Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution News
31 August 2012BC Human Rights Tribunal approves smart meter class action
On August 28, 2012, the BC Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) issued a decision approving a representative complaint (akin to a class action) against BC Hydro on behalf of "those persons allegedly diagnosed with electromagnetic hypersensitivity and who have been advised to avoid exposure to wireless technology."
A copy of the Tribunal's decision is available at:
http://www.bchrt.bc.ca/decisions/2012/August.htm
A copy of the Tribunal's decision is available at: The Tribunal approved the representation of that class by the Citizens for Safe Technology Society, which it found to have authority to bring the representative complaint. The Society may be contacted at www.citizensforsafetechnology.org by any person wishing to join the complaint.
The Tribunal found that the complaint brought by the Citizens for Safe Technology Society properly alleges a breach of the Human Rights Code in that it alleges a disability, adverse treatment in respect of a service customarily available to the public, and a nexus or connection between the disability and the adverse treatment.
By way of the Complaint, the Citizens for Safe Technology seeks:
- A declaration that BC Hydro has discriminated against each person in the Class by failing to provide each person in the Class with an unconditional written commitment that BC Hydro will refrain from installing and/or operating a wireless smart meter at the individual's place of residence and/or residential complex.
- An order that BC Hydro cease and desist forthwith from the said discrimination by offering to refrain from installing and/or operating a wireless smart meter at the individual's place of residence and/or residential complex.
On May 31, 2011, the World Health Organization recognized that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields are a Class 2B possible human cancer risk. The emissions generated by the Microwave Device fall under this classification of emissions and risk.
The Citizens for Safe Technology Society is currently fund raising to bring a tort action against BC Hydro so as to prohibit the imposition of microwave emitting smart meters on BC residents regardless of whether they have electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
Citizens for Safe Technology Society
Recognition of the Electromagnetic Sensitivity as a Disability Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
electromagnetic sensitivities may be considered disabilities under the ADA if they so severely impair the neurological, respiratory or other functions of an individual that it substantially limits one or more of the individual's major life activities.
Conrad says final letters are being mailed out starting today, and a failure to respond by the deadline stated in the letter will mean the termination of service.
People should realize that Bluetooth devices that fit in or around the ear typically radiate at 0.23 watts per kilogram (W/Kg). Go into any AT&T wireless store and ask for the SAR on Bluetooth devices. Or check any SAR values website that shows cell phone SAR levels, and you'll find the Bluetooth devices are actually worse than some of the low-SAR cell phones.
This level of 0.23 W/Kg is ten to 100 times higher than the RF exposure levels shown to make the blood-brain barrier pathologically leaky, allowing toxins and toxic molecules to cross the BBB. This is reported by Salford, Persson, NIttby and Schirmacher among others - to cause neuron death at 0.012 to 0.002 W/Kg.
Multiple studies have reported that as short as a single, two-hour exposure to cell phone radiation will result in pathological leakage of the blood-brain barrier. The effect occurs immediately, and is still seen at 14 days and at 50 days post-exposure at only 0.012 W/Kg to 0.002 W/Kg. The lowest exposure SARs are worse than the higher SAR exposures (Nittby et al, 2009). These studies show neuron death (brain cells) at SARs of only 0.012 W/Kg. Bluetooth devices are worn for hours at a time, in some cases - all day long. So, it is reasonable to conclude that a device which radiates at a higher intensity than some cell phones that are still risky in terms of SAR, worn for more hours than a cell phone is typically used - would not be a good idea to promote.
Electropollution and the Decline in Health of a Nation
It might surprise you to know that the 1950s, when there were few health clubs; the American diet was loaded with fat; vitamin supplements were rare; executives downed three martinis at lunch and everyone smoked like a smokestack, may have been the healthiest decade ever. Expectations for getting cancer were only 1 in 6; it is now 1 in 2 for men. Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and most modern autoimmune diseases were unheard of. Neurological disorders like Parkinson's and ALS were rare. Diabetes was only beginning to emerge and heart disease for young people was unusual.
Important differences between The ICNIRP and IEEE standards and the FCC standard for cell phones.
Dear Dr Kendall,
I am the founder and Director for the UK EM Radiation Research Trust. The Radiation Research Trust (RRT) are leading supporters of the precautionary approach to Electromagnetic Radiation (RF/EMR) and as such advocate release of substantial research funds from Government while offering immediate protection and advice to the public. The RRT is supported by MPs and MEPs from UK political parties. We are also indebted to Independent Scientific, Public Health and Technical Advisors.
A letter to you with regards to concerns about wifi in schools from one of our advisors Susan Foster has been brought to my attention. I am therefore supporting her appeal.
I encourage you to join and support Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman in a call to the Education Minister of Israel, Gideon Sa'ar, to stop the installation of wireless internet in schools. Government and Health authorities in Canada, the UK and many other countries should provide safe learning environments for our children.
Previous Chairman for the UK Health Protection Agency and previous Chief Scientific Advisor to Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair's government appeared on a National TV investigation on wifi and stated that he could not rule out the possibility that there may be biological effects, adding that this means there may be changes in cognitive function and indications that there may be cancer inductions along with molecular biology changes within the cell. These conclusions followed as a result of the Stewart report into mobile phones and phone masts. Download the transcript here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/6683969.stm
Wifi uses the same technology as phone antennae. The Stewart report S1.42 states "The beam of greatest intensity should not fall on any part of the school or building without agreement from the school or parents". Many parents would object to a phone mast near their homes or children's schools and may not be aware that Wifi is using the same technology. Have you therefore consulted the parents throughout Canada and informed them about installing wifi in schools and of the independent research into RF/EMF?
Sir William continued to raise concerns at the 2008 Radiation Research Trust conference. Quote from Sir William Stewart at the RRT Conference, 2008
"Since 2000 there has been a mass of publications, reports, observations, and views purporting at the very least to implicate phones/base stations as a cause of adverse health effects. At a time of uncertainty when more information is required, non-peer reviewed articles should not be ignored. Doing so is ridiculous. They may be right but unproven and/or offer pointers to be thought about and followed up."
You can download his presentation here: http://archive.radiationresearch.org/conference/index.asp
I am not aware of any research stating that WiFi RF/EMF radiation is safe and would be most grateful if you could please provide independently funded research demonstrating safety?
Finally, I call on you and your colleagues to join the call to withdraw wifi in schools in favour or adopting wired networks.
Yours sincerely,
Eileen O'Connor
Sunday's story published in (Persian) Gulf News. There was a main story plus a sidebar that focused on your comments. Here are the links.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/residents-ponder-effects-of-mobile-phone-towers-1.1065653
Indian expat banker Satyam Chibber has lived in Dubai for 15 years and until recently never worried about his health until he shifted to the top level of a residential tower in Bur Dubai only to learn afterwards that the rooftop housed not one but three mobile phone towers.
"My wife is now suffering from migraine headaches and the doctor has given her migraine medicine. Our neighbour's wife is also suffering from migraines,"
Wireless radiation may harm later in life: WEEP
"The cumulative effects of wireless radiation are likely to cause long-term harm later in life. Children have never previously been exposed to the massive amounts of microwave radiation that they are being exposed to today. "
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/wireless-radiation-may-harm-later-in-life-weep-1.1065637
Dear Editor,
A while back a mature woman from Armstrong called me to ask a question. She was extremely distressed and her voice was very unsteady. She told me that an employee of CORIX, the company to which BC Hydro has contracted the installation of its smart meters, bullied and intimidated her with threats until she weakened and allowed the device to be attached to her service. That was several weeks ago.
Since that day Mrs. ____ has been unable to sleep, her hair began to fall out in clumps, she has difficulty standing in the mornings, is always dizzy and notices her cognitive abilities are diminishing. She asked me if it could be attributed to the smart meter. My answer was strongly in the affirmative.
This woman telephoned BC Hydro with her concerns and spoke with two representatives, both of whom were unconscionably abusive and denied her request to have the offending meter removed and issued further ridiculous threats.
The following is in response to all the doubters, sceptics, naysayers, fence-sitters and to anyone wishing to know more about this ill-conceived life threatening technology.
Number 1: Follow the money. Huge conflicts of interest: some Directors and Advisors serving on all of the BC Liberals, BC Hydro, the BCUC (BC Utilities Commission), CORIX and CAI Financial boards. Current meters cost $50. Smart Meters $500. Current meters last 50 years. Smart Meters 5 years. It's not about money??
Number 2: It's not about control, it's about a lack of democracy. Every citizen forced to accept a smart meter has had his/her right to life, liberty & security violated (#7, Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms).
Number 3: It is about radiating human flesh with frequencies that are illegal and contravene Health Canada's Safety Code 6. The electromagnetic frequencies of smart meters are 480 times greater than cell phones and are omni-directional, radiating the whole body and not just the head like a cell phone.
Number 4: The sole purpose of the smart meter initiative is greed, pure and simple. Eventually every household that has a smart meter will have to replace all its electrical appliances with "Smart" devices that have a chip in them that communicates with the smart meter, which communicates with the routers and collectors on the poles, and all the other smart meters in your neighbourhoods, adding exponentially to the wireless smog enveloping the environment and every living creature in it (something BC Hydro didn't tell you about). Even an amateur hacker will be able to tell what room you are in in your house, as all movement interrupts the frequencies, and will ultimately be able to tell how many breaths you take every minute if so desired. This is not speculation or conspiracy. It is fact. It is ludicrous yes, to think that anyone cares what you are doing in the privacy of your own home, unless that person can use that information for profit or sell it to a corporation who wishes to market a product for your use at an inflated cost to you the consumer, of course.
Number 5: Detrimental health effects are too numerous to describe adequately in this format. However, suffice it to say that all wireless technology has been classified as a Class 2b carcinogen by the World Health Organization. It has been recommended that it be raised to a Class 2a carcinogen, as a probable rather than possible cause of cancer.
Here are a few facts:
Fact: Because of health risks, France is removing all Wi-Fi from its schools at a cost of 75 million Euros. BC educators wish to install more of it in more of our kid's schools!
Fact: Brain cancer rose 50% between 1999 and 2009, mostly in young people and mostly on the side of the brain closest to where the cell phone is placed. Incidence of leukemia is on the rise as is autism in newborns, occurring in areas near routers, collectors and microwave towers. Smart meters are a part of this system. (www.emfblues.com/wireless)
Fact: China, where cellular usage is epidemic, recorded a 3,000 % increase in facial skin cancer mostly on the side of the head where the cell phone is placed. (Dr. Barrie Trower)
Fact: Italy has gone all smart meters BUT they are power line wired. (Wikipedia)
Fact: Japan is using fibre optics for its smart meters, safe, healthy & secure.
Fact: The state of Idaho, one of our neighbours, is going with fibre optic wired smart meters also, BECAUSE IT IS MORE COMPATIBLE IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.
Fact: The Premier of Ontario admitted two years ago it was a mistake for that Province to allow smart meters as they have not delivered on their promise to be more efficient or cost effective. (Toronto SUN, Sept. 18, 2010)
Fact: The project director for the Smart Meter Program in BC is a citizen of the USA from Philadelphia, where he authored a similar project. That city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has just declared a moratorium on its smart meter program because of the growing number of fires connected to these faulty devices. Hundreds of fires and explosions in jurisdictions globally where smart meters are being installed, including several in BC, are making insurance providers nervous. 50 to 60 BC municipalities have declared moratoriums or opt-in options. (Citizens For Safe Technolgy.com)
Fact: Independent, world renowned peer scientists are stating that, in regard to wireless technology, the world is witnessing the largest biological experiment in the history of mankind without the knowledge or consent of its subjects.
Fact: High ranking military commanders are warning that a national smart meter power grid represents the single most dangerous and lethal threat to the security of any nation foolish enough to establish one. A smart grid can easily be hacked into by any individual or organization with evil intent using software that already exists and completely shut down a community, a municipality, a province or state or an entire country. And there is only one way to prevent it from happening - STOP THE MADNESS NOW!!
Final Fact: There is a magnitude of information available to anyone with concerns.
Call or Google: "Citizens for Safe Technology" or "Stop Smart Meters BC".
Ed Murdoch
Enderby, BC
2. Call your United States Congressional delegation and urge them to support and pass before the end of the session The Cellphone Right to Know Act ( http://kucinich.house.gov/uploadedfiles/kucini_103_xml.pdf?utm_source=August+action+alert+cell+phone+bill+activist+newsletter&utm_campaign=Action+Alert+Cell+Phone+right+to+know&utm_medium=email )
While the Cellphone Right to Know Act does not contain all the provisions I would like to see in such legislation, it does mandate the EPA to establish biologically based safety standards to protect the whole population during chronic exposures.
It is important to call your legislator in support of The Cellphone Right to Know Act. When you call, you can get the email address for the person in charge of the issue for your state - they may have to call you with it themselves, then you can email them a brief statement about why you support the legislation - if you have a specific experience, including a brief account would be good, and include couple of good references. You can continue to email a small note and a particularly good reference weekly to educate the legislative aide, and the Representative or Senator, about the seriousness of the issue and the need for immediate action. Several small emails will be much more effective than one huge email with tons of information.
You may also want to set up an appointment to meet with your legislator or legislative aide - that can be highly effective if you go with one or two sheets of clear points and a couple of supporting documents and make a good case for the need for population based standards and immediate action.
Please also contact President Obama. Links are below. The House and Senate pages both have a search function that can allow you to find your legislator.
http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
3. The GAO (Government Accountability Office) has requested that the FCC RAISE the allowable radiofrequency radiation exposures from wireless technology, in spite of the recent classification by IARC of radiofrequency radiation as a class 2B carcinogen.
WHY? Because ENGINEERING organizations who only consider thermal harm (not biological effects) have raised their limits. (A more detailed discussion can be found: http://microwavenews.com/short-takes-archive/gao-fcc-reassess-rf-limits-cell-phones and http://www.emfacts.com/2012/08/another-take-on-the-gao-report-from-microwave-news/ )
We do NOT want standards based on engineering convenience. We want standards that are truly biologically protective for the whole population.
Experts at both EPA http://www.emrpolicy.org/litigation/case_law/docs/epa_to_fcc_3nov_93.pdf and http://www.emrpolicy.org/litigation/case_law/docs/exhibit_a.pdf and National Academy of Sciences http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12036 have made it clear that even the existing FCC guidelines do NOT PROTECT the population - children, pregnant women women, the elderly, and men - from BIOLOGICAL effect and harm.
A strong united response is needed. We can and are causing change. This is an opportunity to bring attention to the health threat posed by chronic exposure to radiofrequency radiation.
Please write up a brief communication with a couple of your favorite references explaining to the GAO why they are WRONG and that the safety guidelines actually need to be tightened. If you have personal experience with radiofrequency related injury, please relate it briefly (remember this is a public record). The GAO is right that the guidelines need to be revisited, but they should be lowered to avoid biological effects demonstrated within the biological and epidemiological literature. They should further be asking that the EPA be tasked with acquiring the independent (no industry ties) experts necessary to set standards to protect the population from biological effects during chronic exposures. The GAO can be contacted through the contacts below
Mark L. Goldstein
(202) 512-2834
goldsteinm@gao.gov
Marcia G. Crosse
(202) 512-7114
crossem@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
The report is entitled : Exposure and Testing Requirements for Mobile Phones Should Be Reassessed
GAO-12-771, Jul 24, 2012 and can be found at www.gao.gov
The full report can be found at http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592901.pdf
Safety Concerns Raised over Cell Tower
To sign up for WEEP News: newssignup@weepinitiative.org (provide name and e-mail address)
W.E.E.P. – The Canadian initiative to stop: Wireless Electrical and Electromagnetic Pollution
Pulsed Electromagnetic Devices Pose Health Risks
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3226/
The human body as a walking RF antenna
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3240/
Tumour fear cuts chatter as woman switch off their mobile phones
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3232/
Why Our Urban Trees are Dying
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3228/
Barrie Trower predicts economic and ecological systems collapse
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3225/
Scientists manipulated research played down brain tumour risks in children
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3230/
Cancer Industry: Profits Before Lives
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3237/
Killer Cell Phones: Why Honeybees Are Dying Worldwide
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3239/
The Latest Danger: 'Smart Meters'
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3233/
SmartMeters and Electropollution
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3254/
Smart Meters: not so smart an idea
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3227/
Cellphones ring in alarm bells
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3251/
Wi-Fi making kids, teachers sick?
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3253/
Brennan Park phone tower fight looms
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3231/
Money for masts
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3234/
Phone mast plan fury residents in blockade
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3238/
Parents worried at new mast scheme
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3241/
B.C. Hydro program sparks up a storm of controversy
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3243/
CTIA again tries to block San Francisco cell phone radiation ordinance
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3244/
People power halts roof mobile phone mast, in Sutherland Grove, Teddington
http://www.buergerwelle.de:8080/helma/twoday/bwnews/stories/3252/
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News from Mast Sanity
http://tinyurl.com/2vhcbl6
http://tinyurl.com/aotw3
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