest of the country.

The Police Federation then commissioned a report on Tetra in 2001 from the independent physicist Barrie Trower, who predicted the occurrence of cancers resulting from the use of Tetra and recommended that the system "be halted until further research on safety is carried out".  He has warned that the system could lead to "more civilian death in peacetime than [caused by] all the terrorist organisations put together".

Yet, the implementation of the system was not halted.  During the past two years, more than 300 officers in Lancashire and Yorkshire have reported numerous accounts of ill health that they have attributed to using the system - the complaints being compiled in a questionnaire that was put together by the Police Federation.  Further complaints were raised in the Crime Investigation Unit in Lancashire after throat tumours had occurred as well as numerous other ailments.

In Leicestershire, the family of a police officer who died of oesophageal cancer have questioned whether the force's controversial new radio system caused the disease.  A second officer, who is aged 40 and works for the same force, has also been diagnosed with the same cancer and is being treated.

As a result, the Home Office last year announced a £5m health study, including a detailed study of 150 officers and a 15-year monitoring programme involving 100,000 users.

The benefits?

So what exactly are the operational benefits of using this new system?  Tetra promises to offer guaranteed national coverage, vastly improved sound quality and features such as emergency buttons on officers' handsets.  But are these supposed benefits worth the risks to health?  Is there any published evidence to suggest the health fears are well grounded?  And what about our planning and communication laws - do they take into account health risks associated with the erection of masts, substations and use of handsets?  The answer, presently, is no.  Will future legislation ensure that it does?

Sir William Stewart, the former chief scientific adviser to the government, said in a report on mobile phone health concerns that frequencies around 16Hz - close to Tetra's 17.6Hz - should be avoided because previous research suggested they could cause potentially harmful changes in cell biology.  However, Professor Colin Blakemore of Oxford University and chief executive of the Medical Research Council, has dismissed the health concerns surrounding Tetra.

A report last year from government-appointed independent advisers the National Radiological Protection Board concluded that:  "Although areas of uncertainty remain about the biological effects of low-level radio-frequency radiation, current evidence suggests that it is unlikely that the special features of the signals from Tetra mobile terminals and repeaters pose a hazard to health."

However, the Police Federation insists that "current evidence" is inadequate since there have been no tests on humans of the effects of electromagnetic radiation from Tetra technology.  This view was echoed at the National Society of Clean Air Conference in June 2004.  Dr Mike Clark, NRPD scientific spokesman, says:  "The NRPD continues to recognise the need for good and continuing research into this area, and there is already a large research programme - funded by the Home Office - looking into the possible health effects of Tetra."

Recently, Lisa Oldman, director of the campaign group Mast Sanity, said that the fact the government has announced such a programme proves that police officers are being forced to use an untried technology.  "It is also far too late for many police officers who are already suffering, and the police have no way of complaining or doing anything about it. They are guinea pigs - and so are we."

Mast Sanity is now calling for an immediate public inquiry into the Tetra system as a whole.  "It needs to not just look at the appalling risks our police officers are forced to take, but also the countless number of civilians who are suffering ill health as a result of masts erected close to their homes," argues Ms Oldman.

Local authorities have also voiced their concern over whether the Tetra network is safe, which only adds to the criticism directed towards MM02 Airwave from campaigners and MPs that the company is failing to consult with local communities over the public health fears.  In July, MM02 Airwave was accused of illegally erecting two masts in Sussex by abusing emergency powers under the planning system.

Causation

What seems clear is that, if Tetra does have an effect, it is only triggered in those who are sensitive to low-frequency radio waves and are directly exposed.  A recent survey of more than 400 people showed that, while around 40% had suffered from sleeplessness, and/or headaches since the masts arrived, others were not affected.

Tetrawatch argues that the system is untested, is being imposed secretively, is shunned by many other European countries including France, and that health fears are being underplayed by the government in the same way that, for example, the link between Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) was in the early 1990s.

Tetrawatch spokesman John O'Brien stressed that the Tetra system in this country is different to both Tetrapol and other Tetra systems elsewhere because, in order to meet police requirements, it uses the pulsed technique, which is feared to create the symptoms.  "This is an untried and untested system.  There is something different about this type of Tetra system compared with other mobile transmissions systems, and that is why we are worried about it."

Medical opinion is divided.  On one side are the 'establishment' scientists, such as Professor Blakemore, who say there is no evidence that Tetra is unsafe.  On the other, there are independent consultants such as Dr Gerard Hyland, a former head of physics at the University of Warwick, who believe otherwise.  "We could be seeing a pandemic of brain tumours in 10 years," he told The Ecologist recently.

Curiously, The Ecologist pointed out there is now what some see as evidence of official back-tracking on the Stewart Report.  Professor Blakemore, a member of the NRPB's advisory group and the Stewart Committee, has said 16Hz radio waves provide "no cause for alarm.  I still hold to both of my previous statements.  In principle, it would have been better if 16Hz pulsing could have been avoided.  But that was said in the context of the strict precautionary approach of the Stewart Report."

Professor Lawrie Challis, deputy chairman of the Stewart Committee, said the 16Hz warning was made in recognition of the existence of "unreplicated research from the 1970s", and there was "no evidence that 17.65Hz modulation of the emission from Tetra phones would lead to any adverse health effects".

Our response

So how should we in the insurance sector respond?  At present it would appear that insurers are simply maintaining a watching brief.  However, the potential for employers', public and product liability insurers is great.

The public sector insurer is likely to be hardest hit if the uncorroborated evidence so far presented is supported by independent test results currently being conducted.

When combined with expert reports querying the safety of the new system, the level of complaint from officers piloting it has been substantial enough to persuade the government to carry out an investigation into its safety for all users.  And yet, serving police officers will be required to continue to use the system in the absence of independent reports confirming that it is actually safe.  Furthermore, although the trial continues, fire and ambulance crews will be operating the system in the months to come.

Simply put, employers are providing their employees with equipment, the safety of which is not known.  Should claims be forthcoming against the employer in the future, EL insurers may have some difficult questions to answer.  With much negative discussion having taken place already and no confirmed scientific evidence to verify safety, it may be difficult in future to dispute that the employer was convinced that the equipment was safe at the time of issue, it may also be difficult to argue a "scientific knowledge" defence to any such claims as scientific opinion is so clearly divided.

Allergic conditions

There is no doubt that causation remains a live issue and the burden is always upon the claimant to prove their symptoms relate to an exposure to radio waves and not any other agent to which they may have been exposed.  It is noted that certain people suffer and others do not and some susceptibility is required.  It is also becoming apparent that some are 'allergic' to mast emissions, with such allergic conditions being recognised in Sweden.  Yet, as we in the industry are aware, you take your victim as you find him.

In addition to the potential for EL insurers' exposure, public and product liability insurers should also be on their guard.  Mast Sanity is aware of a significant number of private individuals who state that the quality of their lives has been detrimentally affected by living and working in areas where masts have been erected.  Private residents in Cornwall in particular have voiced concerns as to the effect of local masts resulting in many residents moving house to areas without the presence of masts.  A number of public nuisance claims are being considered.

Furthermore, rights of contractual indemnity may be available to an employer against whom claims have been submitted from the manufacturers and suppliers of the masts and handsets and product liability insurers should be on their guard with the potential for class actions being levied against them in time to come.  There may also be claims against those owner/occupiers who have allowed the masts to be erected on their land.

The increased incident of future claims will very much depend on the results of further tests and trials, which are currently being conducted.  Liability insurers should be aware of the potential for these claims and ignore them at their peril.  The financial implications may be substantial.

Rowena Byrne-Jones is the regional complex injury co-ordinator for Cunningham Lindsey UK.


-----------------------------------------------------

24 04 2009 Ste-Foy-lès-Lyon Associations locales: "Action sensibilisation école"
-Sciences et Avenir Mai 2009 "Spécial ONDES : Ce qu'il faut vraiment savoir"

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Actual scientific conclusions / Coalition for Local Oversight of Utility Technologies / EMF-Omega-News 25. April 2009

http://www.amazon.com/Doubt-Their-Product-Industrys-Threatens/dp/019530067X

Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health

Dear Friends Researching and Resisting Xenobiotic EMR:

As you know, for 20 years I've advised communities to rely on actual scientific conclusions rather than the mass media's unscientific conclusion of "uncertainty" regarding the hazardous nature of xenobiotic EMR. While based in the primary science, this advice also responds to the public relations tactics I've observed to come out of corporate thinktanks such as the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis. This corporation, funded by some of the largest and dirtiest corporations on the planet, had bought the rights to use the name Harvard, but is in fact *not* financially related to Harvard University. In some circles, the Center for Risk Analysis has given the University a bad name. I've observed and frequently deconstructed this corporate thinktank's use of a wide variety of tactics, including illogic intended to fool even the most rigorous of scientific minds.

For this reason I share with you another's observation of the untruthful, public-fooling tactic: doubt or uncertainty. (See book, above.)

Many people believe they sound more humble and appealing claiming as the major media do that the scientific community is uncertain about EMR; which claim is blatantly false. They think they will more successfully win over the public and succeed in their legal battles using this industry tactic.

Nothing could be further from the truth, as proven from long, direct experience on the ground of resisting wireless technologies and chemical corporations. Remember, the major media ARE the telecommunications industry!

I have watched a devoted gentleman with a double PhD and 6-7 masters deploy publicly in writing Heidegger's Uncertainty Principal, thinking it would protect his children in a school next to prospective church antennas. He lost.

I watched while thinking people in Concord, MA let themselves be quoted in a magazine as believing the science were "uncertain". They not only lost, but caused others to lose, as well.

A group in Newton Lower Falls lost because they went on and on to the local TV station about how "uncertain" they thought scientists were; while those in the very next door community of Newton Upper Falls cited scientific studies proving the hazard, and won against all odds.

Many other communities cited the Precautionary Principal, not aware of the actual language of that international law, and lost because their "strongest" foot-forward was "uncertainty"!

Berkeley and Mendocino, CA lost, despite voluminous efforts, because they insisted on claiming publicly that the scientific community was uncertain (simply because some individuals were personally uncertain!); while a small town in Riverside, CA won by citing plenteous science. Their Planning Commissioner Chief concluded, "This is *not* the usual community opposition", to explain his unusual decision against the industry. Eureka and Arcata CA each cited lots of science and won big - even in one case where the antennas were fully approved and under construction!

FACTS WIN. DOUBT LOSES.

Let us be clear that the citation and even inference of uncertainty loses battles against large corporations. There always exist both certainties and uncertainties. If you wish to win, you will need to focus on actual certainties rather than some vague, unnamed uncertainty. As any academic philosopher will tell you, any extant uncertainty is uninteresting and irrelevant, because the same is the case with every question one can conceive.

I want you all to win. That is why I take unpaid time to point this out over and again to every community.

Take a look at David Michael's book Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health . Even if you don't read the book, at least read the title. Understand that industry rejoices when you cite "uncertainty": they will win money, while you and your community will lose your due process (which requires fact-finding, including about the science) and some health. If people in your community cite their own subjective belief of uncertainty about the science as if it were Objective Truth rather than simply letting the scientific conclusions speak for themselves, they do assault that science, according to the author's premise.

We are all in some small way involved in the struggle for the very continuation of life on the planet. As such, we all need to understand what works and what by contrast harms our own and others' efforts. Thank you for reading.

All the best,
Susan


--------------------------------------------------
Coalition for Local Oversight of Utility Technologies (CLOUT) is a new, nationwide grass-roots coalition of individuals and organizations committed to restoring local governmental control over telecommunications towers and related wireless facilities in the United States. Our efforts include amending Section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 so that the health and environmental effects of cell towers and other commercial wireless facilities be made a legal, legitimate component of all deliberations involving their placement, construction, and modification.

Please visit our website below, sign the petition, and circulate it widely. Please also encourage community organizations and local elected officials
who might be interested to consider a formal endorsement. Suggestions about additional content for the website are also welcome. Thanks.

https://www.cloutnow.org/


----------------------------------------------------
Dear Sir, Madam, Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

for your information.

Best regards,
Klaus Rudolph
Citizens' Initiative Omega
Member of the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society) Protectorate Union of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog
http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/57/70/

Mobile and cordless telephones, serum transthyretin and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: a cross-sectional study
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5658678/

Electromagnetic Fields and Health
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5663048/

Wireless Technologies and Associated Health Risks
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5658751/

Mobile Phone Study Presents Global Public Health Threat
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5658966/

EP raises new alarm over mobile base stations
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5653022/

So much headache on my head while using iphone directly
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5652250/

Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5656271/

A seven year old child died from neuroblastoma
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5653765/

Experts warn about wifi in public
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5660932/

French Bill in the pipeline on wireless communication
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5663583/

Phone mast near school put on hold
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5650876/

Phone mast plan shows a 'lack of common sense'
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5653900/

New bid for phone mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5653998/

Mobile phone mast 'will spoil' the look of our lovely street
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5654140/

MAST PLAN BACK ON AGENDA
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5654931/

Victory as phone mast is refused
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5656411/

Council set to give phone mast go-ahead?
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5657106/

Mast plan withdrawn
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5657676/

Concern over mobile mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5659463/

Beccles anger at phone mast
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5661251/

Hundreds fight phone mast bid
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5661264/

Families vow to fight phone mast bid
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5661678/

MEP Liz Lynne calls for action on mobile phone masts
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5662760/

Seaton joy as mobile phone mast plan rejected
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5663213/

Health fears raised over bid to create wi-fi town
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5664845/

Powerful Worries: Parents say moving high voltage lines could hurt students
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/5653874/

Protecting our children from wireless technology
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5657199/

Tapping your cell phone
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5653850/

EMF Conference in Brazil - MAY 18-19, 2009
http://groups.google.com/group/omeganews/t/bdf5acbb9cd9af69?hl=de

Next-up news N°919 - N°924
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5652753/

Next-up News Nr 925
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5654435/

Next-up news Nr 926
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5656423/

Next-up News Nr 928
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5659949/

Next-up News Nr 929
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5661638/

Next-up News Nr 930
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5657636/
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/5663055/

News from Mast Sanity
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3

--------

Our links:

http://tinyurl.com/93epp
http://tinyurl.com/9w2sx <http://www.grn.es/electropolucio/00omega.htm>
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3
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http://tinyurl.com/jyemw
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EMR-EMF/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/emf-omega-news/
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/emf-omega-news/>

__________________________________

Note: EMF-Omega News belongs to the Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), Umbrella Organization of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog. Editor and responsible for the content: Citizens' Initiative Omega, member in the Buergerwelle. Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), which works on non-profit base. Our messages are the result of many hours of daily research, roundup and editing. If you would like to support our activity for people around the world with a donation or an aid fund unique or on regular base, you can do it: Recipient: Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), bank-connection: Hypo Bank Augsburg, account-No 2250284, BLZ 720 200 70, IBAN: DE83 7202 0070 0002 2502 84, SWIFT (BIC): HYVEDEMM408. Buergerwelle Germany (incorporated society), Umbrella Organization of the Citizens and Initiatives for the Protection against Electrosmog: 1. Chairman Siegfried Zwerenz, 2. Chairman Barbara Eidling, Mailing address: Lindenweg 10, D-95643 Tirschenreuth, phone 0049-(0)9631-795736, fax 0049-(0)9631-795734, e-mail pr@buergerwelle.de, Internet http://www.buergerwelle.de . Thank you.

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Words of Wisdom

"Act as if the principle by which you act were about to be turned into a universal law of nature". --Immanuel Kant

"You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results." --Gandhi

"The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice." –Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Your silence will not protect you." --Audre Lorde

"A time comes when silence is betrayal." --Martin Luther King

"Liberty can not be preserved without general knowledge among people."
--John Adams

"The world shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." --Anais Nin

"Remaining silent about the destruction of nature is an endorsement of that destruction."
--Redwood Mary (a.k.a. Mary Rose)

That which is looked upon by one generation as the apex of human knowledge is often considered an absurdity by the next, and that which is regarded as a superstition in one century may form the basis of
science for the following one. --Paracelsus

"How could I imagine how lost in the open field I was." --Neal Lindley

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
--Margaret Mead

" If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams, And endeavors to lead a life which they have imagined, They will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
--Henry David Thoreau

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being
shared." –Buddha

Motivation is not a problem for anyone who accepts the extraordinary truth contained in Yeshe Aro's ancient prescription for happiness: "On this depends my liberation: to assist others – nothing else."

"Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your
passions."
James 4: 1-3 (James is the brother of Jesus, who became a leader in the early church)

Health fears raised over bid to create wi-fi town / Unedited version of the letter sent to the Vancouver Courier

Health fears raised over bid to create wi-fi town

6:00pm Friday 24th April 2009

http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/4313448.Health_fears_raised_over_bid_to_create_wi_fi_town/

Concerns have been voiced over plans to make Barnoldswick the North of England's first "wi-fi town".

Residents believe the proposed web portal to make the wi-fi wireless network possible could have health implications.

And they are backed by experts, who say those exposed to electromagnetic fields could experience symptoms including memory problems or nausea.

Last week, the West Craven Area Committee allocated £10,000 for the scheme, which is expected to cost a total of £30,000.

The scheme is the brainchild of Barnoldswick town councillor Martin Bell. It has yet to be approved by the town council, although a sub-committee has been set up to investigate it.

Coun Glenn Whittaker, who serves on both the town council and West Craven Committee, said: "I don't see how you can allocate £10,000 to a scheme that isn't clear-cut and has yet to be agreed by Barnoldswick Town Council.

"A sub-committee including Councillors Martin Bell, Allan Buck and Keith Bailey is supposed to report back to the full town council."

If the Wi-Fi scheme is implemented, residents within a 12-mile radius will be able to access the town's web portal via their laptop.

While locations in Chile, Italy, South Africa and the USA have set up Wi-Fi networks, Glastonbury is currently the only UK town to do so. However. following the end of a six-month trial in the Somerset town, residents have submitted a 400-name petition against the scheme.

Now people in Barnoldswick have raised concerns about the proposal.

Town councillor Jenny Purcell said: "Not enough long-term research has been done on it yet and there are worries it could cause cancer. I'm dead against it because I don't want to be putting people's lives at risk."

Resident Andy Blackburn, of Esp Lane, Barnoldswick, said he used to live near a mobile phone base station at Park Hill, but became "unnerved" by it and moved.

"In the absence of any proof either way, it's very frustrating that they're going on," he said. "Debates about new technologies often seem skewed in favour of providing a service."

According to experts, someone using a Wi-Fi enabled laptop will be exposed to around twice the level of radio frequency electromagnetic fields as someone living 60 to 70 metres away from a mobile phone base station.

Spokesman Graham Philips, from independent organisation Powerwatch, which plays a central role in the UK electromagnetic field and microwave radiation debate, said: "The exposure from Wi-Fi, unlike TV and non-digital radio transmitters, is very similar to base station exposure. Symptoms found in those living around base stations include concentration or memory problems, sleep disturbance, dizziness, nausea and other adverse neurological end points.

"Considering current evidence, the public should not be subjected to city-wide exposures without the health of the local population being carefully monitored before, during and after roll-out."

However, Barnoldswick town councillor Coun David Whipp said: "Wi-Fi systems are commonplace throughout the country. They work on a much weaker signal than mobile phones. Funding has now been put in place for this initiative. I think some people object to things just for the sake of objecting."

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Martin,

Here is the unedited version of the letter I sent to the Vancouver Courier a couple of weeks ago. It was edited very heavily - I find the points that are the most damning to the industry are usually the ones that get deleted. I know this is often for space - my frustration is that the public misses out on so much of the information they should have access to.

Regards,

Carl

*****************************************************************************
To the Editor:

Re: Free wireless Internet plan remains in limbo, April 10

I am astounded that our city councilors are still trying to find a way to roll out Wi-Fi in pubic buildings without considering the emerging body of science that is saying that Wi-Fi represents a considerable health risk.

I have heard those in favour of pubic Wi-Fi cite the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada (who bases their radiation safety guidelines on the WHO's guidelines) and as two public bodies that say Wi-Fi is safe and falls within their safety guidelines. In reality, Wi-Fi does fall within these guidelines, however there are the following important points to consider:

Health Canada's Safety Code Six is based on thermal guidelines. It allows human tissue to increase in temperature by one degree Celsius
over a six minute period when exposed to microwave radiation. All the
deleterious health effects from microwave radiation that are documented in current peer reviewed research occur at levels thousands of times lower than Safety Code Six. Some of these health effects include headaches, dizziness, cognitive difficulties, sleep disturbances and unexplained anxiety. At a biological level, leakage in the blood-brain barrier, DNA breakage, and disruption in intracellular communication have all been documented.

If you watch the BBC Panorama episode "Wi-Fi: A Warning Signal" at
mastsanity.org, you will hear Sir William Stewart, U.K.'s top scientist and former science adviser to Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair saying the WHO is wrong about safe levels of non-ionizing radiation and that the whole basis of their safety limits are inadequate to protect the population, especially our children.

Ditto for the German government, who in 2007 warned all citizens not to use Wi-Fi. Then there are Doctors Gerd Oberfeld and Henry Lai, who
are world renowned for their research into electromagnetic radiation and biological effects - they both said they would pull their children out of any school that had Wi-Fi. Professor Olle Johansson of the world renowned Karolinska institute in Sweden, has found biological effects at radiation levels lower than those associated with Wi-Fi.

In 2002, following research on wireless radiation in the '90's, the global insurance industry pulled liability coverage for the health effects from wireless technology. Given that insurance companies quantify risks and then associate a dollar value on that risk, this represents a huge liability issue for cities, school boards and anyone who rolls out wireless technologies – they are virtually uninsured.

Last December, in an effort to improve traffic flow for buses by wirelessly controlling traffic signals, Translink rolled out a Wi-Fi network along Main Street from 57th Avenue all the way downtown, with no public consultation or transparency. This Wi-Fi network subjects all residents and businesses along Main street to radiation without their awareness or consent. Now there is serious talk of putting Wi-Fi into all community centres in Vancouver, which will expose our children, the employees and the general public - all the while schools all over Europe are pulling out Wi-Fi based on the aforementioned warnings. Lakehead university in Thunder Bay has held off on implementing campus-wide Wi-Fi for the same reasons.

City council and the city of Vancouver must take a step back and look
at independent the body of research that is clearly saying we may have a huge public health problem in the future. For the sake of our children and all our citizens, the City of Vancouver must apply the Precautionary Principle, and hold off on implementing this technology.
Anything less would be irresponsible.

Carl Katz

Vancouver

Thursday, April 23, 2009

A court victory to learn from... / Drug Company Had Hit List for Doctors / EMFs Health Workshop - Brazil

Iris Atzmon

Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 2:04 PM

Subject: A court victory- to learn from...

http://www.theecologist.co.uk/pages/archive_detail.asp?content_id=2067

High Court action against UK Government over toxic crop pesticides
Georgina Downs 29/01/2009

Hers was a landmark victory against the Government. Campaigner Georgina Downs on the importance of setting a policy precedent on pesticides

Against all the odds, I recently won my landmark High Court action against the Government over its failure to protect people in the countryside from exposure to toxic pesticides sprayed on crops.

This case was based on a set of core arguments that I identified and had been presenting to the Government over the last seven years. It was obviously a very significant ruling for the millions of residents throughout the country who, like myself, live in the locality of pesticide sprayed fields.

Mr Justice Collins was in 'no doubt' that the Government has been acting unlawfully in its policy and approach, as it does not comply with the relevant EC Directive regarding the authorisation of pesticides. That directive requires that before a pesticide is approved for use, it is established that there will be 'no harmful effect' on human health. This must apply to all the necessary exposure groups, including residents.

However, the Government's only method of assessing the risks to public health from crop spraying is based on the model of a 'bystander', in which it assumes that there will only be occasional, short-term exposure to the spray cloud at the time of the application only, from a single pass of a sprayer and to only one individual pesticide at any time.

The judge agreed with my long-standing charge that this bystander model does not address residents who are repeatedly exposed, from various exposure factors and routes, to mixtures of pesticides and other chemicals, throughout every year, and in some cases for decades. The fact that there has never been any assessment of the risks to health for the long-term exposure for those who live, work, or especially go to school near pesticide sprayed fields, is a scandal considering that crop-spraying has been a predominant feature of agriculture for longer than 50 years.

Under EU and UK law the absence of any risk assessment means that pesticides should never have been approved for use in the first place for spraying near homes, schools, playgrounds and other public areas.

Adverse health effects from exposure to pesticides are recorded in the Government's very own monitoring system every year, and include acute effects such as rashes, itching, sore throats, burning eyes, nose, blistering, headaches, nausea, stomach pains and burnt vocal chords, among other symptoms. These acute effects are regularly reported to me by rural residents from all cross the UK.

Therefore, the Government, the Pesticides Safety Directorate, and the Advisory Committee on Pesticides were all fully aware that these adverse health effects have continued to be reported, but wrongly accepted such effects as not being 'serious'.

Also by allowing acute effects to be considered acceptable, the Government is then also allowing the risk of chronic illnesses and diseases, which can increase when acute effects repeatedly occur as a result of long term cumulative exposures.

This has been recognised previously by the European Commission which acknowledged that 'long term exposure to pesticides can lead to serious disturbances to the immune system, sexual disorders, cancers, sterility, birth defects, damage to the nervous system and genetic damage.'

I spent much of last year working on my legal case and after re-reading approximately 3500 pages of documentation that was before the Court, I submitted a 149 page Witness Statement which provided the critical evidence for the case.

This evidence showed quite clearly that the Government has knowingly failed to act, has continued to shift the goalposts, cherry picked the science to suit the desired outcome and has misled the public, especially rural residents, over the safety of agricultural pesticides sprayed on crop fields throughout the country.

The UK Government's relentless and extraordinary attempts to protect the industry as opposed to people's health has been one of the most outrageous things to behold in the last seven years of my fight.

This is especially apparent at the moment, as not content with not protecting its own citizens the UK Government has been trying to scupper new European pesticide proposals from having the primary focus on health protection of citizens across Europe, to one of primarily protecting the industry.

There is also a clear case of double standards here. For example, the Government's response to the threat of a chemical terrorist attack would be first and foremost to protect its citizens. However, the spraying of toxic pesticides all over the countryside and the poisoning of the public is directly under Government sanction.

The most important action that must now be taken is to ban crop-spraying around homes, schools, children's playgrounds and other public areas. Considering studies have shown that pesticides can travel in the air for miles then the distance of the no-spray area would need to be substantial.

While it may not be possible to reverse the damage that has already been done to many people's health following exposure to pesticides, the situation will only become even more dire if radical changes in the UK are not made now. There has already been decades of Government inaction, as the Government has continued to allow the industry to set the agenda when it comes to pesticides. This cannot continue.

The Government should now be admitting that it got it wrong, apologising, (especially to all those residents whose health and lives have been affected) and actually getting on with protecting the health of the citizens in this country.

Instead, the Government's recent decision to appeal this ruling continues to demonstrate the Government's absolute contempt for rural residents and communities and is a disgrace.

Heads should be rolling, following such a landmark High Court Judgment, but instead its 'business as usual' with the Government's relentless attempts to protect the industry as opposed to the health of its citizens abundantly clear.

Georgina Downs of UK Pesticides Campaign has spent seven years fighting to change Government's pesticides policy

------------------------------------------------------

Drug Company Had Hit List for Doctors Who Criticized Them

The international drug company Merck had a hit list of doctors who had to be "neutralized" or discredited because they had criticized the painkiller Vioxx, a now-withdrawn drug that the pharmaceutical giant produced.

Staff at the company emailed each other about the list of doctors. The email, which came out during a class-action suit against the drug company, included the words "neutralize," "neutralized" or "discredit" alongside some of the doctors' names.

The company is alleged to have used intimidation tactics against researchers, including dropping hints that the company would stop funding their institutions, and possibly even interfering with academic appointments.

"We may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live," a Merck employee wrote, according to an email excerpt read to the court.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/23/Drug-Company-Had-Hit-List-for-Doctors-Who-Criticized-Them.aspx

------------------------------------------------------------

International NIR and Health Workshop – Brazil

May 18 th and 19 th  2009 Ministério Público do RS, Rua A. Figueiredo Pinto 80, P. Alegre, RS, Brazil.

The purpose of the workshop is to present lectures as a basis to initiate discussions with Brazilian and foreign scientists and public health authorities on the potential biological and health consequences of exposure to EMF, and to discuss exposure limits to NIR.

The workshop will be under the sponsorship of the Pan American Health Organization – PAHO/WHO, the Brazilian Ministry of Health, as well as some other governmental and non governmental organizations.  Some international researchers from several countries will deliver invited talks on selected subjects.

Researchers, public health authorities, as well as authorities from the legislative, executive and judiciary governmental bodies from Brazil and other South American countries are also invited.

Preliminary programme

First day: 18th May 2009

Morning- Chairman: Dr. Henry Lai

8.00 - 8.30 am: Registration

8.30 - 9.00 am: Opening session: Authorities from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, from the Pan American Health Organization - PAHO/WHO and other sponsors.

9.00 - 9.30 am:  WHO representative (to be confirmed).

9.30 - 10.00 am: Dr. Henry Lai – "Thermal and non-thermal effects."

10.00 - 10.30 am: Dr. Carl Blackman – "The relevance of discovery science for research on the health effects of EMF."

10.30 - 10.45 am: Coffee break

10.45 - 11.05 am:  Dr. Livio Giuliani – "The Zhadin effect: a non thermal mechanism of interaction between magnetic fields and living matter."

11.05 - 11.35 am: Dr. Martin Blank – "Stress protein synthesis: a cellular response to EMF interaction with DNA."

11.35 - 12.30 pm: Round table - The previous speakers and the audience. Modulator: Dr. Henry Lai.

12.30 - 2.00 pm: Lunch

Afternoon- Chairman: Dr. Carl Blackman

2.00 - 2.30 pm: Dr. Leif Salford – "Effects of mobile phone radiation upon the blood-brain barrier, neurons, gene expression and cognitive function of the mammalian brain."

2.30 - 3.00 pm: Dr. Franz Adlkofer – "Proof of principle tests confirm the genotoxic potential of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF)."

3.00 - 3.30 pm: Dr. Michael Kundi – "Epidemiologic evidence for a relationship between NIR and cancer - a controversial issue."

3.30 - 4.00 pm: Dr. Om P. Gandhi – "Underestimation of EMF/NIR exposure for children for mobile telephones and for electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems."

4.00 - 4.15 pm: Coffee break

4.15 - 4.45 pm: Dr. Raymond Neutra – "Risk Assessment and Policy Lessons from the California EMF Program."

4.45 - 5.15 pm: Dr. Devra Davis – "Lessons from the Center for Environmental Oncology - The Secret History of the War on Cancer: The Pittsburgh experience to promote precaution on cell phones."

5.15 - 5.30 pm: Ms. Elizabeth Kelley – "National and International Standards for Worker and Public Exposure to NIR."

5.30 - 6.00 pm: ICNIRP representative (to be confirmed).

6.00 - 7.00 pm: Round table: The previous speakers and the audience. Modulator: Dr. Henry Lai.

7.30 - 9.00 pm: Cocktail.

Second day: 19th May 2009

MorningChairwoman: Dr. Ana Maria M. Marchesan., MP/RS

8:30 - 8:50 am – Dr. Adilza Dode, UFMG: "Neoplasias and cellular telephony in the city of Belo Horizonte."

8:50 - 9:10 am - Dr. Geila R. Vieira, SMS/P.A.: "Non-ionizing radiations: the importance of practicing vigilance on environmental health of a population."

9:10 - 9:30 am - Dr. Sergio Koifman, ENSP/FioCruz, "Exposure to low frequency electromagnetic fields and mortality by childhood leukemia: exploratory analysis of its association in the city of São Paulo."

9:30 - 9:40 am: Dr. Carlos Eduardo C. Abrahão, SMS/Campinas: "A Revision of the Brazilian Medical Ethics Code in 2009: Inclusion of the Precautionary Principle."

9:40 - 10:10 am: Dr. Guilherme Franco Netto, CGVAM/ MS: "Analysis and perspectives of the Ministry of Health on managing health under human exposure to NIR in Brazil."

10:10 - 10:25 am: Coffee break

10:25 - 10:45 am - Prof. Francisco de A. F. Tejo, UFCG: "Health impacts of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields: the necessity to adopt the precautionary principle."

10:45 - 11:15 am: Dr. Renato Rocha Lieber, UNESP/SP – "Risk, prevention and precaution in the technological disasters."

11:15 - 11:35 am: Dr. Ana Maria M. Marchesan, MP/RS: "Radio-base stations and the action of the MP in the tutelage of the environment."

11:35 - 11:55 am – Dr. Anaíza Malhardes Miranda, MP/RJ: "The precautionary principle and the environmental licensing of RBS: regulamentation in the state of Rio de Janeiro."

11:55 - 12:15 pm: . Dr. Tarcisio Neves da Cunha, FioCruz/INCA: "Vigilance on environmental health related to RNI."

12:15 - 2:00 pm: Lunch

Afternoon – Chairman: Dr. João Carlos R. Peres, ABRADECEL

2:00 - 3:30 pm: Round table: "The NIR and its effects on the health of workers." Dr. Solange R. Schaffer - Fundacentro/TEM: "Management of occupational exposure to NIR." Dr. José Antonio S. Bulcão – Furnas: "Risk perception of utility workers about the effects of ELF fields." Dr. César N. Vargas - SINTRESC/SC: "Hazards of 60 Hz EMF to health of utility workers." Dr. Robson Spinelli Gomes - Fundacentro/TEM: "Analysis of occupational exposure to EMF in the sector of cellular telephony." Prof. Claudio R. Fernández – IFSUL:"The distance between discourse and practice in the management of risks of technicians working in installation and maintenance of antennas of cellular telephony." Eng. Antonio Marini de Almeida – CPqD: "Measurements of EMF in the work places." Dr. Francisco Antonio B. Corrêa - SINTTEL/RS: "The NIR and the telecommunication workers."

3:30 - 3:45 pm: Coffee break

3:45 pm to 4:00 pm: Prof. Hélio A. da Silva, UFJF: "Why a municipal Law to NIR is necessary."

4:00 - 4:10 pm: Dr. Ivens Drumond, Abradecel – "The NIR and the national legislation."

4:10 - 4:20 pm: Dr. Cíntia Schmidt, OAB/RS: "Punctual aspects of Bylaw 8896/02 which rules the RBS in Porto Alegre."

4:20 - 4:30 pm: Eng. Marcos S. Oliveira, ANATEL: "The NIR in the perspective of ANATEL."

4:30 - 5:45 pm: Round table: "Exposure limits in a national legislation." Representatives from MP, MS, MMA, MTE, MME, MC, Chamber of Deputies, OPAS/OMS, OAB, CNBio, ANATEL, ANEEL, ABRADECEL, etc. Modulator: Dr. Guilherme Franco Netto, CGVAM/MS.

5:45 - 7:00 pm: Round table and discussion with the previous speakers and participants; Main conclusions and directions of the workshop. Modulator: Dr. Cíntia Schmidt, OAB/RS.

7:00 pm: Closing of the workshop.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Sebastopol rejects 35 year cell tower / Wind farm health problems / Stenning Woods antennas / Experts warn about wifi / Mobile and cordless telephone study

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandi Maurer"
To: "Martin Weatherall"
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 7:53 PM
Subject: Sebastopol rejects 35 year lease extension on downtown cell tower (and $5000)

FYI: The Sebastopol City Council voted 3-1 last night to reject $5000 and a proposed 35 year lease extension on the downtown cell tower. It was last on the meeting agenda and not likely to get any press coverage. Even though the current lease still has 20 or so years left, their rejection of the extension request and money is significant.

---------------------------------------------

Reports of wind farm health problems growing
Updated: Wed Apr. 22 2009

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090422/wind_farms_090422/20090422/?hub=TorontoNewHome
CTV.ca News Staff

More people are coming forward saying they're experiencing sleep problems,  headaches, and heart palpitations caused by living near windmills.

Ontario physician Dr. Robert McMurtry told a news conference in Toronto  Wednesday that while wind energy may offer a cleaner, more efficient way to generate electricity, those who live near the giant turbines are suffering through serious health problems.

McMurtry, a retired orthopedic surgeon who used to be an assistant deputy minister of the Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada, decided to look into the health effects of windmills with the help of Carmen Krogh, a retired Alberta pharmacist.

Krogh and a group of volunteers distributed questionnaires in areas near wind farms, asking residents to describe whether they have experienced any effects from the turbines.

Of 76 people who responded to their informal survey, 53 reported at least one health complaint.

They complained of:

a.. headaches
b.. heart palpitations
c.. hearing problems
d.. stress, anxiety and depression

He reports that one resident had to be admitted to hospital with an acute hypertensive episode. Another experienced atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm).

"There is no question that they are genuinely suffering, and more people are at risk if the rules are not changes substantially," McMurtry told the committee.

Krogh's survey revealed that most of those who complained of health problems lived within a kilometre of a wind farm, while those further away were less likely to experience health problems.

The turbines don't appear to affect everyone equally and it is not clear what causes the health problems in some people. Some suspect that the constant, low frequency noise and vibration from the rotating blades may be what cause the problems.

But research into the problem is lacking. That's why McMurtry is calling on governments to conduct a lot more studies into the turbines' effects on the health of nearby residents.

"There is no epidemiological study that has been conducted that establishes either the safety or harmfulness of industrial wind turbines. In short, there is an absence of evidence," McMurtry told an Ontario government committee Wednesday.

The committee is debating The Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009, a bill that would enact standards for renewable energy projects, such as standardized setback requirements for wind farms.

McMurtry told the committee that until there are rigorous epidemiological studies of the health effects of wind turbines, Ontario should not go ahead with any further construction of wind turbines.

Wind power advocates contend that studies have been conducted in North America and other parts of the world and they show that residents who live near wind farms have few complaints about them.

Sean Whittaker, vice president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, said these studies "have really come to the same conclusion and that is there is no evidence that wind turbines have an impact on human health."

Whittaker told CTV News that research he has reviewed shows that the percentage of people who approve of wind power increases the closer you get to a wind farm.

Barbara Ashbee is not one of those people.

Ashbee lives in the shadow of 11 of the 45 giant wind turbines at the Melanchthon wind farm near Shelburne, Ont., about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto. At first, she liked the idea of living near a green-energy facility.

"I thought it was a great idea for the environment," she told CTV News.

But the day the turbines started running, she and her husband, Denis Lormand, stopped sleeping. "They are so loud we didn't get any sleep. You can hear them in the bedroom. There is also a hum and vibration that permeates the house," she says

All that deprivation started to lead to cognitive abilities, she contends.

"My memory now is horrible," she says. "It's terrible to go night after night without sleep. We go to bed 7 p.m. because we don't know what the night will bring."

Her husband also suffers from tinnitus, which causes a constant whining sound in his ears. With more construction at the Melanchthon wind power centre expected to bring the number of turbines at the facility to 133, the couple says they would love to sell their house but can't.

"Between the noise and the vibration, we couldn't put a For Sale sign here. There's no way," says Ashbee.

Ashbee says she has no problem with the concept of wind farms, but she says they simply shouldn't be built near residences.

"I thought they were wonderful, but they're not. There are big problems and they have to get sorted out," she says.

With a report by CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip

------------------------------------------------
Stenning Woods residents raise static about antennas to bring policy change

------------------------------------------------

By Jesse Chadderdon
Community News
Posted Apr 22, 2009 @ 01:06 PM
http://www.communitypub.com/news/x718265136/Stenning-Woods-residents-raise-static-about-antennas-to-bring-policy-change

------------------------------------------------

Hockessin, Del. -
Even if you've never paid a visit to Stenning Woods resident Brenda Herr in your life, it's easy to find her. Just scan the horizon of the sprawling Hockessin neighborhood until your eyes meet the towering dome of the neighborhood's water tank, then head right for it.

Herr purchased her Gormley Court home back in 1994, knowing the Artesian-owned water tank would be her closest neighbor. And for several years it was a quiet, unobtrusive neighbor until 2000, when it became home to cell phone towers for AT&T.

Over the last decade, AT&T has added new antennas periodically, most recently in 2007. Now they want to add more, much to the chagrin of Herr and her neighbors.

"They're hideous looking," Herr said of the new, larger antennas that sit in three locations along the water tank's balcony. "Our properties are going to be hard enough to sell because of the tower, but at least we knew that part going in. But now they've added these things that look like rocket boosters to the sides and they're horrible."

But Andrew Quinn, who lives on Letitia Drive right next to the service entrance to the water tower, said aesthetics were only part of the problem.

"At first they were only 18-20 inches tall but now they're three times that size and a lot more powerful," he said. "I've had all kinds of problems with appliances, from the TV, to our phones, to our computer, to the Sirius radio."

A newly purchased remote-entry garage door keypad never worked, and when a technician from Sears came out to test it, he told Quinn he traced high levels of interference to the antennas.

AT&T Spokesman Dan Langan said the company's antennas are routinely monitored.

"AT&T and other carriers consistently analyze how their networks are operating in order to meet customers' needs," he said. "We're confident that our towers are both safe and do not create any interference, as has been alleged."

No Public Process

Herr and Quinn would like a chance to refute AT&T's claims, but New Castle County Code does not afford them that opportunity.

According to Department of Land Use Spokesman Mark Veasey, the county encourages co-location, he said, as a way of cutting down on the use of open space and the construction of additional obtrusive structures.

The co-location agreement between the two companies was administratively approved in 2000 through a zoning verification. There was no public component to that process, he said.

"Basically the department confirmed that yes, they could [put antennas there] under the zoning requirements and the code requires no more than that going forward," he said.

Herr said she never received any notification that the antennas were coming back then, and said she thinks there ought to be a new permitting process with an opportunity for public comment whenever new antennas are added.

"We have deed restrictions here," Herr said. "Anytime you add something to your home or make it bigger, you have to get a permit and approval. Why should it be any different for them?"

Councilman William Tansey (R-Greenville), who went out to look at the water tank last week, said he sympathizes with the residents. He said he plans on looking into legislation requiring a public hearing each time new antennas are added to an already-approved structure.

But that's likely the limit of what he can do, he said. Federal law limits local governments from regulating the size and strength of the antennas. The Federal Communications Commission handles that.

In fact, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 strips local authority to limit towers on health or environmental grounds.

A health risk?

Herr lost a son to cancer five years ago, and while she in no way attributes his death to the radio waves associated with the antennas, she said she's seen firsthand the effects of radiation. With five daughters under her roof, she concedes that she's also worried about possible health risks.

"We've all heard warnings to use a headset for your cell phone or not to keep your laptop directly on your lap," she said. "I don't think we really know what the risks are here."

It is indeed a fledgling area of science. In fact, President Obama has directed his U.S. Cancer Panel to study the issue of electro-magnetic radiation.

But Joe DiNunzio, executive vice president of Artesian, says he is confident the antennas pose no risk to the water supply. Cell antennas are routinely located on water towers throughout the country.

DiNunzio estimates Artesian generates $300,000 in revenue by leasing their water tanks for antennas. Without that income, he said the company would
likely have to add $4 to the average annual residential water bill.

------------------------------------------------

Experts warn about wifi in public
Vancouver Courier
Published: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/letters/story.html?id=02a7a9e9-23bd-470c-9444-5b522a483c4c
To the editor:

Re: "Free wireless Internet plan remains in limbo," April 10.

I am astounded that our city councillors are still trying to find a way to roll out wifi in public buildings without considering the emerging body of science that says wifi represents a considerable health risk.

I have heard those in favour of public wifi cite the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada. But Sir William Stewart, a top British scientist and former science adviser to Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, says the WHO is wrong about safe levels of non-ionizing radiation and that the whole basis of their safety limits are inadequate to protect the population--especially our children.

Ditto for the German government, which in 2007 warned all citizens not to use wifi. Then there are doctors Gerd Oberfeld and Henry Lai, who are world renowned for their research into electromagnetic radiation and biological effects--they both said they would pull their children out of any school that had wifi. Professor Olle Johansson, of the world-renowned Karolinska Institute in Sweden, has found biological effects at radiation levels lower than those associated with wifi.

City council and the City of Vancouver must take a step back and look at independent research that is clearly saying we may have a huge public health problem in the future. For the sake of our children and all our citizens, the city must hold off on implementing this technology.

Anything less would be irresponsible.

Carl Katz,

Vancouver

© Vancouver Courier 2009

--------------------------------------------

TO: ICEMS Members and colleagues

From
Elizabeth Kelley, M.A.
Managing Secretariat
International Commission For Electromagnetic Safety
Email: info@icems.eu
Web: www.icems.eu
_______________________________
Mobile and cordless telephones, serum transthyretin and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier: a cross-sectional study

Environmental Health 2009, 8:19 doi:10.1186/1476-069X-8-19

Fredrik Soderqvist (fredrik.soderqvist@orebroll.se)
Michael Carlberg (michael.carlberg@orebroll.se)
Lennart Hardell (lennart.hardell@orebroll.se)Abstract

Background: Whether low-intensity radiofrequency radiation damages the blood-brain barrier has long been debated, but little or no consideration has  been given to the bloodcerebrospinal fluid barrier. In this cross-sectional study we tested whether long-term and/or short-term use of wireless telephones was associated with changes in the serum transthyretin level, indicating altered transthyretin concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid, possibly reflecting an effect of radiation.

Methods: One thousand subjects, 500 of each sex aged 18-65 years, were randomly recruited using the population registry. Data on wireless telephone use were assessed by a postal questionnaire and blood samples were analyzed for serum transthyretin concentrations determined by standard immunonephelometric techniques on a BN Prospec® instrument.

Results: The response rate was 31.4%. Logistic regression of dichotomized TTR serum levels with a cut-point of 0.31 g/l on wireless telephone use yielded increased odds ratios that were statistically not significant. Linear regression of time since first use overall and on the day that blood was withdrawn gave different results for males and females: for men significantly higher serum concentrations of TTR were seen the longer an analogue telephone or a mobile and cordless desktop telephone combined had been used, and in contrast, significantly lower serum levels were seen the longer an UMTS telephone had been used.

Adjustment for fractions of use of the different telephone types did not modify the effect for
cumulative use or years since first use for mobile telephone and DECT, combined. For women, linear regression gave a significant association for short-term use of mobile and cordless telephones combined, indicating that the sooner blood was withdrawn after the most recent telephone call, the higher the expected transthyretin concentration.

Conclusions: In this hypothesis-generating descriptive study time since first use of mobile telephones and DECT combined was significantly associated with higher TTR levels regardless of how much each telephone type had been used. Regarding short-term use, significantly higher TTR concentrations were seen in women the sooner blood was withdrawn after the most recent telephone call on that day.

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- Questions/Réponses: Dr Andrew Michrowski Champs ÉlectroMagnétiques artificiels
MO "Exposition occasionnelle (subie ou passive, non sollicitée) aux technologies du sans fil"

- Toutes les Next-up News / All Next-up News:
www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/2009.php